key, and provided with a thumb-latch. The object of making the cornbarn door of this form is to avoid the inconvenience of its opening into the barn, where, unless it folds wholly back on a wall, is frequently in the way of work, particularly when winnowing roughs, and taking out sacks of corn on men's backs. As to size, it should not be less in the opening than 7 feet in height and 3 feet in width. A light half-door can be hooked on, when work is going on, to prevent the intrusion of animals, and the wind sweeping along the floor. The floor of the cornbarn is frequently made of clay, or of a composition of ashes and lime; the asphaltic composition would be better than either; but in every instance it should be made of wood,-of sound hard red-wood Drahm battens, ploughed and feathered, and fastened down to stout joists with Scotch flooring sprigs driven through the feather-edge. A wooden floor is the only one that can be depended on being constantly dry in a corn-barn; and in a barn for the use of corn, a dry floor is indispensable. It has been suggested to me that a stone pavement, squarejointed, and laid on a bed of lime over 9 inches of broken stones; or an asphaltum pavement, laid on a body of 6 inches of broken stones, covered with a bed of grout on the top of the stones, would make as dry and more durable barn-floor than wood, and which will not rot. I am aware that stone or asphaltum pavement is durable, and not liable to rot; but there are objections to both, in a corn barn, of a practical nature, and it is certain that the best stone pavement is not proof against the undermining powers of the brown rat; whilst a wooden floor is durable enough, and certainly will not rot, if kept dry in the manner I shall recommend over the page. The objections to all stony pavements as a barn-floor are, that the scoops for shovelling the corn pass very harshly over them, that the iron nails in the shoes of the work-people wear them down, and raise a dust upon them,—and that they are hurtful to the bare hands and lighter implements, when used in taking up the corn from the floor. For true comfort in all these respects in a barnfloor, there is nothing like wood. The walls of this barn should be made smooth with hair-plaster, and the joists and flooring forming its roof cleaned with the plane, as dust adheres much more readily to a rough than to a smooth surface. The stairs to the granaries s and s should enter from the corn-barn, and a stout plain-deal door with lock and key placed at the bottom of each. And at the side of one of the stairs may be enclosed on the floor of the barn, a space to contain light corn to be given to the fowls and pigs in summer when this sort of food is scarce about the steading.

(15.) As the method of hanging doors on a giblet-check, should be adopt

rain; d is the giblet-check in the lintel, and e that in the ribets, into which the door shuts flush; ƒ is the light movable door used when work is going on in the corn-barn.

(16.) The wooden floor of the corn-barn is liable to decay unless precautions are used to prevent it, but a much too common cause of its destruction is vermin-such as rats and mice. It is discreditable to farmers to permit this floor to remain in a state of decay for any length of time, when an effectual preventive remedy is within their reach; and the more certainly preventive that remedy is, the more it should be appreciated. I used a most effectual method of preventing the destructive ravages of either vermin or damp, by supporting the floor in the particular manner represented in fig. 6. The earth, in the first instance, is dug out of the barn to the depth of the foundations of the walls, which should be two feet below the door soles, and in the case of a new steading this can be done when the foundations of the walls are taken out. The ground is then spread over with a layer of sand, sufficient to preserve steadiness in the stout rough flags 66 which are laid upon it and jointed in strong mortar. Twelve-inch thick sleeper walls a a of stone and lime are then built on the flags to serve the purpose of supporting each end of the joists of the floor. The joists c, formed of 10 by 2 inch plank, are then laid down 16 inches apart, and the spaces between them filled up to the top with stone and lime. The building between the joists requires to be done in a peculiar way. It should be done with squared rubble stones, and on no account should the mortar come in contact with the joists, as there is nothing destroys timber, by superinducing the dry rot, more readily than the action of mortar upon it. For this

reason great care should be observed in building in the joists into the

Fig. 6.

d

SECTION OF THE CORN-BARN FLOOR.

walls, in placing the safe-lintels over the doors and windows, the stones being dry-bedded over them, and in beam-filling between the couplelegs. The floor d is then properly laid on a level with the door-sole, and finished with a neat skifting board ii round the walls of the barn. By this contrivance the vermin cannot possibly reach the floor but from the flags, which are nearly 2 feet under it. A hewn stone pillar e, or even two, are placed on the flags under each joist to support and strengthen the floor. This construction of floor admits of abundance of air above and below to preserve it, and affords plenty of room under it for cats and dogs to hunt after the vermin. This figure also gives a section of the building above the corn-barn, including the floor of the upper barn, the outside walls, and the coupling, slating, and ridging of the roof of the middle range of building.

(17.) The chaff-house, r, stands between the corn and straw barns. It is separated from the former by a wooden partition, and from the latter by a stone-wall. Its height is the same as that of the corn-barn, the floor of the upper barn forming a roof common to both. It is 18 feet in length and 14 feet in width. It contains the winnowing-machine or fanners of the thrashing-machine, from which it receives the chaff. It has a thin door with a thumb-latch into the straw-barn, for a convenient access to adjust any of the gearing of the fanners; as also a

boarded window hung on crooks and bands, fastened in the inside with a wooden hand-bar, and looking into the large court K; but its principal door, through which the chaff is emptied, opens outwards into the large court I. This door should be giblet-checked, and fastened from the inside with a wooden hand-bar. The space between the head of the fanners and the wall should be so boarded up as not to interfere with the action of the fanner-belts, but merely prevent the chaff being scattered among the machinery, and any access by persons being effected by the machinery into the upper barn.

(18.) DD are two sheds for sheltering the cattle occupying the courts I and K from rain and cold, by night or day, when they may choose to take refuge in them. The shed of the court I is 52 feet in length by 18 feet in width, being a little longer than that of the court K, which is 47 feet in length and 18 feet in width, and their height is 9 feet to the floor of the granaries, which forms their roof. The access to these sheds from the courts is by arched openings of 9 feet in width, and 74 feet in height to the top of the arch. There should be a rack fastened against one of the walls of each shed to supply fodder to the cattle under shelter in bad weather, as at h'. As when a large number of cattle are confined together, of whatever age, some will endeavour to obtain the mastery over the others, and to prevent accidents in cases of actual collision, it has been recommended to have two openings to each shed, to afford a ready means of egress to the fugitives; and as a further safety to the bones and skins of the unhappy victims, the angles of the hewn pillars which support the arches should be chamfered. In my opinion, the precaution of two openings for the reason given is unnecessary, inasmuch as cattle, and especially those which have been brought up together, soon become familiarized to each other; and two openings cause draughts of air through the shed. If holes were made in the faces of the pillars opposite to each other in the openings, so as bars of wood could be put across them, the cattle could at any time be kept confined within the sheds. This might at times be necessary, especially when the courts are clearing out of the manure. The shed of the court K has a door d in the back wall for a passage to the work-people when going from the corn to the upper barn, by the gangway T.

(19.) E is the engine-house for the steam-engine, when one is used. It is 18 feet in length and 8 feet in width, and the granary-floor above forms its roof. It has a window looking into the large court I, and a door into the boiler and furnace-house F, which house is 24 feet in length and 8 feet in width, and has an arched opening at the left or west end. The chimney-stalk is 6 feet square at the base, and rises

tapering to a height of 45 feet. If wind or horses are preferred as the moving power, the windmill-tower or horse-course would be erected on the site of F.

(20.) G is the implement-house for keeping together the smaller implements when not in use, when they are apt to be thrown aside and lost. The intrinsic value of each implement being small, there is too generally less care bestowed on them than on those of more pecuniary value; but in use each of them is really as valuable as the most costly, and even their cost in the aggregate is considerable. The implementhouse is 18 feet in length by 14 feet in width, and its roof is formed of the granary-floor. This house should be provided with a stout plain-deal door with a good lock and key, the care of which should only be entrusted to the farm-steward. It should also have a partly glazed window like that of the cow-house, as sometimes this apartment may be converted into a convenient work-shop for particular purposes. The floor should be flagged or laid with asphaltum pavement. Beside the implements, this apartment may contain the barrel of tar, a useful ingredient on farms where sheep are reared, and where cart-naves require greasing; the grindstone, a convenient instrument on a farm on many occasions for sharpening edge-tools, such as scythes, axes, hay-knife, dung-spade, &c. A number of wooden pins and iron spikes driven into the walls, will be found useful for suspending many of the smaller articles upon. The walls should be plastered.

(21.) H is the hay-house at the east end of the north range A, and corresponding in situation to the implement-house. It is 18 feet in length, 17 feet in width, and its roof is also formed of the floor of the granary above. Its floor should be flagged with a considerable quantity of sand to keep it dry, or with asphaltum. It should have a gibletchecked door to open outwards, with a hand-bar to fasten it by in the inside; it should also have a partly glazed window, with shutters, to afford light, when taking out the hay to the horses, and air to keep it sweet. As the hay-house communicates immediately with the work-horse stable O by a door, it can find room for the work-horse corn-chest y, which may be there conveniently supplied with corn from the granary above by means of a spout let into the fixed part of the lid. For facilitating the taking out of the corn, the end of the chest should be placed against the wall at the side of the door which opens into the stable, and its back part should be boarded up with thin deals to the granary-floor, to prevent the hay coming upon the chest. Its walls should be plastered. This hay-house is conveniently situated for the hay-stack n in the stackyard S.