MANGERS AND TIES
The cross section of a floor and the skeleton of a bracket upon which the mangers are built are shown in [Fig. 107]. The mangers of cattle stables should be easily movable. This can be accomplished in the following way: Construct one more bracket than the number of stalls required in the line of mangers. Place one of the brackets at the end and one intermediate between every pair of stalls; fasten them lightly to the floor with nails, which should be removed when the mangers are completed. [Fig. 107] also shows the cross section of the brackets, with bottom, front, and back side of the manger placed.
Fig. 107. The building of a manger.
Fig. 108. Newton cattle tie.
The Newton cattle tie ([Fig. 108]), though rather expensive, has proved most satisfactory. It is made of one piece of round, durable wood, as ash, about 1¹⁄₄ inches in diameter and bent at the corners, and is furnished with a flat ring which encircles the bow at the middle, to which is attached a swivel; to this is fastened a rope to encircle the animal’s neck, the rope being furnished with suitable fastenings at the ends. The bows are attached to the divisions on a level or a little above the animal’s throat when standing; when lying down the bow rests on top of the manger, which is about 1¹⁄₂ feet lower than the ends of the bow. It will be seen that since the bow describes an arc of a circle in passing downward, it tends to pull the animal towards the manger when it lies down, and hence away from the soiled drip.
In midsummer window curtains, drawn during milking time, serve to quiet the flies and the cows, as does also a light spraying of the animals with kerosene before they are turned out in the morning. A blanket tacked over the entrance door to the cow stable will brush most of the flies off the cattle as they enter.
CHAPTER XVII
BUILDING THE BARN—THE SUPERSTRUCTURE
The kind of superstructure best to be adopted for the barn depends on many conditions. The balloon construction may be used for small barns, but large ones naturally require large timbers or many small ones, hence the old style of frame-work, with some modification, is usually adopted. In modern barn buildings the main timbers are reduced in size, more and lighter braces are used in lieu of the large mortised and pinned braces. They are cut with smooth, angled ends and spiked to posts and beams. A brace of 2 × 4 inches is inexpensive, and allows of following the old rule of placing a brace in every angle made by the principal timbers.