Chapter III: Part 3

Horse Barn Floors

Concrete floors are equally as valuable for the horse barn as for the cow stable. The same principles govern the floor construction. Naturally there must be a few changes in the dimensions. Single stalls are usually 5 feet wide and 9 feet from the front wall of the manger to the drop gutter.

As the gutter is generally covered with a rough cast-iron plate sunk flush with the concrete, carrying liquids alone, it need not be so wide and deep as for the dairy barn. A clear width of 10 and a depth of 3 inches are sufficient.

Concrete Mangers

Many farmers are to-day building their mangers or racks of concrete. “Stump suckers” lose the habit when fed in concrete mangers.

The manger is constructed along the general lines laid down for OUTDOOR FEEDING TROUGHS, page 48. A form satisfactory for building horse barn mangers is shown in the photograph. The feed trough can be molded as a part of the manger by using a box form like an ordinary wooden feeding trough, but 6 inches wider and without end pieces. Saw out the manger forms so that the box will fit the opening. When the manger forms have been filled with concrete to the feed trough level, place 1 inch of concrete over the bottom of the trough form, lay in a strip of heavy woven wire fencing, and then place the remaining 2 inches of the 3-inch bottom. Immediately set upon this concrete a bottomless box with end pieces, of a size to allow for the 4-inch manger wall and the 3-inch side walls of the trough. Fill both manger and trough forms and embed a ½-inch rod in the side walls of the trough 1 inch from the top. Make holes in the manger wall for the hitching strap by inserting a 2-inch greased peg in the concrete. Imbed a 1-foot length of ½-inch rod in the concrete above this hole.

Scientists have found that rats distribute more disease than any other animal. Recognizing the danger, state and city authorities, the world over, are spending vast sums of money in exterminating this pest. If rats have no nesting place, they cannot stay on the farm. Rats and mice cannot find a home about concrete floors, nor can they climb concrete barn walls.

In a stable floored with concrete, the horses can rest at noontime instead of stamping at flies.

Farmers Build Barn Approaches of Concrete

For purposes of drainage, concrete barns are often built on the side of a hill, the lower story being used for the livestock, while the second floor is used as a wagon house and for feed and storage. This arrangement necessitates a “barn approach.” Originally these approaches were simply of earth, piled up in front of the door; and quite often the earth extended beyond the ends of the barn.

By not allowing the approach fill to come right up to the barn, the lower story of the barn receives the full benefit of light and ventilation on all four sides.

The concrete bridge gives a shelter for wagons and tools; while a root cellar may be conveniently built under the barn approach.

Such an approach adds greatly to the appearance of the barn and its surroundings.

Economy of space made it desirable to provide a retaining wall to hold the earth in position—and concrete naturally came into use for the purpose.

The earth fill already in place in front of the barn door should be cut out to the desired width and a trench dug along both sides below the ground level to a depth of 2½ or 3 feet, and 1 foot wide.

Only outside forms are needed, as the earth fill in the barn approach acts as an inside form. These outside forms may be made up in sections as large as desired, of 1-inch planks, with the necessary upright studding.

Mix concrete 1: 2: 4.

Place the concrete in the foundation, erect the forms, holding these in position by nailing to stakes driven back of the forms in the ground. The concrete can be placed with greatest convenience from the top of the earth fill that forms the approach. In shoveling into the form, be careful that the concrete strikes the wood form instead of the earthen side, as concrete mixed with earth does not give the fullest possible strength.

A Concrete Barn Foundation

On account of convenient arrangement, economy of space, and protection to the stock, second story barns have become very popular.

At first the use of concrete for the walls of the first story was looked upon with doubt. It might be damp. It might make a cold stable. Yet the character of the material so well fitted the use that it was tried, found entirely satisfactory, and to-day is being used for the lower story of thousands of barns every year. As this arrangement does not give a perfect fire protection to the stock, a ceiling of concrete is provided, furnishing a floor for the carriage house, hay loft and granary, through which rats cannot gnaw. With this floor of concrete, the top of a barn can burn off and the stock be perfectly safe.

Excavate a foundation trench to a depth below the frost line, twenty inches wide. Fill with concrete mixed 1: 2½: 5. On this foundation erect the forms for the side walls, spaced in such a way as to make the wall 12 inches thick. These forms are made of 1-inch siding, with 2 by 4-inch studs, spaced 18 inches apart. Fasten the forms securely at top and bottom as described in forms for “Small Farm Buildings,” page 82. While erecting the forms, place in position frames for the window and door openings. These frames are removed after the concrete has become hard and the windows and doors placed. If the concrete extends above the windows, place three ½-inch iron rods 3 inches above each opening, and extending 18 inches beyond its sides. Insert bent iron rods in the concrete around the corners, at intervals of every 2 feet of height. Having carried the wall to the desired height, provide for attaching the wooden superstructure to it by placing iron bolts every 5 feet in the concrete while it is yet soft. These should be placed with the head down, allowing the nut end to extend above the wall a sufficient distance to pass through the sill and to afford length for a nut and washer.

If a concrete ceiling is to be placed over the stable, erect forms in the same way as for a cistern cover described on page 69. This ceiling will have to be carefully reinforced, and if there is any doubt about the quantity and position of this reinforcing, a competent engineer should be consulted.

Entire barns of concrete are being built in ever increasing numbers. If so built, the fire danger for that barn is forever removed. A barn of concrete, however, with a wooden roof is not perfectly fireproof. If the hay catches fire in such a barn, the roof is burned up.

Any one who has the ingenuity to build an entire barn of concrete can build a concrete roof as well.

Wind Walls and Their Importance

To be healthy, stock need exercise—in winter as well as summer. But few farms are provided with an exercise lot sufficiently well protected against winter blasts to provide a safe exercising place.

The exercise lot should be located on the warm side of the buildings. Erect the wind wall on the side from which the winter storms most often come. Probably the most convenient way to build the wall will be in sections of 10 feet in length. The wall will be 3 inches thick at top, 12 inches thick at the base, 7 feet above and 3 below ground, with the slope side toward exercise lot.

To securely brace the sections of this wall, large posts (called buttresses) are needed. These posts are the full height of the wall and are 12 by 18 inches square. The narrow side is set with the line of fence, and the buttresses are placed 11 feet apart from center to center. The forms for these buttresses are the same as for gate posts, with the exception that a beveled 2 by 4-inch timber is nailed vertically to the inside of each side wall of the form, 3 inches from the back board. This leaves a slot in the finished buttress, into which the slab sections of the wall are later “keyed.” Through these 2 by 4’s, at points 3 and 15 inches below the tops, bore ⅝-inch holes through which ½-inch reinforcement rods will be placed and allowed to project into the wall proper about 18 inches.

Locate the points for the centers of the buttresses, the first buttress at the beginning of the wall. Dig a hole for each buttress 12 by 18 inches and 4 feet deep and erect the buttress forms. Fill the forms with wet concrete, mixed 1: 2: 4. Do not forget to insert at the proper time the 3-foot lengths of ½-inch rods in the ¾-inch holes above mentioned. Brace the forms securely, to keep them in position. After the first two buttresses are in place, dig out the 1 by 4-foot foundation trench and, over it and between the buttresses, erect the box forms for the slab sections, with the sloping side next to the lot. These forms are made of 1-inch siding nailed to 2 by 4-inch studding securely braced at bottom and tied together by cross-pieces at the top. On the working side, add the siding as needed, so as to facilitate the placing of the concrete.

Remove the side forms for buttress just before placing the forms for wall proper. In the center of wall, within 6 inches of the top, embed a 10-foot length of ½-inch iron rod. After the wall is one week old, take down the wall forms, erect them between the next two buttresses, and proceed with the construction in the same manner.

Wind walls are often made with straight sides. While this takes more concrete, the saving in erection of forms probably offsets this additional cost.

The materials required for each 10-foot section of wall and 1 buttress are two cubic yards crushed stone or screened gravel, 1 cubic yard sand, 12 bags of Portland cement. Approximate cost, $15.00.

Concrete and the Silo

A silo is a tank for the preservation of fodder in its green state, for feeding stock at times when there is no natural pasture—that is in winter and in the hot, dry months of summer. By the use of silos fodder is canned very much as a housewife cans fruit or vegetables.

Concrete fulfils every requirement for a first-class silo, providing the added advantages of being absolutely fireproof and everlasting, possessed by silos built of no other material. For instruction in building silos, see Bulletin No. 21 of the Association of American Portland Cement Manufacturers, sent free on application.

Space does not permit us to go fully into the construction of a concrete silo and we can only give the requirements for a good silo, and show how concrete fills them all.

Silos must be air-tight. The admission of air causes the fodder to mould, and the stock will not eat it.

Air cannot leak through a concrete silo.

Silos must be water-tight. If they are not, the juices, so necessary to keep the fodder green, will leak out, and the fodder spoils.

Concrete, properly mixed, is water-tight.

Silos must be smooth on the inside. A silo with a rough inside surface, catches the cornstalks, and prevents proper packing.

Concrete can be made so smooth that many firms building silos of other materials finish the inside with a coat of cement and sand.

The fodder lasts better if kept at an even temperature. Concrete does not conduct heat or cold. It keeps the heat in the fodder in winter, and keeps the heat out of the fodder in summer. Nature provides the fodder with the proper amount of heat to preserve it perfectly.

Rats nesting in the silage ruin it.

Concrete is the greatest rat-proof material known.

In addition to these reasons, concrete silos are not attacked by the juices coming from the fodder. They do not rot by alternate wetting and drying.

Fire, that greatest of farm scourges, cannot destroy the crop if stored in a concrete silo. A farmer may rebuild a barn, but the crops lost through the burning of the building are lost forever.

Sanitary Water Supply

As the laws of health become better understood, greater precautions are taken to prevent sickness. For years all evidence has been pointing to drinking water as a common source of most diseases and the principal means of spreading sickness. Every well, spring and cistern, open to surface water or walled and covered with materials through which surface water can seep, is liable to contain disease germs. Concrete walls and covers are water-tight: they afford perfect protection for both man and beast.

How to Protect Wells

Many bored and dug wells, sunk years ago, afford such excellent water that their owners prefer to keep them. This is often made possible by the use of concrete. Remove the brick of the wall down to dense clay through which water will not run, usually not more than 6 feet. If the earthen wall stands firm, only one form, fitting inside the brick wall, is needed. Make this form of narrow flooring securely fastened on the inside to wagon tires or to curved wooden templates, and long enough to extend 2 feet below the point to which the brick are to be removed and 4 inches above the ground level. If the earthen wall shows signs of crumbling, before taking out the brick, dig back the ground to the necessary depth and use an outside form. Lower the forms into place and fill them with 1: 2: 4 concrete. In placing the concrete follow the directions given under UNDERGROUND CISTERNS, page 68.

The steel casing for driven well must end below the frost line so as to keep the underground connecting pipes from freezing. This construction exposes the house supply to the dangers of surface water. Concrete walls or housings are the only means of protection. Make the forms and build the housing according to the rules laid down for UNDERGROUND CISTERNS, pages 68-70. The housing shown in the photograph is 5 by 6 feet by 4 feet deep, sufficiently roomy for inspecting, adjusting and repairing pipe connections. The walls and floor are of 1: 2: 4 concrete 6 inches thick. One-half inch bolts project 2½ inches above the walls for fastening the wooden cover. A 4-inch removable cover of concrete, molded in two pieces, makes a more sanitary covering. The service pipes were laid in 4-inch drain tile slightly above the floor of the housing. A tile of the same size, laid on a grade, carries away all the leakage of the fittings. Two men built the housing in one day.

=Materials Required=
Screened gravel or crushed rock 3 cubic yards at $1.10 $3.30
Sand 1½ cubic yards at $1.00 1.50
Portland cement 5½ barrels at $2.50 13.75
------
$18.55

Well platforms are made like cistern covers (see page 69) except that they are not molded fixed in place, but loose and removable, so that the well can be cleaned at any time. Concrete well covers keep mice and frogs out of the well. Even scrub water cannot seep in.

Underground Cisterns and Cistern Platforms

Underground cisterns are useless if they leak. In dry weather they are empty, and at other times the ground water seeps in and makes the “soft” water as “hard” as that from the well. Concrete cisterns have no joints to leak: they are built in one solid piece.

In placing the cistern, select a site convenient to the principal down-spout and the kitchen. Do not forget to make allowance for 8-inch walls in laying out the plan. If the ground in which the pit is dug is sufficiently firm to stand alone, no outside form will be needed. Otherwise the hole must be dug large enough to receive an outside form built similar to the inside one. Make the inside form of 1-inch boards on 2 by 4-inch studding so that the siding will be toward the earth walls. Mix the concrete 1: 2: 4 and lay a 6-inch floor on the earth bottom. Immediately set the wall forms on all sides. In filling the wall space, be careful not to shovel the concrete against the earthen wall: dirt in concrete is liable to make a leaky wall.

After the concrete side walls have been brought to ground level, set a 5-inch board on edge around the outside of the cistern, so as to hold the concrete for the platform. Saw off the uprights of the inside form 6 inches below the finished top of the concrete cover, and nail 2 by 4-inch floor joists even with their tops. Floor the joists with 1-inch boards. Braces, to keep the wooden platform from sagging, may be placed down the middle of the cistern as shown in the drawing. To provide for a manhole opening, build a bottomless box 5 inches deep, 2 feet square at the top and 18 inches square at the bottom—outside measurements,—or have the tinsmith make a round bottomless tin form 5 inches deep, 2 feet in diameter at the top and 18 inches at the bottom, just like a large dishpan without a bottom.

Begin at one side of the platform, tamp in 1½ inches of concrete, and upon it lay heavy woven wire fencing. Allow the edges of the wire to extend within 1 inch of the outside lines of the platform. Bring the platform to its full thickness by immediately placing the remaining 3½ inches of concrete. Work rapidly and do not stop for any reason until the cistern cover is completed. As the work progresses, finish the surface with a wooden float. Grease the manhole frame and place it where the opening is desired. Strengthen the floor around the manhole opening by laying four short ½-inch iron rods, placed criss-cross, 2 inches from the bottom of the slab and the same distance back from the edges of the hole. If the tin form is used, the manhole cover may be cast at the same time as the remainder of the floor. Reinforce the cover with woven wire and also with four short lengths of ½-inch rods laid in the form of a square. Have on hand an old bridle bit or hitching post ring, which will serve as a lifting-ring for the concrete cover. In placing the ring in position, provide it with a knob of twisted wire, or with a nut and large washer, to fix it firmly in the concrete. If the wooden manhole form is used, carefully remove it after 5 hours. After 3 days build the manhole cover the same as for the tin form, with this important exception—place heavy paper, cardboard or leather around the edge of the opening to prevent the fresh concrete of the cover from sticking to it. Set bolts for a pump base according to directions given for GASOLINE ENGINE BASES, pp. 87, 88. The necessary openings for down spouts and for removing water may be made by embedding tile, of the proper diameter and length, in the concrete platform or side walls.

When the platform is two weeks old, remove the manhole cover, bore a hole in the wooden floor, saw an opening, descend and loosen the roof form, passing it out through the manhole.

If the cistern water is to be used for cooking and drinking, provide a filter on the outside of the cistern wall. Construct the filter similar to the cistern, of dimensions 4 by 3 feet and 4 feet deep. While building the cistern wall, lay an 8-inch tile through it, at the proper height to connect with an opening of the same size in the filter wall at its floor, and place a removable screen of ¼-inch mesh over the opening. Fill in 2 feet of coarse charcoal. Cover the charcoal with 1 foot of sand and gravel. Lead the water from the roof into the top of the filter. Cover the filter with a loose concrete slab.

Four men built a cistern 8 feet square and 8 feet deep, with a 6-inch floor and a 5-inch platform, in two days. The cistern holds 122 barrels of 31½ gallons.

=Materials Required=
Screened gravel or crushed rock 8 cubic yards at $1.10 $8.80
Sand 4 cubic yards at $1.00 4.00
Portland cement 13 barrels at $2.50 32.50
------
$45.30

“Soft” water is not only better for the bath, but also makes the washing easier and the clothes whiter. Mischievous children cannot remove concrete manhole covers.

Making Spring Water Sanitary

To the planter and stockman, a flowing spring is worth a great deal of money. Properly cared for, it will afford cold, sweet water for the house, the dairy, and the watering tanks. Improperly protected, it is not merely a mud hole, a nuisance to the milker of dairy cows, but is too frequently the cause of disease.

To improve a spring, first open up the channel and drain out all the water possible. Clean out the spring so as to increase its flow. Lay the necessary feed pipes to the house and barn. Wall up the well of the spring with concrete blocks, laid without mortar to a point just above the in-flow streams of the spring. Complete the walls with blocks laid in 1: 2 cement-sand mortar, or, using wooden forms, with a 6-inch solid wall of 1: 2: 4 concrete. Carry these walls high enough to keep surface water out of the spring well. If the spring is to be used as a drinking tank for stock, make the walls equal to the usual depth of such tanks. (See WATERING TROUGHS AND TANKS, page 74.) Lay a 4-inch floor of 1: 2½: 5 concrete (on a drainage foundation) 10 feet around the field spring on all sides.

At the edges of the floor, turn down a concrete “apron” or foundation, 2 feet into the ground, the same as for FEEDING FLOORS, page 43. This prevents the frost from getting under the floor and cracking it.

Make provision for the over-flow at a point where it can be carried to the stream by a gutter in the floor, or by a drain tile under it.

With such improvement, since there is no mud, the stock cannot mire and the udders of the dairy cows are always clean.

To keep rats and rabbits out of springs from which the water is drawn for house use, provide a concrete cover like that described for UNDERGROUND CISTERNS, page 69. For small springs this cover is often made removable as shown in the photograph on page 73.

New Style Cistern Built on Top of Ground

The photograph shows a cistern, 6 by 6 by 12 feet, inside dimensions, with 8-inch walls, 6-inch floor, and 4-inch roof.

Dig a pit 12 inches deep, and of the size of cistern desired. Cover the bottom with a well tamped fill of gravel to a depth of 6 inches. Mix concrete 1: 2: 4 and place it to a depth of 2 inches over the surface of the fill. On top of this lay sections of heavy woven wire fencing. This wire should be laid in such a way as to extend 6 inches beyond the outside edge of foundation—the ends being bent up, so as to stand upright, 3 inches back from the edge of the concrete flooring already placed. Immediately lay the remaining 4 inches of concrete floor. Give the surface a finish with a wooden float to within 6 inches of edges.

Without delay, set the forms, made up in the required sections, resting the inside form on the concrete floor and the outside form on the ground. Place the inside form first. After setting the inside form, place woven fence wire, supporting it against the inside form by means of staples driven lightly into the form and holding the wire 4 inches away from it. Care should be taken in placing the concrete that the wire is kept near the outside of the concrete wall. This reinforcement is carried 1 foot beyond top of wall. The projecting wire mesh will later be used to tie the concrete roof to the side walls. The timber required for the forms will be 1-inch siding and 2 by 4 uprights, spaced every 18 inches.

In placing the concrete in the forms, it will be easier to leave off the two top feet of planking of outside form until the concrete reaches its level. Then add this planking and fill the two top feet. The concrete will probably have to be passed up to a man on top by means of buckets.

The luxury of soft water for the bath, and its advantages for laundry purposes, are understood better by farmers than by their city cousins. Cisterns were originally built in the ground, but a thinking farmer used concrete to build a cistern on top of the ground, no doubt taking the idea from the old-fashioned rain barrel. While it requires more forms and more reinforcement than a cistern built in the ground, yet the large cost of digging a deep hole is saved. As the water is piped to the house, direct water pressure is provided, thereby giving the farm-house all the advantages of a city water system.

Build a wooden platform inside the cistern, in the same manner as directed in UNDERGROUND CISTERNS, page 69. The materials required for the concrete are 10 yards of crushed rock or screened gravel, 5 yards of sand, and 17 barrels of Portland cement.

Watering Troughs and Tanks

All thrifty farmers are building their tanks and troughs of concrete. Such troughs never rot, rust, or leak.

By using concrete, tanks of any size and shape can be made.

Watering Tank for Horses and Cattle

Most stockmen prefer to build their watering tanks oblong in shape. Having decided upon the size, locate the tank in a handy, well drained, wind-sheltered place.

To build a tank like the one shown in the picture, lay out the trough 5 by 16 feet. Make an excavation for a drainage foundation as directed under SIDEWALKS, page 29. Around the outside dig a 10-inch trench 2 feet 6 inches deep. Lay all in-flow and over-flow pipes (not less than 1½ inches in diameter) so that the ends, fitted for connections, will be even with the finished bottom of the tank.

Build the forms and have the necessary reinforcing on hand before mixing any concrete. The tank is 5 by 16 feet by 2½ feet deep with an 8-inch bottom. The walls are 5 inches thick at the top and 10 inches at the bottom. (The sloping face allows the ice to slip up the sides instead of pushing directly against them.) Consequently the inside forms at the bottom are 5 inches shorter at each end than at the top.

The forms are nothing more than shell boxes made from odd lengths of 1-inch siding nailed to 2 by 4-inch studding spaced not more than 2 feet apart. The sides of the forms may be made separate and put together in place; or, if there is sufficient help, each form may be entirely completed and set up as one piece. The forms are held in position by 2 by 4-inch liners at top and bottom, and if necessary by sloping braces nailed to stakes driven in the ground. Cut strips of heavy woven wire fencing sufficiently long to cover the bottom and to project up into the walls.

With the forms ready, mix a batch of 1: 2: 4 concrete. Beginning at one end, fill the trench, and upon the gravel foundation place a 2-inch layer of concrete in width slightly greater than a width of wire. Upon this concrete lay a section of wire. Tamp in the remaining 6 inches of concrete and bring up the extra length of the wire so that the ends will project up into the future side walls. Continue laying the concrete in sections until the bottom is completed. Finish the surface with a wooden float.

Immediately set the wall forms in place, and set them level by using a carpenter’s level. Fill the wall space with concrete. Half way up the side and 1 inch from the outside, lay a ½-inch iron rod entirely around the tank. Again 2 inches from the top, and 1 inch from both inner and outer edges, lay two rods of the same size. If a tank cover is desired, set bolts in the concrete as directed under CORN CRIB FLOORS, page 53.

To prevent mud holes, surround the tank with a concrete floor. (See FEEDING FLOORS, page 43.) Protect the green tank from drying out according to instructions under SIDEWALKS, pages 28-34.

=Materials Required=
Crushed rock or screened gravel 7 cubic yards at $1.10 $7.70
Sand 3½ cubic yards at 1.00 3.50
Portland cement 11½ barrels at 2.50 28.75
------
$39.95

Watering Troughs for Hogs

Troughs for hogs are built in two styles—wedge-shaped, like the feed trough shown on page 49, or like troughs for cattle except smaller. Use short lengths of 1-inch pipe crosswise to keep the hogs out of the trough. Set bolts, properly spaced, in the soft concrete sides, so that the pipes will fit between them and can be held firm by a strap iron over the bolts.

Dipping Vats and Tanks

The younger generation have no remembrance of the epidemic of Texas or southern fever which swept over the country about forty years ago, killed thousands of cattle, and left hundreds of bankrupt farmers and ranchmen in its wake. Government experts found that this deadly disease is caused by ticks, which infest cattle in certain localities. They also discovered that the fever can be prevented by dipping the animals in chemical solutions.[2]

[2] For free bulletins on dipping write the Agricultural Department, Bureau of Animal Industry, Washington, D. C.

Dipping cures not only Texas (known as “splenetic”) fever, but also the lip and leg disease, mange, and scab or scabies of both sheep and cattle. Certain solutions free horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs of lice, mites, fleas, and flies. The only method of applying these chemicals, surely and thoroughly to all parts of the animal, is by giving him a plunge in a tank containing the healing liquid. Since the dip is the most costly part of the process, and since it must be applied once or twice every year, some permanent form of tank is needed—one that will not rot or rust out, leak or heave in during winter. Concrete vats, built ten years ago, without one cent’s worth of repair, are still as good as new and are still giving entire satisfaction.

There are four important points to be considered in the building of a dipping tank:

First—An entering slide, steep enough to shoot the
animal in, without a direct drop. A direct drop, the
entire depth of the tank, is likely to injure the
animal.

Second—The tank must be narrow enough to prevent
the animal turning around when once in, long enough
to keep him in from one to two minutes, and deep
enough not only to make him swim, but also that he
may disappear entirely when he takes the plunge.

Third—The slope at the leaving end must be gentle
and the footing roughened or cleated so that the
animal may easily scramble to the dripping pens.

Fourth—As the liquid dip is the most expensive
part of dipping, there must be provided two dripping
pens draining back into the tank.

Select a well drained site convenient for a chute leading from a small, well-fenced lot or corral. At the narrow end of the chute and in line with it lay out the dipping tank with the entering slide next to the chute.

Often the chute is built on a curve, so that the animals cannot see where they are going.

They are generally constructed with a hump in the floor. This prevents the animal from jumping into the dip, and gives the necessary length to the slide, without increasing the depth of the tank. Choose the proper dimensions from the diagrams and table according to whether the tank is to be used for horses, cattle, sheep, or hogs.

The lengths given will keep the animal in the tank one minute, usually a sufficient time to cure mild forms of disease. Where a longer treatment is desired, most ranchmen, instead of building tanks of greater length, provide a drop gate working in a groove, as shown in the photograph, by means of which the animal is kept in the tank as long as necessary. Likewise, rather than build a separate tank for sheep and hogs, stockmen insert a temporary division fence, running the full length and depth of the cattle and horse tank. This fence should be solid and so spaced as to prevent hogs and sheep from turning around in the tank. In this way a single dipping tank may be used for horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs.

Dig the deep part of the hole first, and then slope the earth for the slide and climb. Lay the outlet drain pipe so that the top of the elbow bend will be even with the surface of the finished concrete bottom. Tamp back the dirt thoroughly about the drain tile before placing concrete.

The side walls only will require forms. If the banks stand firm, inside forms alone will be needed. Make these of 1-inch boards on 2 by 4-inch uprights. Steel reinforcing, preferably wire cloth or hog wire, is placed in the forms so that it will be embedded in the center of the concrete wall. Floor, sides, and ends should all be thus reinforced to prevent settlement cracks due to any settlement of earth foundations. Mix the concrete 1: 2: 4 and lay the floor and slopes directly on the solid earth. No fill is necessary. The concrete for the sloping ends should be mixed fairly dry so that it will tamp well and stay in position without the use of forms. With the bottom and slopes built, lower the side wall forms into the pit. Take care to jar no dirt upon the concrete already placed. Space the forms properly and cross-brace them firmly upon each other. Fill the wall space with concrete.

In placing this concrete, be sure that it strikes the wood form instead of the earthen side, as concrete mixed with earth makes a weak, leaky wall. Carry the walls 6 inches above the surrounding ground to prevent flood water from running into the tank.

The entrance slope should be smooth to slide the animals into the tank without skinning them up. Finish this surface with a wooden float and steel trowel. Some ranchmen prefer to cover the entire slide with a polished steel plate, the edges of which are sunk into the concrete when the slide is built. To aid the animals in climbing out, embed in the concrete the turned-up ends of iron cleats bent at right angles similar to a capital “U.” Old wagon tires, cut in lengths not greater than 20 inches and turned up 4 inches at each end, will do. Leave 1 inch clearance between the flat surface of the cleats and the concrete. Space the cleats 18 inches for horses and cattle and 10 inches for sheep and hogs.

At the leaving end of the tank, lay out the two dripping pens with their division fence on a line with the center line of the tank, so that a gate hung to this fence may close either pen, when it is full, and allow the animals from the tank to pass to the empty pen. Use concrete posts for the fences, as they will require no replacing. Excavate for the drainage foundation, set the posts, and build a 6-inch concrete floor according to the directions given under SIDEWALKS, page 28, and FEEDING FLOORS, page 43. Slope the floors, ¼ inch to each foot in length or width, so that the dip running off the animals will be saved and returned to the tank. Corrugate or groove the floor to the depth of ½ inch, every 8 inches, in one direction. During the construction of the floor, mold around the outside a concrete curb, commonly called a splashboard, 6 inches above the floor and 4 inches wide. Where the dip from the floor empties into the tank, place a removable wire screen or strainer to keep the droppings and wool tags out of the vat. Cure the floors and slopes according to directions under FEEDING FLOORS, page 43. The wall forms may be removed after one week, but the tank should not be used until it is three weeks old.

DIMENSIONS OF GROUND PIT FOR DIPPING TANKS
-------+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+------+-----+
Kind | W | N | D | L | E | B | A | I |
-------+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+------+-----+
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Horses |5′ 10″|3′ 4″|8′ 8″|55′ 0″|7′ 6″|31′ 0″|16′ 6″|8′ 8″|
Cattle |5′ 4″|3′ 4″|7′ 8″|51′ 0″|6′ 8″|31′ 0″|13′ 4″|7′ 8″|
Sheep |3′ 4″|2′ 4″|5′ 8″|46′ 0″|5′ 0″|31′ 0″|10′ 0″|5′ 8″|
Hogs |3′ 4″|2′ 4″|5′ 8″|36′ 0″|5′ 0″|21′ 0″|10′ 0″|5′ 8″|
-------+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+------+-----+
-------+------+-----+---------+----------+----------
Kind | O | T | Cement | Sand | Rock
-------+------+-----+---------+----------+----------
| | | Barrels | Cu. yds. | Cu. yds.
Horses |18′ 7″|0′ 8″| 38 | 11 | 22
Cattle |15′ 4″|0′ 8″| 36 | 10½ | 21
Sheep |11′ 6″|0′ 8″| 22 | 6½ | 13
Hogs |11′ 6″|0′ 8″| 19 | 5½ | 11
-------+------+-----+---------+----------+----------

At first state and federal authorities had to force ranchmen to dip, but so beneficial has it proved that compulsion is now seldom necessary. Experienced cattle-men have found by actual tests that dipping increases the market value of their steers $5 per head. The cost of dipping on the farm is only 1½ to 3 cents per head—in the stock yards the charge is 15 to 20 cents. One large ranchman, who lost 28 per cent. of his herd (several thousand) in one winter with the mange, found his first trial of dipping so effective in curing this disease that the following winter he did not lose a single steer. The use of dips has become so general in the South and West that the Government has raised the quarantine in most sections.

The Construction of a Concrete Milk Vat

Dig a pit to a depth of 1 foot 6 inches and place wooden forms in such a way as to provide for tank walls 6 inches thick and 1 foot 8 inches in height. This will bring the walls only 8 inches above ground level—which makes it easy to lift the milk cans in and out.

Use a wet mixture of concrete, of proportions 1: 2: 4. Place as described on page 74; and be sure to build walls and floor at the same time. The floor should be 6 inches thick.

The vat described has a partition 6 inches thick, dividing the tank into two chambers, each chamber being 6 feet 9 inches long. An iron grating is placed in the bottom of the tank to allow free circulation of cooling water around and under the milk cans. Arrangements must be made for inlets and outlets. The inlet pipe can be simply placed above one end of tank.

The pipe rail at back of tank provides a convenient purchase when lifting heavy cans from the tank.

A hole must be provided at the other end of tank, in the bottom, and connecting, by an iron pipe, with the drain tile. Into this hole a removable upright iron pipe is fitted, the length of pipe depending on the depth of water desired for the cans. This allows the water to come only to the top of the pipe and provides an over-flow outlet at the proper height. The pipe must fit tightly into the hole.

Time required to build:—one day with three men on the job.

Approximate cost, at current prices of materials and including labor, $16.00.

The materials required are 2 cubic yards of crushed rock or screened gravel, 1 cubic yard of sand, and 5 barrels of Portland cement.

Small Farm Buildings

Numerous small structures are required on the farm. Dog kennels, tool houses, coal houses, ice houses, hydraulic ram houses, smoke houses, acetylene gas plant houses, gasoline storage houses, milk houses and many similar buildings are a necessity on every well improved farm. Such structures are all of simple design and can be easily built of concrete.

When once constructed of this material durability and freedom from fire are assured. For such buildings as milk houses built of concrete instead of wood, there is the added advantage of cleanliness. Modern dairying demands absolute cleanliness. Concrete meets this demand.

Milk Houses

Milk splashed on wooden walls soaks in, causing a very disagreeable odor likely to taint milk stored in the vat. Concrete does not absorb milk splashed on it. Such walls can be kept free from tainting odors by simply washing them down. In concrete dairy houses, with concrete vats, the milk will keep sweet longer than in houses built of any other material. Dairy experts all admit that no other material can take the place of concrete for such purposes.

The illustration shows a simple form of milk house with walls, floor and vat, all of concrete. This house is 16 feet long, 10 feet wide and 8 feet high with a rise to the roof peak of 5 feet.

LOCATION

The milk house should be located near the barn and convenient to a clean water supply. Care must be taken to provide for the outflow of the water from the vat. This can be done by leading a line of pipe from the vat to a discharge point at a lower level or to the drinking troughs for the stock.

Often the water from a flowing spring can be piped several hundred feet to the house, providing an excellent means of keeping the milk cool and sweet.

FOUNDATION

To build such a milk house as shown, dig a trench for the foundation 3 feet deep and 12 inches wide. Fill the trench to the ground level with 1: 2½: 5 concrete. The foundation should be laid out in such a way as to extend 3 inches beyond the inside and 3 inches beyond the outside of the walls of the house.

WALLS

As soon as the concrete foundation has become hard enough to support them, erect the wall forms. These forms consist of 1-inch siding nailed to 2 by 4-inch studding. The studs should be spaced 2 feet apart and the 1-inch sheathing is nailed to the sides of the studding toward the concrete. For small buildings it is often easier to build an entire wall form flat on the ground and then raise it into position. The bottoms of the studs rest on the concrete foundation and are held in position by strips nailed to them and extending to stakes driven firmly into the ground. The distance the inside and outside forms are spaced apart depends upon the thickness of wall desired. Sloping braces leading from the studs to the ground keep the side forms from bulging and cross-cleats nailed at the top keep the inside and outside forms the correct distance apart. Bulging of forms can also be prevented by wiring them together as shown on page 23. On page 22 is a description of the general method of building forms. Especial care must be taken to hold the forms in position while placing the concrete. The studs in the side wall forms for this house should be cut off at the height of the walls. With the wall forms secured in position fill them with concrete.

DOORS AND WINDOWS

A space must be left in the walls for the doors and windows. This is done by placing between the wall forms, frames or boxes without top or bottom made of 1-inch boards. When the wall form has been filled to the level of the bottom of the opening a frame, the size and shape of the opening desired is secured firmly in place and the concrete poured around it. After the wall reaches a level 2 inches above the frame lay in the fresh concrete two ½-inch iron bars. These pieces should be long enough to extend 8 inches beyond each side of the frame. A piece of old wagon tire can be used instead.

The sill shown in the sketch can be molded by building a small box extending out from the side form. The concrete should be placed for the sill at the same time that the wall is being built. For buildings such as we have mentioned a sill is unnecessary.

FINISHING TOP OF WALL

When the side walls have been built to the top and before the concrete has set, shove ½-inch bolts 18 inches long down into it. Space these bolts 24 inches apart, 9 inches of the length being in the concrete. The end wall forms extend above the plates to the peak of the roof, and are filled to the top. While placing the concrete in the walls it should be continually spaded as described on page 25.

BUILDING THE ROOF

The roof is built by nailing 2 by 4 rafters to the inside studs of the side wall forms, on a line 1 inch lower than the bottom of the roof. The rafters are given the pitch desired for the roof, and are securely fastened where they meet at the ridge. To stiffen the roof form until the concrete has become hard tie the opposite rafters together at the bottom (with a 1-inch strip) in the form of a capital “A.” One-inch boards are nailed on the rafters. The cornice shown in the sketch extending beyond the wall can be easily built by nailing a board the width of the cornice to the tops of the outside studs of both side and end walls. To hold the concrete in place as the roof is being built nail a 5-inch upright strip along the outside edge of this board. Bend the bolts projecting above the walls down to within 1 inch of the roof boards. Spread a layer of heavy woven wire fencing over the entire roof, allowing it to extend to the outside of the cornice. Wire the fencing securely to the bent bolts. Place two ½-inch steel rods near the outside of the cornice all the way around the roof, and fasten these securely to the woven wire fencing. The roof should be made 3 inches thick and the stone used for the concrete should not be larger than ½ inch.

Mix the concrete fairly stiff and start placing it at the cornice, working toward the ridge. Spread the concrete out in a thin layer and then lift the woven wire fencing and the two rods in the cornice so that the concrete is 1 inch thick below the wire. Cover the rods and wire with more concrete to a depth of 2 inches. When finished the roof will then be 3 inches thick, 1 inch below the wire and 2 inches over it. Always work from the low edge of the roof and finish to the complete depth of 3 inches at once. Imbed a width of woven wire fencing lengthwise over the ridge of the roof 1 inch beneath the surface. The work must be carried on without interruption. The concrete must not be allowed to dry along an unfinished edge, as there is danger of a leak where fresh concrete is joined to that already hard. Tamp the concrete until moisture comes to the surface and smooth off the top of the roof with a wooden float and steel trowel.

The forms must be left in place for at least a week and the concrete in the roof must be protected from the sun and wind while it is hardening. A method for doing this is described on page 26 under SIDEWALKS.

FLOOR

When the forms have been removed from the walls and roof the floor can be laid. Excavate the ground to a depth of 4 inches below the finished floor level. Mix and lay the concrete as described on page 31.

The concrete milk vat should be built at the same time and as a part of the floor. See description on page 82.

ENGINE BASE

Engines, cream separators, pumps and other pieces of machinery require solid bases. These bases must be permanent, and free from any vibration. A base constructed of concrete possesses these advantages.

To form a base for the support of a small engine, first excavate a pit 2 feet 4 inches deep, and 1 foot larger both in length and width than the dimensions of the engine base. Fill the pit with a mixture of concrete, (1: 2½: 5), and then construct a form which will carry the concrete to a height 4 inches above the floor level or to the height desired.

Bolts should be set in the concrete before it dries, these being sufficiently long to bend 4 inches at right angles, and to extend 1 foot deep into the concrete, with bent end down. They should be placed with the upright part surrounded by gas pipe of twice the diameter of the bolt, and of a length sufficient to come flush with the surface of the concrete. The open space formed around the bolt by the pipe will allow for slight errors in locating bolts, so as to meet the holes in the engine base.

Keep the concrete wet for 24 hours after placing, by sprinkling. After six days, set the engine, adjust the bolts, and fill the spaces around the bolts with cement mortar, mixed 1 part cement, 1 part sand. Do not use the engine until the concrete base is at least two weeks old.

A concrete base adds years of service to the life of a gasoline engine or cream separator.

METHOD APPLIES TO ALL BUILDINGS

The method just described for building a milk house applies equally well to any of the small houses mentioned above. It is not always necessary to build a peaked roof; sometimes a flat roof will answer the purpose; but the general method in all cases is the same. The drawings show in detail the way a door can be built and framed and also how the windows can be made to slide up and down.

ADVANTAGES OF CONCRETE

Concrete alone possesses the necessary fireproof qualities for such buildings as smoke houses, where there is always great danger from fire.

Oil lamps are becoming a thing of the past on modern farms. Acetylene and gasoline plants furnish a better and safer light. These plants are built either above or below ground. In either case concrete is the ideal material, since it is both fire and waterproof.

The durability of concrete is particularly valuable for such buildings as hydraulic ram houses, which must always be located near streams, and ice houses, where there is always moisture. Wood quickly rots, but moisture has no effect on concrete.

For tool houses, coal houses, and buildings subjected to rough usage, nothing equals concrete.

Concrete, for small buildings, meets the three great demands of the farmer—cleanliness, freedom from fire, and durability.

Concrete Cellar Steps and Hatchway

Cellarways are particularly liable to leak and cause a damp cellar. This cannot happen if they are made of concrete. There are no cracks through which the water can come. Wooden steps last no time, particularly where heavy barrels and similar weighty loads are taken up and down. As wooden or brick areaways are always damp, the steps rot quickly, thus requiring constant renewal. Few things are more dangerous to limb, and even to life, than a step giving way under the weight of a heavy barrel which is being carried into the cellar.

Concrete steps are safe under any load.

Owing to the fact that concrete can be molded into any desired shape, it is particularly desirable for this purpose. Some people like steps with a low rise and a particularly wide tread, while others prefer a high rise and narrow tread. Concrete can easily be fitted to either. The determining feature is usually the space to be occupied. The door into the cellar limits the depth to which the steps are taken, and therefore the height of the risers; while the room the cellarway is to take outside the line of the wall determines the width of the tread. If possible, the rise of each step should be from 6 to 8 inches, while the width of the tread should be from 9 to 12 inches.

_Note_: See page 112 for Window Hatchway.