VOL. LX1V
INDIANAPOLIS  JAN.   23, 1C09.
NO. 4
Desirable Sheep   Barn.
Editors   Indiana   Farmer:
We are glad to answer the enquiry
about sheep barns by your Carroll county,
Indiana, correspondent because we believe that proper shelter is one of the
most essential factors required to maintain thrift in the flock. True, sheep
will live and do fairly well with very little shelter but American farmers on the
whole desire to derive the greatest possible results from each branch of their agricultural pursuits, and when this is the
case proper sheep sheds receive consideration from the flockmasters because the
iiock gives so much greater return when
well sheltered than when left to do the
best it can. Shelter not only protects
the animal from unnecessary loss of flesh
caused by draughts, rain, etc., but it
enables the sheep to derive the most good
from the food which is daily consumed.
The flock needs food at least to restore
the tissues worn away each day and
when proper shelter lessens this wear it
reduces the amount of nourishment required thereby lowering the cost of
maintaining condition in the flock. Proper
shelter certainly plays an important part
in successful sheep-raising, but there are
many differeiit means of shelter which
give various results. The welfare of
the flock should receive first consideration, then the convenient arrangement for
feeds, feeding and watering. Sheep re-
ouire plenty of fresh air, (therefore the
windows and height of ceiling should be
carried in mind and then the feed troughs
nr.d racks. It is not economy to construct a barn in such a manner that the
ficek will not have the greatest possible
comfort or so the food placed before them
cannot  be  fully  utilized. The  desires
of a breeder would greatly alter any plans
that might be put forth but
we give a cut of the interior
nnd description of one of our
sheep barns on this page which has been
a matter of great satisfaction to us.
The bam is 80 feet long, 36 feet wide,
and divided into five pens on each side.
An outside door opens from each pen so
there will be no confusion when sheep
have been sorted into different bunches,
and this also aids in conveniently getting
out the manure. The sides of barn are
niade of matched siding which makes the
"all perfectly tight. Sheep barns should
he made tight and with upper doors and
windows instead of cracks for ventilators.
1 lie ceiling inside is eight feet from barn
floor, thereby making a well aired shed at
nil times. The hay mow above is sufficiently large to hold all hay and straw
i eeded during the winter for the flock
which the shed below will shelter. Sheep
should have about 8 to 10 square feet of
"hed space, therefore this barn 80x36 feet
will conveniently hold about 300 sheep.
From the end door to a similar door at
opposite end of barn, a 4-foot alley-way is
1 -I'le and is shown by the barn interior
construction. This   leaves   5   pens   16
■eet square on each side, and each pen
'as a small gate opening into the alley.
That permits the carrying of all feed
without being among the sheep and is al-
Rf convenient for sorting without letting
the sheep outside of the barn. The
combined trough and rack which is given
'" the cut has fully satisfied us. The
J"!ttom being a boarl 10 inches wide hav-
lng a three inch piece nailed lengthwise
"Q each side, xnd this will hold grain,
°u* hay, roots etc. The upright pieces
nailed to this are    1x4 inches   18 inches
long, and 10 inches apart nailed to a 1x4
top piece running lengthwise. This rack
10 inches wide and 18 inches high is sufficiently large to hold all the hay that
sheep which could get to it would eat during the night. We have learned from
experience that it is poor policy to place
a large quantity of hay before sheep,
much better results being obtained from
feeding just what will be cleaned up within a reasonable length of time. The tight
bottom of this rack catches the clover
leavea, seed, etc., which are valuable
sheep feed but    wasted from many other
16 feet square which would each well
shelter and feed 30 sheep, except at lambing time. Such a shed could be erected
at a small cost, varying of course according to foundation, quality of siding,
etc. For a regular sheep breeder, we
would recommend that a mow be built
above for hay and straw and this will be
found a great advantage and saving over
the low shed which is ofttimes constructed. The- future plans of the breeder will
guide him as to the expense to be put in
the shed but this plan is a good one to
carry out and the barn can be made as
Interior of  Iowa   Sheep   Barn,  en  Farm  of Chandler  Bros.
kinds of racks. Each time before putting in fresh hay we always clean out
the old stubs and throw them down for
bedding. During the season when grain,
roots, or silage are being fed in addition
to hay, the troughs are well cleaned and
hay is not placed in them until the other
feed is all consumed.
We have never seen or had any other
rack that in our opinion answered all the
requirements for inside feeding as well as
this  does. Racks  of  required   lengths
are used as partitions in the abed thus
giving feeding; space for many more
sheep. Our sheds are all divided by these
racks into 16-foot pens and it enables us
to feed the largest number of sheep in a
given space and also divides the flock so
there can be no crowding from fright or
other cause.
In this barn we have combined high
ceilings and windows for proper ventilation and well divided space, so sheep will
not crow even when eating, these being
two things which should not be overlooked in even the smallest sheep shed.
The pattern of this rack has been copied
by a large number of sheepmen and all
have found it very superior for all inside
purposes. The alley-way is another desirable feature because it permits the
carrying and distribution of hay without
geeting seed and chaff on the sheep which
finally settles in the wool and lowers the
price.
Barns for smaller flocks would well be
built after this pattern and proportionately smaller nccording to the flock. For
instance, a shed 20x32 feet would permit
a 4-foot alley-way and by use of above
mentioned racks would    make two    pens
large and of such quality of lumber as the
owner desires.
Howard A. Chandler.
"Clover Hill," Chaiton, Iowa, Jan. 7 'o9.
Cost of Storing- Wheat.
"You had better take the market prices
for your wheat at threshing time than to
keep it for five months and only get 10c
more per bushel." This is the statement,
or to that effect, that I have heard some
of the farmers of Indiana make, and the
results of the following experiment will
show whether this is, or is not so.
In the vicinity of the writer's home
there is a small elevator, and many of the
farmers around there sell their wheat direct from the machine, taking the market
prices at threshing time rather than take
the risk of storing and higher prices,
while other store their wheat for higher
prices later in the season.
Last summer the writer took two bushels of wheat from the machine, regardless
of the quality, condition or variety put it
into two sacks of one bushel each. At
intervals of 15, 30 and 90 days the sacks
were weighed for shrinkage. The final
weights were taken for the experiment,
which was 4 pounds per bushel or 6.2 per
cent loss.
With this loss per bushel of wheat the
cost of storing 1000 bushels is estimated
as follows: The cost to put in elevators
and the cost to put in the individual bins
i3 estimated the same to market 1,000
bushels at 84 cents per bushel, $840.
Cost to sack up for hauling
off 3 days     6.00
At 75 bushels per load   and
two loads per day 6% days   13.00
Interest    at   6    per cent    on
$S40.00 tor 5 months 21.00
Insurance          1.60
4 pounds shrinkage    per    bu.
at 84c per bu 4000 56.00
Total cost to store 1000 bu.    $97.50.
The results show that it cost $97.50
per 1000 bushels or $.0975 per bushel to
store wheat for five months, which is only
a trifle less than 10c per bushel. The
fignres I believe are placed low enough.
$0.84 was the price paid per bushel at
threshing time—at the writer's home.
The interest is placed low enough, ft>r
most banks would require more than this
rate on this amount of money for that
length of time. The cost to haul off the
wheat and insurance are estimated figures
but the shrinkage is actual data.
The reader may not have these conditions, but with the hope that it may be
of interest to some who have similar conditions, I give it for the printer.
The  Millers and Bleached   Flour.
A news dispatch stating that a secret
campaign has been decided upon by the
Millers' National Federation in order to
procure a withdrawal of the order of the
rtueut of Agriculture against the
bleaching of flour, was shown to Secretary Wilson, who stated that he had not
heard of the committee which the dispatch stated is preparing to protest to the
Secretary and to ask that a board of experts be appointed to investigate the process. Both the Secretary and Doctor
Wiley, stated, however, that in their opinion the matter is settled for good.
The millers may take their case to the
referee board appointed by the President
to supervise the work of the board of
food and drug inspection which for four
days listened to evidence of the millers interested in keeping up the process of
bleaching (lour by chemicals. At that
time Doctor Wiley told the Secretary that
he was willing to let the case rest with
the evidence of the millers, but an extra
day was taken for the government's evidence.
On December 9th, last, Secretary Wilson ordered that the bleaching of flour is
unlawful and gave the millers six months'
notice to get into the business of unbleached flour again.
The Sulfer Lime  Mixture.
In reply to query of L. F. B.: In answer to your letter regarding the treatment of trees affected with San Jose
Scale we would advise you to send to Purdue University for their bulletin No. 118
on "How to Control the San Jose Scale
nnd Other Pests." It will answer all
your questions and be very helpful in
ether ways. The following is the formula as given in the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture Circular No. 1: Ten pounds sulfur, 15 pounds fresh stone lime, 5 gallons
water. Place bme in barrel, pour 2 or
o gallons of boiling water over it. Immediately add the sulfur and another
bucket of water. The heat from the
slacking lime will boil the mixture. Some
stirring may be necessary. Cover the
barrel with some old carpet to keep the
heat in. After it has boiled about 20
minutes add the rest of the water. This
should be strained and used the same day
as  mixed. It  should   be  applied   hot.
Spray any warm day before the buds appear. Any time will do to cut out the
dead limbs but it is better to do it before the buds swell in spring.