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Show Gives Best Housing for Cows and Cuts Down on Labor for the Owner Am s i & a- r a'-o' 1 I i I 6b4cilAlu j 1 8 Kin HjabqiJs j -a 1 I gutter f3 BinJ"" imzr. I jj-f "' I t V' "I 11TTC8 CARRIER TRACK I I i GUTTER T OCTTCR - By WILLIAM A. RADFORD Mr. William A. Radford will answer Questions and give advice FREE OF COST on all problems pertaining to the subject of building work on the farm, for the readers of this paper. On account ac-count of his wide experience as editor, author and manufacturer, he is, without with-out doubt, the highest authority on the subject. Address all inquiries to William A. Radford, No. 1827 Prairie avenue, Chicago, 111., and only inclose two-cent stamp for reply. At the very best there Is a lot of iwork connected with taking care of a herd of dairy cattle, but the sort of equipment one has for doing the work will make a big difference in the amount and the drudgery of it. It Is possible to build two barns, costing the same amount of money, being equally fine appearing and apparently equipped In about the same way, in which the dally work will vary greatly. For this reason it pays to give very careful consideration to every possible detail when planning the new dairy barn. The barn which gives the best housing hous-ing for the cows and requires the least labor of their owner is always the most profitable investment. The first of these requirements means that it must be dry, warm and well ventilated. venti-lated. This is a matter of good construction con-struction and there is never any excuse ex-cuse for failure to take care of these points. Getting a barn which reduces the labor to the minimum is a somewhat more complicated problem, however, and, even for the person who is widely experienced in farm work, expert advice ad-vice is valuable. Expert advice is- always al-ways available to the man who wants It. Good barn plans have been worked out by specialists and special advice is given wherever needed. The principles of good barn planning plan-ning are well established and they are illustrated in the building shown here. Outwardly this barn presents an appearance ap-pearance quite different from the typical typ-ical long, narrow building with a silo at one end, but the floor plan Is very much along the regular lines. The roof at one end Is of the gambrel type, but ' with the ridge running across Instead of lengthwise, while the roof at the opposite end forms a hip with the ridge running lengthwdse. This part of the roof is also lower. The silo Is placed at the center of one side just at the point where the two parts of the roof join. This silo is a large structure of tile construction and .. furnishes ample capacity for feeding a large herd of dairy cattle. It is well placed for easy handling of feed which Is carried car-ried to the mangers by a feed carrier car-rier on an overhead track. The floor of the barn proper is arranged ar-ranged in the familiar manner with a central driveway down which there is a litter carrier track by means of wdiich manure is, wdth the least effort, deposited at the dump outside one end of the barn. On each side of thi.s central cen-tral drive is a row of steel cow stalls which are built in four sections, separated sep-arated by a passage across the middle of the building. At one end there are eight of these stalls on each side while at the other end there are eight on one side nnd five on the other. The balance of the space on the latter side Is used for a bull peu and a calf pen. At the center cen-ter end of these sections there are feed bins for dry feed, placed most conveniently for serving all the stalls. The feed carrier track from the silo extends through the center passage across the barn and down each side between the mangers and the side walls, making it possible to supply the mangers with only a short haul. Well drained, concrete gutters are provided behind the cow stalls so that it Is possible to keep them always clean and sanitary. The barn Is amply lighted by windows running along ' both sides and ends and roof ventilators ven-tilators keep the air always fresh and clean, carrying off all the odors and stale air. Ample loft space is provided under the roof and this also Is well lighted, dormer style windows being used at the end of the building. |