Rural Architecture

L >> Lewis Falley Allen >> Rural Architecture

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[Illustration]

DESIGN II.

Here is presented the design of a barn built by ourself, about sixteen
years since, and standing on the farm we own and occupy; and which has
proved so satisfactory in its use, that, save in one or two small
particulars, which are here amended, we would not, for a stock barn,
alter it in any degree, nor exchange it for one of any description
whatever.

For the farmer who needs one of but half the size, or greater, or less,
it may be remarked that the extent of this need be no hindrance to the
building of one of any size--as the general _design_ may be adopted, and
carried out, either in whole or in part, according to his wants, and the
economy of its accommodation preserved throughout. The _principle_ of
the structure is what is intended to be shown.

The _main_ body of this barn stands on the ground, 100x50 feet, with
eighteen-feet posts, and a broad, sheltering roof, of 40deg pitch from a
horizontal line, and truncated at the gables to the width of the main
doors below. The sills stand 4 feet above the ground, and a raised
driving way to the doors admits the loads of grain and forage into it.
The manner of building the whole structure would be, to frame and put up
the main building as if it was to have no attachment whatever, and put
on the roof, and board up the gable ends. Then frame, and raise
adjoining it, on the long sides, and on the rear end--for the opposite
gable end to that, is the entrance front to the barn--a continuous
lean-to, 16 feet wide, attaching it to the posts of the barn, strongly,
by girts. These ranges of lean-to stand on the ground level,
nearly--high enough, however, to let a terrier dog under the floors,
to keep out the rats--but quite 3 feet below the sills of the barn. The
outer posts of the lean-to's should be 12 feet high, and 12-1/2 feet
apart, from center to center, except at the extreme corners, which would
be 16 feet. One foot below the roof-plates of the main building, and
across the rear gable end, a line of girts should be framed into the
posts, as a _rest_ for the upper ends of the lean-to rafters, that they
may pass under, and a foot below the lower ends of the main roof
rafters, to make a break in the roof of one foot, and allow a line of
eave gutters under it, if needed, and to show the lean-to line of roof
as distinct from the other. The stables are 7 feet high, from the lower
floor to the girts overhead, which connect them with the main line of
barn posts; thus giving a loft of 4 feet in height at the eaves, and of
12 feet at the junction with the barn. In this loft is large storage for
hay, and coarse forage, and bedding for the cattle, which is put in by
side windows, level with the loft floor--as seen in the plate. In the
center of the rear, _end_ lean-to, is a large door, corresponding with
the front entrance to the barn, as shown in the design, 12 feet high,
and 14 feet wide, to pass out the wagons and carts which have discharged
their loads in the barn, having entered at the main front door. A line
of board, one foot wide, between the line of the main and lean-to roofs,
is then nailed on, to shut up the space; and the rear gable end boarded
down to the roof of the lean-to attached to it. The front end, and the
stables on them vertically boarded, and battened, as directed in the
last design; the proper doors and windows inserted, and the outside is
finished.

[Illustration: FLOOR PLAN.]

INTERIOR ARRANGEMENT.

Entering the large door, (_a_,) at the front end, 14 feet wide, and 14
feet high, the main floor (_g_,) passes through the entire length of the
barn, and rear lean-to, 116 feet--the last 16 feet through the
lean-to--and sloping 3 feet to the outer sill, and door, (_a_,) of that
appendage. On the left of the entrance is a recess, (_e_,) of 20x18
feet, to be used as a thrashing floor, and for machinery, cutting feed,
&c., &c.--5 feet next the end being cut off for a passage to the stable.
Beyond this is a bay, (_b_,) 18x70 feet, for the storage of hay, or
grain, leaving a passage at the further end, of 5 feet wide, to go into
the further stables. This bay is bounded on the extreme left, by the
line of outside posts of the barn. On the right of the main door is a
granary, (_d_,) 10x18 feet, two stories high, and a flight of steps
leading from the lower into the upper room. Beyond this is another bay,
(_b_,) corresponding with the one just described on the opposite side.
The passages at the ends of the bays, (_e_, _e_,) have steps of 3 feet
descent, to bring them down on to a level with the stable floors of the
lean-to. A passage in each of the two long side lean-to's, (_e_, _e_,) 3
feet wide, receives the hay forage for cattle, or other stock, thrown
into them from the bays, and the lofts over the stables; and from them
is thrown into the mangers, (_h_, _h_.) The two apartments in the
extreme end lean-to, (_f_, _f_,) 34x16 feet each, may be occupied as a
hospital for invalid cattle, or partitioned off for calves, or any other
purpose. A calving house for the cows which come in during the winter,
is always convenient, and one of these may be used for such purpose. The
stalls, (_i_, _i_,) are the same as described in Design I, and back of
them is the passage for the cattle, as they pass in and out of their
stalls. The stable doors, (_j_, _j_,) are six in number. Small windows,
for ventilation, should be cut in the rear of the stalls, as marked, and
for throwing out the manure, with sliding board shutters. This completes
the barn accommodation--giving twenty-eight double stalls, where
fifty-six grown cattle may be tied up, with rooms for twenty to thirty
calves in the end stables. If a larger stock is kept, young cattle may
be tied up, with their heads to the bays, on the main floor, beyond the
thrashing floor, which we practice. This will hold forty young cattle.
The manure is taken out on a wheel-barrow, and no injury done to the
floor. They will soon eat out a place where their forage can be put, and
do no injury beyond that to the hay in the bays, as it is too closely
packed for them to draw it out any farther. In this way we can
accommodate more than a hundred head of cattle, of assorted ages.

The hay in the bays may drop three feet below the level of the main
floor, by placing a tier of rough timbers and poles across them, to keep
it from the ground, and many tons of additional storage be thus
provided. We have often stored one hundred and fifty tons of hay in this
barn; and it will hold even more, if thoroughly packed, and the movable
girts over the main floor be used, as described in Design I.

The chief advantages in a barn of this plan are, the exceeding
convenience of getting the forage to the stock. When the barn is full,
and feeding is first commenced, with a hay knife, we commence on each
side next the stables, on the top of the bays, cut a _well_ down to the
alley way in front of the mangers, which is left open up to the stable
roof. This opens a passage for the hay to be thrown into the alleys, and
in a short time it is so fed out on each side, that, the sides of the
main barn being open to them, the hay can be thrown along their whole
distance, and fed to the cattle as wanted; and so at the rear end
stables, in the five-foot alley adjoining them. If a root cellar be
required, it may be made under the front part of the main floor, and a
trap-door lead to it. For a milk dairy, this arrangement is an admirable
one--we so used it for four years; or for stall-feeding, it is equally
convenient. One man will do more work, so far as feeding is concerned,
in this barn, than two can do in one of almost any other arrangement;
and the yards outside may be divided into five separate inclosures, with
but little expense, and still be large enough for the cattle that may
want to use them. It matters not what kind of stock may be kept in this
barn; it is convenient for all alike. Even sheep may be accommodated in
it with convenience. But low, open sheds, inclosed by a yard, are better
for them; with storage for hay overhead, and racks and troughs beneath.

This barn is built of wood. It may be well constructed, with stone
underpinning, without mortar, for $1,000 to $1,500, as the price of
materials may govern. And if the collection of the water from the roofs
be an object, cheap gutters to carry it into one or more cisterns may be
added, at an expense of $200 to $300.

As before observed, a barn may be built on this principle, of any size,
and the stables, or lean-to's may only attach to one side or end; or
they may be built as mere sheds, with no storage room over the cattle.
The chief objection to stabling cattle in the _body_ of the barn is, the
continual decay of the most important timbers, such as sills, sleepers,
&c., &c., by the leakage of the stale, and manure of the cattle on to
them, and the loss of so much valuable storage as they would occupy, for
hay and grain. By the plan described, the stables have no attachment to
the sills, and other durable barn timbers below; and if the stable sills
and sleepers decay, they are easily and cheaply replaced with others.
Taking it altogether, we can recommend no better, nor, as we think, so
good, and so cheap a plan for a _stock_ barn, as this.

We deem it unnecessary to discuss the subject of water to cattle yards,
as every farm has its own particular accommodations, or inconveniences
in that regard; and the subject of leading water by pipes into different
premises, is too well understood to require remark. Where these can not
be had, and springs or streams are not at hand, wells and pumps must be
provided, in as much convenience as the circumstances of the case will
admit. Water is absolutely necessary, and that in quantity, for stock
uses; and every good manager will exercise his best judgment to obtain
it.

BARN ATTACHMENTS.

It may be expected, perhaps, that in treating so fully as we have of the
several kinds of farm building, a full cluster of out-buildings should
be drawn and exhibited, showing their relative positions and
accommodation. This can not be done, however, except as a matter of
"fancy;" and if attempted, might not be suited to the purposes of a
single individual, by reason of the particular location where they would
be situated, and the accommodation which the buildings might require.
Convenience of access to the barns, from the fields where the crops are
grown, a like convenience to get out manures upon those fields, and a
ready communication with the dwelling house, are a part of the
considerations which are to govern their position, or locality. Economy
in labor, in the various avocations at the barn, and its necessary
attachments; and the greatest convenience in storage, and the housing of
the various stock, grains, implements, and whatever else may demand
accommodation, are other considerations to be taken into the account,
all to have a bearing upon them. Compactness is always an object in such
buildings, when not obtained at a sacrifice of some greater advantage,
and should be one of the items considered in placing them; and in their
construction, next to the arrangement of them in the most convenient
possible manner for their various objects, a due regard to their
architectural appearance should be studied. Such appearance, where their
objects are apparent, can easily be secured. _Utility_ should be their
chief point of expression; and no style of architecture, or finish, can
be really _bad_, where this expression is duly consulted, and carried
out, even in the humblest way of cheapness, or rusticity.

We have heretofore sufficiently remarked on the folly of unnecessary
pretension in the farm buildings, of any kind; and nothing can appear,
and really be more out of place, than ambitious structures intended only
for the stock, and crops. Extravagant expenditure on these, any more
than an extravagant expenditure on the dwelling and its attachments,
does not add to the _selling_ value of the farm, nor to its economical
management, in a productive capacity; and he who is about to build,
should make his proposed buildings a study for months, in all their
different requirements and conveniences, before he commences their
erection. Mistakes in their design, and location, have cost men a whole
after life of wear-and-tear of temper, patience, and labor, to
themselves, and to all who were about them; and it is better to wait
even two or three years, to fully mature the best plans of building,
than by hurrying, to mis-locate, mis-arrange, and miss, in fact, the
very best application in their structure of which such buildings are
capable.

A word might also be added about barn-_yards_. The planning and
management of these, also, depends much upon the course the farmer has
to pursue in the keeping of his stock, the amount of waste litter, such
as straw, &c., which he has to dispose of, and the demands of the farm
for animal and composted manures. There are different methods of
constructing barn-yards, in different parts of the country, according to
climate and soils, and the farmer must best consult his own experience,
the most successful examples about him, and the publications which treat
of that subject, in its connection with farm husbandry, to which last
subject this item more properly belongs.

RABBITS.

It may appear that we are extending our "Rural Architecture" to an undue
length, in noticing a subject so little attended to in this country as
Rabbit accommodations. But, as with other small matters which we have
noticed, this may create a new source of interest and attachment to
country life, we conclude to give it a place.

It is a matter of surprise to an American first visiting England, to see
the quantities of game which abound at certain seasons of the year in
the London and other markets of that country, in contrast with the
scanty supply, or rather no supply at all, existing in the markets of
American cities. The reason for such difference is, that in England,
Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, every acre of the soil is appropriated to
some profitable use, while we, from the abundance of land in America,
select only the best for agricultural purposes, and let the remainder go
barren and uncared for. Lands appropriated to the rearing of game, when
fit for farm pasturage or tillage, is unprofitable, generally, with us;
but there are thousands of acres barren for other purposes, that might
be devoted to the breeding and pasturage of rabbits, and which, by thus
appropriating them, might be turned to profitable account. All the
preparation required is, to enclose the ground with a high and nearly
close paling fence, and the erection of a few rude hutches inside, for
winter shelter and the storage of their food. They will burrow into the
ground, and breed with great rapidity; and in the fall and winter
seasons, they will be fat for market with the food they gather from the
otherwise worthless soil over which they run. Rocky, bushy, and
evergreen grounds, either hill, dale, or plain, are good for them,
wherever the soils are dry and friable. The rabbit is a gross feeder,
living well on what many grazing animals reject, and gnawing down all
kinds of bushes, briars, and noxious weeds.

The common domestic rabbits are probably the best for market purposes,
and were they to be made an object of attention, immense tracts of
mountain land in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the New York and New
England highlands could be made available for this object.

Some may think this a small business. So is making pins, and rearing
chickens, and bees. But there are an abundance of people, whose age and
capacity are just fitted for it, and for want of other employment are a
charge upon their friends or the public; and now, when our cities and
large towns are so readily reached by railroads from all parts of the
country, our farmers should study to apply their land to the production
of everything that will find a profitable market. Things unthought of,
a few years ago, now find a large consumption in our large cities and
towns, by the aid of railroads; and we know of no good reason, why this
production and traffic should not continue to an indefinite extent. When
the breeding of rabbits is commenced, get a good treatise on the
breeding and rearing of them, which may be found at many of the
bookstores.

As the rearing of rabbits, and their necessary accommodation, is not a
subject to which we have given much personal attention, we applied to
Francis Rotch, Esq., of Morris, Otsego county, New York, who is probably
the most accomplished rabbit "fancier" in the United States, for
information, with which he has kindly furnished us. His beautiful and
high-bred animals have won the highest premiums, at the shows of the New
York State Agricultural Society. He thus answers:

"I now forward you the promised plan from Mr. Alfred Rodman, of
Dedham, Massachusetts, which, I think, will give you the information
you wish upon these subjects.

"Rabbits kept for profit in the vicinity of a city, and where there
are mills, may be raised at a very small cost; and when once known
as an article of food, will be liberally paid for by the epicure,
for their meat is as delicate as a chicken's, and their fat mild,
and very rich.

"I am surprised they are not more generally kept, as a source of
amusement, and for the purposes of experiment.

"There is, I think, in many, a natural fondness for animals, but not
easily indulged without more room than is often to be found in city
residences. Fowls, and pigeons, trespass on our neighbors, and are a
frequent cause of trouble. This objection does not hold good against
the rabbit, which occupies so small a space, that where there is an
outhouse there may be a rabbitry. _English_ children are encouraged
in their fondness for animals, as tending to good morals and good
feelings, and as offering a _home_ amusement, in contradistinction
to _street_ associations."

[Illustration: Drawn from life, by Mr. FRANCIS ROTCH.]

Mr. Rotch continues:

"I have just finished the enclosed drawing of a 'fancy rabbit,'
which I hope will answer your purpose, as an illustration of what
the little animal should be in form, color, marking, and carriage,
according to the decisions of the various societies in and out of
London, who are its greatest admirers and patrons. These amateurs
hold frequent meetings for its exhibition, at which premiums are
awarded, and large prizes paid for such specimens as come up to
their standard of excellence. This standard is, of course,
conventional; and, as might be expected, is a combination of form
and color very difficult to obtain--based, it is true, on the most
correct principles of general breeding; but much of _fancy_ and
beauty is added to complete the requisites of a prize rabbit. For
instance, the head must be small and clean; the shoulders wide and
full; the chest broad and deep; the back wide, and the loin large.
Thus far, these are the characteristics of all really _good_ and
_improved_ animals; to which are to be added, on the score of
'fancy,' an eye round, full, and bright; an ear _long_, broad, and
pendant, of a soft, delicate texture, dropping nearly
perpendicularly by the side of the head--this is termed its
'carriage.' The color must be in rich, unmixed _masses_ on the body,
spreading itself over the back, side, and haunch, but breaking into
spots and patches on the shoulder, called the 'chain;' while that on
the back is known as the 'saddle.' The head must be full of color,
broken with white on the forehead and cheeks; the marking over the
bridge of the nose and down on both sides into the lips, should be
dark, and in shape somewhat resembling a butterfly, from which this
mark takes its name; the ear, however, must be uniform in color. Add
to all this, a large, full dewlap, and you will have a rabbit fit to
'_go in and win_.'

"The most esteemed colors are black and white; yellow and white;
tortoise-shell and white; blue and white, and gray and white. These
are called 'broken colors,' while those of _one_ uniform color are
called 'selfs.'"

It will be observed that Mr. Rotch here describes a beautiful "fancy"
variety of "lop-eared" rabbits, which he brought from England a few
years since. They were, originally, natives of Madagascar. He continues:

"The domestic rabbit, in all its varieties, has always been, and
still is, a great favorite, in many parts of the European continent:

"In Holland, it is bred with reference to color only, which must be
a pure white, with dark ears, feet, legs, and tail; this
distribution has a singular effect, but, withal, it is a pretty
little creature. The French breed a long, rangy animal, of great
_apparent_ size, but deficient in depth and breadth, and of course,
wanting in constitution; no attention is paid to color, and its
marking is matter of accident. The White Angola, with its beautiful
long fur and red eyes, is also a great favorite in France.

"In England, the rabbit formerly held the rank of 'farm stock!' and
thousands of acres were exclusively devoted to its production;
families were supported, and rents, rates, and taxes were paid from
its increase and sale. The '_gray-skins_' went to the hatter, the
'_silver-skins_' were shipped to China, and were dressed as furs;
while the flesh was a favorite dish at home. This was the course
pursued in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and many other counties, with
their light sandy soils, before the more general introduction of
root culture, and the rotation of crops, gave an increased value to
such land. Since then, however, I remember visiting a farm of Lord
Onslow's, in Surrey, containing about 1,400 acres. It was in the
occupation of an eminent flock-master and agriculturist, who kept
some hundreds of hutched rabbits for the sake of their manure, which
he applied to his turnep crop; added to this, their skins and
carcasses were quite an item of profit, notwithstanding the care of
them required an old man and boy, with a donkey and cart. The food
used was chiefly brewer's grains, miller's waste, bran and hay, with
clover and roots, the cost of keeping not exceeding two pence a
week. The hutches stood under a long shed, open on all sides, for
the greater convenience of cleaning and feeding. I was told that the
manure was much valued by the market gardeners round London, who
readily paid 2s. 6d. a bushel at the rabbitries. These rabbitries
are very numerous in all the towns and cities of England, and form a
source of amusement or profit to all classes, from the man of
fortune to the day laborer. Nor is it unfrequent that this latter
produces a rabbit from an old tea-chest, or dry-goods box, that wins
the prize from its competitor of the mahogany hutch or ornamental
rabbitry.

"The food of the rabbit embraces great variety, including grain of
all kinds, bran, pea-chaff, miller's waste, brewer's grains, clover
and other hay, and the various weeds known as plantain, dock,
mallow, dandelion, purslain, thistles, &c., &c.

"The rabbit thus easily conforms itself to the means, condition, and
circumstances of its owner; occupies but little space, breeds often,
comes early to maturity, and is withal, a healthy animal, requiring
however, to be kept clean, and to be _cautiously_ fed with
_succulent_ food, which must always be free from dew or rain--water
is unnecessary to them when fed with 'greens.' My own course of
feeding is, one gill of oats in the morning, with a medium-sized
cabbage leaf, or what I may consider its _equivalent_ in any other
vegetable food, for the rabbit in confinement must be, as already
stated, cautiously fed with what is succulent. At noon, I feed a
handfull of cut hay or clover chaff, and in the evening the same as
in the morning. To does, when suckling, I give what they will eat of
both green and dry food. The cost to me is about three cents per
week, per head.

"I by no means recommend this as the best, or the most economical
mode of feeding, but it happens to suit my convenience. Were I in a
town, or near mills, I should make use of other and cheaper
substitutes. My young rabbits, when taken from the doe, say at
eight, ten, or twelve weeks old, are turned out together till about
six months old, when it becomes necessary to take them up, and put
them in separate hutches, to prevent their fighting and destroying
each other. The doe at that age is ready to breed; her period of
gestation is about thirty-one or two days, and she produces from
three or four to a dozen young at a 'litter'. It is not well to let
her raise more than six, or even four at once--the fewer, the larger
and finer the produce.

"Young rabbits are killed for the table at any age, from twelve
weeks to twelve months old, and are a very acceptable addition to
the country larder. The male is not allowed to remain with the doe,
lest he should destroy the young ones.

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