Part 4

The same idea may be carried out on the sides of all kinds of buildings, and especially farm and poultry buildings, at a less expense than clapboards and shingles. Parine Paint, which is made especially for Paroid Roofing, is a dark brown and produces very neat results. Paroid one-ply is the best weight for the sides and we would recommend two-ply for the roof.

This dairy barn is spread out extensively, instead of being built up into the air, the front being eighty feet long by twenty-six feet wide, and there being two wings twenty feet wide extending forward thirty-two feet, enclosing three sides of a quadrangle. A dairy room is set out in rear of the end containing the pens and yards for the bulls, and is connected with the cow stable by a covered walk; this semi-detached dairy room avoids having the stable odors contaminating the milk, and aids to cleanliness of dairy utensils by ample equipment for washing and refrigerating.

The second floor of the main building is utilized for hay and grain storage, and in one end are rooms for the stablemen, including a bath-room; this latter is a most important adjunct of a good dairy stable, it having been demonstrated that facilities for cleanness promotes cleanness, and absolute cleanness of men, animals, and all utensils is demanded in the up-to-date dairy.

A SUBURBAN STABLE

The smaller stable, designed for a modest suburban residence, or country summer home, gives space for a pair of horses and three or four cows. It is planned to be built fifty-three feet long by thirty-three feet wide, the end being planned to be the front, with a drive-way onto the main floor in the front. The hay is pitched into the storage loft through a trap-door in the ceiling, or, as some might prefer, a hay-door could be set in place of the window over the drive-way doors. The dormer windows and ornamental cupola combine with the copper sheathing effect of the Paroid-covered roof to make a most attractive stable building and at comparatively moderate cost. If it was desired this plan could be altered to give a more roomy hay-loft by adding either two or three feet to the length of the posts, and correspondingly flattening the roof, carrying the dormers very nearly out to the eaves. The added height of the posts could be added to the height of the stable, keeping the roofs as steep as at present, if preferred, but it is one of the many advantages of Paroid covering for a roof that the roof need have but slight pitch, when a shallow pitch is desired. The ground plan can be arranged differently; an improvement might be to place the harness room where a calf-pen is indicated, making the space gained into a clothes and wash-room for the stableman.

A PLANK-FRAME BARN

The plank-frame barn has been very popular in several sections of the country; the considerable saving in lumber and ease of building recommending it to practical men. Less men and time are required to build one of these barns; they are stronger, the excellent “bracing” of the frame making them effective to stand the pressure of hay and grain within or strong winds without.

In some sections a solid frame foundation is used, in Maine the entire structure is of plank; the barns are built either with or without basement, according to the taste of the owner. A good, firmly built stone and cement foundation is advisable; with this foundation to rest the plank upon the frame is raised. Do not be sparing of spikes, they are an essential feature.

No sills are used, and the upright studs take the place of posts. Two for each post are set on the foundation on each side, between these is placed and spiked the cross-plank, which extends the width of the barn and ties the two sides together. The scantlings on each side of barn floor, forming center posts, are then raised and spiked in place. Upon outside of each upright is spiked a plank of same size as, and parallel with, the first cross-plank; this gives three 2 × 8’s for cross sills through center of barn, each joint or band being fixed in this way. End joints, using boards instead of plank on outside, give the bedwork of the barn. At the sides, between uprights in place of sill, a plank is firmly spiked; this holds the uprights firmly in place and prevents working sideways, while the thoroughly spiked cross planks prevent all movement in other directions.

Some barns are boarded diagonally, some horizontally; both methods give excellent satisfaction. Many of these barns are built with a hip-roof, as in the illustration given, and these give a great amount of storage room in the loft. The steeper single-slope roof gives equally good results, looks well, and is a little more economical to build.

Paroid on roof and sides make it wind and waterproof.

A PRACTICAL SHEEP SHED

(FROM A WISCONSIN FARM-INSTITUTE BULLETIN)

It is in the nature of sheep to dislike dampness. In the pasture they will fold at night always on the high and dry elevations. In selecting the site of a sheep shed these facts should determine the choice of a site that is drained and dry throughout the year. Dryness is one of the essentials of a good foundation for a healthy shed; second only to this in importance is the ventilation. Warm, close sheds mean the downfall of the sheep that are folded in them. A sheep is warm in body, as its blood temperature is high, and then the nature of the fleece is such as to be very retentive of the body’s heat. The cause of most failures to keep sheep profitably has been from housing them in warm, close buildings.

Closely connected with the question of ventilation is the size of the shed. The amount of room required by a sheep will vary considerably, ranging from ten square feet for the Merino and Southdown to fifteen square feet for the larger breeds, including the Cotswolds and larger Downs. It is not advisable to crowd breeding ewes into a small area. The crowding is most injurious when it results from restricted room at the feeding rack and when it occurs through narrow doors. A breeding ewe weighing one hundred and fifty pounds will require fully one and one-quarter feet of space at the fodder rack.

A desirable attribute of a shed is the entrance of sunlight; this particularly encourages the growth of the lambs, and it is to them that the shed will do the most good. To further the entrance of sunlight the windows should be higher than they are wide, which will materially assist in diffusing the rays over the greatest amount of inside space. In addition to these a shed should be large enough to supply storage space for sufficient fodder to feed the sheep while they must be sheltered. Estimating that a ton of hay requires five hundred cubic feet, and that a sheep will not eat over three pounds of hay per day, it would require about one hundred and twenty-five cubic feet of space to contain the hay needed to maintain a sheep during six months. There should also be room available for a root cellar and for the storage of straw.

The plan here given is of a building forty feet wide and sixty feet long. It has two stories, the first being nine feet high and the second six feet from the floor to the eaves. It is advisable to make the height of the lower story nine feet to secure the best results in ventilation. The sills are six by eight inches, resting preferably on stone foundation, and if set on posts they should be heavier. The ground both on the inside and outside should come close to the sills, so that no obstruction is offered by the sills to the free passage of the sheep through the doors. The doors are all four feet wide, and those that are used by the sheep should be sliding; the windows are three feet wide and four and one-half feet high. In the center of the sheep apartment there are double doors ten feet wide. When both are opened and the center post removed a wagon can be driven through to remove the manure from the pens.

The arrangement of the lower floor has been adjusted so as to give the sheep the smallest amount of space and yet have easily accessible feed racks that would give sufficient room to the sheep for feeding. The feed racks are all permanent, as there is no necessity for their removal, and they form a wall for the passage way which runs through the center. In this way it is easy to put hay in them, and it is very easy to put grain into the troughs in front of them. As will be seen in the ground plan there are two chutes at each end, down which the hay is thrown from the loft. From where it falls it is easily distributed into all the racks.

HOG HOUSES

(ADAPTED FROM BULLETIN NO. 109. ILLINOIS EXPERIMENT STATION.)

_Individual Houses._—Individual hog houses, or “cots,” as they are sometimes called, are built in many different ways. Some are built with four upright walls and a shed roof, each of which (the walls and roof) being a separate piece can easily be taken down and replaced, making the moving of these small houses to another location an easy matter. Others are built with two sides sloping in towards the top so as to form the roof, as shown in Fig. 68. These are built on skids and when necessary can be moved as a whole by being drawn by a horse. They are built in several different styles: some have a window in the front end above the door, while all may have a small door in the rear end, near the apex, for ventilating purposes. These houses are built in different sizes; indeed, there are about as many different forms of cots as there are individuals using them.

The arguments in favor of this type of house for swine are that each sow at farrowing time may be kept alone and away from all disturbance; that each litter of pigs may be kept and fed by itself, consequently there will not be too large a number of pigs in a common lot; that these houses may be placed at the farther end of the feed lot, thus compelling the sow and pigs to take exercise, especially in winter, when they come to the feed trough at the front end of the lot; that the danger of spreading disease among a herd is at a minimum; and in case the place occupied by the cot becomes unsanitary it may be removed to a clean location.

_Large Houses._—Individual hog houses have certain advantages in their favor, and large houses, if properly planned and built, have many points of advantage; among them being good sanitation, serviceability, safety in farrowing, ease in handling hogs, and large pastures involving little expense for fences. In order to be sanitary a hog house should admit the direct rays of the sun to the floor of all the pens and exclude cold drafts in winter, be dry, free from dust, well ventilated, and exclude the hot sun during the summer.

The illustrations show a hog house built with this purpose in view. The building is one hundred and twenty feet long by thirty feet wide, and has an eight-foot alley running lengthwise through the middle, between the two rows of pens. It stands lengthwise east and west with the windows on the south side, the windows being so placed that at noon of the shortest day of the year, the rays of sunlight passing through the upper part will fall upon the floor of the south side pen on the opposite side from the window. This allows the total amount of light coming through the window at this season of the year and at this time of the day to fall upon the floor within the pen; consequently, during the latter winter months, there will be a maximum amount of sunlight on the floor of the pen; the window in the upper part of the building performs the same function for the pen on the north side of the alley. By this arrangement of windows there is possible a maximum amount of sunlight on the floor of the pens in winter, which will serve to warm the interior of the house, and especially the beds, during the latter months of winter, thus making it possible to have pigs farrowed very early in the season. Sunlight not only warms and dries the building, but destroys disease germs, thus making the building both warm and sanitary.

The upper window, which throws light into the pen on the north side is long, and this necessitates a flat roof for the part of the building south of the alley, which must necessarily be covered with some material, such as Paroid Roofing, that will shed water at a slight pitch. Dryness should be secured by thorough drainage, freedom from dust by sprinkling with water, and the direct sunlight should be prevented from entering the pens during the hot part of the summer days; this is done by the manner of constructing the building—the lower window is shaded by the eaves and the rays passing through the upper windows fall upon the floor of the alley.

In order to be most serviceable a hog house should be constructed so that it can be used every day in the year. In order to be an economizer of labor the house should be planned so that the largest amount of work may be performed with the smallest amount of labor, which, with the present scarcity of labor, is a very important factor. Farrowing pens should be supplied with fenders, which prevent the sows crushing the pigs, and should be built so the attendant may lend assistance, if necessary, with both convenience and safety. By having all the hogs under one roof handling becomes simpler, and in case of bad weather much more convenient.

The alley through the middle of the building is eight feet wide; this permits driving through the building with a wagon, which allows the bedding to be hauled directly to the pens, and the manure to be loaded on the wagon directly from the pens and hauled to the fields. The pens are ten feet wide and eleven feet deep. Each pen has a slide door opening to the outside, and a door opening to the alley; the latter is hung so that when it is opened it will turn the pigs towards the front end of the house, for weighing, etc. It also permits changing pigs from one pen to another, and gives easy access to the attendant. The trough is placed on the side of the pen next the alley, and a swinging panel above the trough, shown in the illustration of the interior, makes feeding a very easy and convenient operation. The “fender” is shown in the ground plan, and consists of a two-inch iron pipe placed on posts of the same set in concrete in the floor. This fender should be placed eight or nine inches above the floor and about six inches from the wall, it is to prevent the sows crushing the pigs at farrowing time; the sow will necessarily make her bed in this corner as the other three corners are occupied, two of them by doors and the other the feed trough.

There is a four-inch drain tile laid from each pen to the main lines on either side, which are placed on the outside of the pens, leading off down the ravine. The tile opens up through the floor of the pens by means of a perforated iron disk, which is laid in the bell-end of a length of sewer pipe. The floor is made to slope toward the drain so that it can be flushed with water.

All the gates and partitions of the interior are made of wire netting panels. Wire is better than lumber for this purpose, for several reasons. They are no obstruction to light, the rays of light coming through the windows are not cut off from reaching the floor, where they are most needed; they keep the floor and bedding warm and disinfected. In case the hog house should become infected with disease germs it can be flushed out and disinfected much more easily and thoroughly. Wire partitions allow the hogs always to be in sight of each other and of the attendant. By this means the sows, when they are shut up to farrow, will not become estranged from one another, and will not be so likely to fight after returning to a common pasture.

A hog house built and operated according to the above outlined plan makes it possible to perform a maximum amount of work with a minimum amount of labor, and to put the pigs on the market at seasons of the year that are out of the ordinary; it can be expected that pigs thus marketed will sell for higher prices than those that are marketed along with the general supply.

_The Question of Space._—A question which most frequently comes to the front is: “How much room is required for a horse, cow, hen, etc.?” and there is no one question about which there is greater difference of opinion. A good size of horse stall is four feet wide by nine feet long, and a good size of cow stall is three feet wide by five feet long; of course these dimensions taking no account of gutter-space at rear of stalls for catching the manure. Another good dairyman will tell us that he wants his cow stalls four feet wide, and will present strong arguments in favor of the greater amount of room; it is obvious that twenty-five per cent. increase of width of stalls decidedly increases the space-cost per cow. The best testimony, however, is in favor of being liberal in space, as, for example, is said about the sheep sheds: “Crowding is most injurious when it results from restricted room at the feeding rack and when it occurs through narrow doors. A breeding ewe weighing one hundred and fifty pounds will require fully one and one-quarter feet of space at the fodder rack.”

The same suggestion applies to floor space per hen. It has been demonstrated that it is unprofitable to crowd fowls too much, and well known writers have urged that ten square feet of floor space be given to each bird; in practice, however, very much less space per bird gives good results in health of flocks and average egg-product. In the scratching-shed plan of house, on pages 18 and 19, the floor space is recommended as seven and one-fifth square feet per bird with twenty-five fowls of the American varieties per pen, and six square feet each with thirty birds of one of the Mediterranean varieties per pen. In the Gowell Poultry Farm house, on pages 16 and 17, four square feet of floor space is allotted to each bird, and it is the plan there to keep the birds wholly confined to the pens for the five cold months. These illustrations show that there is wide range in actual practice, but we believe it is wise to allow at least five to six square feet of floor space to each fowl.

PAROID ROOFING

Our products are for the man who is planning new buildings, or about to make repairs to old ones; and we have tried to tell in the following paragraphs how each one of our materials is particularly adapted to the different kinds of work for which it is made. Our claims are based on actual experiences and if you are in the market for roofing or sheathing papers, you will find that our materials will save you money. First of all, we are going to tell you about our Paroid Roofing, because the roof is one of the most important parts of every building. If it is not right, there is no end of trouble.

THE DIFFICULTIES OF CHOOSING A GOOD ROOF. There are about thirty different brands of ready roofing, and for most of them the same claims are made. Under those conditions, how are you going to choose the one that will prove most economical for you? There is only one test that will tell, and that is the test of time. Of course you can’t make that test yourself, but it is for your interests to find out if others have made it and for how long.

The most economical roofing is not the one that costs you the least per roll when you buy it, but the roofing that costs you least per year of service. We are going to tell you here the most important facts about Paroid; how it compares with shingles, metal and other kinds of ready roofing, and then you can be your own judge.

PAROID vs. TIN AND IRON ROOFS. The best quality of tin, iron and steel roofings cost much more than Paroid at the start, and then there is always the additional cost of painting each year. In spite of all you can do, a metal roof will rust out and spring leaks which cannot be permanently repaired. Paroid cannot rust; it costs less than metal roofs when you buy it, and less to apply. Anyone can lay Paroid. One example that proves the superiority of Paroid over metal roofs was shown when the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, who had tried different kinds of roofing on their Chicago train sheds, including a good tin roof, used Paroid when the tin roof failed. The Paroid Roofing is still in good condition.

PAROID vs. SHINGLES. If you have recently asked your lumber dealer for a price on shingles, you are probably looking for a substitute because of the exorbitant price asked for them. Lumber is scarce everywhere, and shingles are growing poorer in quality and higher in price every day. The test of time has proved that Paroid is the real substitute for shingles, and it has many advantages which shingles do not have. Figure this out for yourself. The first cost of Paroid is less than that of a medium grade of shingles. You can lay Paroid yourself and it requires an experienced man to lay shingles. Shingles catch fire easily, while Paroid is practically fireproof against sparks, cinders and embers.

Read what a large lumber dealer in Maine says about the comparative cost of shingles and Paroid Roofing. He is right in the heart of the shingle belt, and naturally the difference is not so great as in other sections of the country where shingles are not so plentiful.

One-ply Paroid, which is usually heavy enough for the roof and sides of most farm and poultry buildings, will save you at least 35% over the cost of shingles. Here are the figures showing the comparative cost of one-ply Paroid and B. C. Cedar Shingles.

Clear cedar shingles per square $3.10 4 lbs. nails at 3¢ per lb. .12 Average cost of carpenter labor 1.25 4.47 ——— Cost per square foot 45¢

1-ply Paroid per square $2.50 Laying .35 2.85 ——— Cost per square foot 28½¢

Lumber dealers all over the United States and Canada who previously sold shingles exclusively, now sell large quantities of Paroid Roofing. That tells the whole story.

In the core of each roll of Paroid sufficient nails, rust-proof caps, cement, and complete directions for applying are packed. You can lay it yourself with a hammer and knife. One-ply Paroid, costing about one half as much as shingles, is heavy enough for most farm and poultry buildings. For barns, stables, and other large buildings we recommend two-ply, which is heavier and thicker.

PAROID _vs._ OTHER READY ROOFINGS

There are certain qualities that all ready roofings must have, but the important question is, How long do they keep these qualities? We have made our story short, but at the same time complete enough, so that you can be your own judge when you compare our claims for Paroid with the claims of other manufacturers.