Part 7

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.

In erecting, first excavate the hole to the width of steps desired, plus one foot. This allows for a 6-inch wall on either side. Slope the ground from 1 foot back of where the top step is to come to 1 foot back of where the bottom step will be. To form the steps, saw out a board just as you would a “horse” for steps, and nail planks where the risers come, holding the two “horses” the proper distance apart. This is placed upside down, resting on the top and bottom, with the edge of the top and bottom rise where the bottom and top steps are to come. Fill this form and the space back of it with 1: 2: 4 concrete, starting with the bottom step, and continuing upward to the top, bringing the concrete in each step to the top of rise. Side forms for the 6-inch walls may now be placed, braced apart in the center properly, and resting on the back of the horses. These can be carried to any height desired to give the hatchway doors a proper slope for shedding rain and snow. Forms will have to be built on the outside of these walls above the ground line to hold the concrete in place. Before the concrete sets in the side walls, bolts should be placed, with heads in the concrete, by means of which wooden sills are fixed to the walls for fastening the cellar doors by strap hinges. If the bottom step does not come to the wall line, the flat landing in the bottom should be covered with a 5-inch thickness of concrete. Here is a convenient place to locate a drain, to carry off the water used in sluicing down the steps, and any which may leak through the cellar doors.

The cellar hatchway shown in the photograph and in the drawing is 5 feet wide, built according to directions above. The side walls at the cellar are 7 feet high and 10 feet long. The slope for the cellar doors is 2 feet 4 inches. There are 7 steps of 8-inch rise and 10-inch tread and a landing 3 feet 2 inches wide. Two men built this hatchway in 1½ days.

=Materials Required= Crushed rock or screened gravel 2¼ cubic yards at $1.10 $2.48 Sand 1⅛ cubic yards at $1.00 1.13 Portland cement 3¾ barrels at $2.50 9.37 ------ $12.98

Root Cellars of Concrete

The increasing use of roots, as winter feed for animals, has brought about the construction of root cellars as a means of preserving this valuable food. A root cellar must be sufficiently warm and dry to keep roots from freezing or rotting. By building the cellar below ground the warmth is greatly increased. To do this, however, a material must be employed which is moisture-proof and which will not rot. For these reasons use concrete.

The cellar shown in the illustration on page 91 extends 5 feet below, and 2 feet above ground level. The walls are 5 inches thick, and are made of concrete proportioned 1: 2: 4.

Choose a well drained site, and dig a pit in the earth to the desired depth and with an entrance-way so sloped as to make provision for concrete steps, which will have a rise of 7 inches and a tread of 10 inches.

Build a floor of the same thickness as the walls. Set inside box form and fill the space between this form and the earthen side walls with the wet concrete, the same as for UNDERGROUND CISTERNS, page 68.

Above the ground level an outside form must be used. The roof is built in the way described on page 86 except the thickness is increased to 5 inches.

Ventilators are provided in the roof, by imbedding lengths of sewer pipe in the concrete. Add galvanized tin hoods to keep out the rain.

By referring to page 90, there will be found a description of how to build a hatchway and steps.

Immediately after the side wall forms have been erected, the door frame should be set in its required position, before placing concrete.

Similar structures are also used as bee, vegetable, fruit and cyclone cellars. Concrete cellars are great favorites with growers of apples, potatoes and cabbage. By adjusting the ventilator openings, the temperature can always be kept at just the right point. Moreover, since rats and mice cannot gain an entrance to a concrete root cellar, there is no waste causing decay, and the vegetables keep better.

In cold climates bees must be warmly housed in winter, lest they freeze to death. By no other means than underground cellars can they be safely brought through the winter. The bee cellar must be dry, in order that the bees stay in good health. In no way, can there be provided so even a temperature or so dry an atmosphere, as by the use of concrete. Bees kept in concrete cellars come through the winter in perfect condition.

=Materials Required= Crushed rock or screened gravel 11 cubic yards at $1.10 $12.10 Sand 5½ cubic yards at $1.00 5.50 Portland cement 15 barrels at $2.50 37.50 ------ $55.10

Poultry Houses

The high price of all foods has made poultry raising profitable. But to have laying hens they must be carefully tended. Their houses must be clean, and free from draughts. Young chickens must be protected from rats, skunks and foxes.

Concrete houses fill every requirement of an ideal poultry house. To clean a house of concrete, spray it with oil and burn it out. Concrete is fireproof. Rats cannot gnaw through a concrete floor or sidewalk. In a concrete house there are no cracks through which the snow can sift, or in which lice and bedbugs can hide.

Locate the poultry house where there is plenty of sunlight and where the concrete poultry yard (see FEEDING FLOORS, page 43) may be wind protected. Build the house as directed under SMALL BUILDINGS, page 82. As the walls are being placed, insert short pieces of gas pipe at convenient heights to support the shelves for the nests (one style of nest shown on page 94) and the rails for the roosts. If desired, a one-way-slope concrete roof may be made.

Make the floor on an 8-inch fill of gravel, or of slabs built on a smooth floor and later set in place. Lay heavy wire fencing in the concrete slab 1 inch from the under side.

Poultry Watering Troughs

To rid the farm of cholera and roup, nothing aids more than concrete drinking troughs. Occasionally scrub the troughs, spray them with oil and burn them out.