The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 10, 1917, Page 10

the Y.eader forma to far g a department of devoted to new and opinions of as farme and as tion erman Wessell’s Ideal Barn =T =SS s ST % s % e et BY HOMER DIXON ELL, that’s a peculiar looking structure”, was the idea that flashed through my mind as I approached the round barn at the all-around stock farm of Herman Wessell, located near Perham, Minn., This building had attracted my attention for some time and at the first opportunity I investigated. A huge red barn, perfectly circular in ground plan, is indeed unusual, and I was interested. ‘When confronted with the problem of building a barn, this farmer did some real thinking and planning, and after considerable study of the barn question and all that it involved, de- cided upon the round barn. His rea- sons for this being, that it could be erected cheaper than the rectangular barn, number of stock housed heing considered, and also would be a labor saver. This barn has been in use for two years and the owner is convinced that he has made money by building in this peculiar fashion. One of the biggest talking.points of the round barn seems to be time saved in doing the chores. The silo is located in the center of the barn and one row of cattle and horses face in towards this silo. The other , row of cattle faces outward and are fed by means of a feed carrier, while the pens for the younger stock are near the horses. All of the stock can be watered from one tank which is placed between the cattle and horses, so that they can drink as they enter the barn, and then pass on to their stalls. In feeding, the silage is thrown down from the silo into an alleyway and from there distributed to the -cattle. No feed carrier is necessary in this case, as the cattle are all within a few feet of where the silage falls. The hay is thrown from two openings, one on each side of the silo, so that very little labor is necessary in distributing this to the cattle and horses. The grain is fed down to the feed alley from a bin in the loft and requires very little labor for its distribution. The litter carrier runs behind both rows of stock as they are back to back. This simplifies the problem of cleaning out the manure and of bedding the stock. A milk shed and pump house is just off of the barn and reduces the amount of time required in carrying milk and gives the owner a nice cl€an place to take the milk immediately after it is drawn from the cows. The owner .stated that he thoroughly believed he could do his chores in one-half of the time required for the same number of stock in a rectangular barn. A DOME-SHAPED LOFT WITH SILO IN CENTER. o The hay loft was the greatest sur- prise of the whole building. It was an immense dome-shaped loft with the silo running to the peak in the center. Its immense size and. capacity were very striking indeed, as it was 64 feet in diameter and 50 feet high to the peak, with a column 14 feet in diameter taken out by the silo. A ‘circular track ran around the rafters, equidistant between the silo wall and the outer wall. In this way the entire capacity of 180 tons of hay can be moved away without having a man in the loft. This in- itself is a labor-saving feature of no little note, and means a great deal during the busy season of haying. Here also is a large grain bin from which the grain is spouted to handy locations in the barn below. ; Stall room for six horses is provided. They are fed from in front and litter carrier passes around behind them., The fact that the back of each stall is a great deal wider /than the front, due to the rounding of the barn, is im- portant. This extra room in the stall, gives the horses greater comfort in lying down and getting up, and is a big aid to the owner. He has more room between and around the horses, in currying, harnessing and cleaning out. % & SOLUTION TO PROBLEM OF FROZEN SILAGE “My silage never freezes”, said Mr. Wessel. The round barn then, is one solution to the problem of frozen Minnesota Farmer Says He Saves Labor With Circular Structure silage. Built as it is in the center of the barn and surrounded by hay in the The round barn of Herman Wessell near Perham, Minn. loft, and the warmth of the stock in the barn room, there is very little This is a front view, showing the hay Ioft door and entry in which the ensilage tutter is placed in fnllmg silo. Interior of round barn, showing cattle stanchions and silo. stanchions is hay hoie from loft. Bright spot above chance for the silage to freeze. The ensilage cutter is placed in the drive- way when the silo is filled. From the standpoint of sanitation, the round barn has its advantages. There are no corners for dust, dirt and trash to gather in. There is no part of the floor or wall surface that light does not shine upon from the windows. The greater lighting facilities of the round barn make it a more cheerful home for stock. This barn is sixty-four feet in diameter, fifty-seven feet high to. the peak and has eighteen-foot studdings. Only first class lumber was used in its construction. It will house seventy head of cattle,- made up of forty head of milk cows in stanchions and thirty head of young stock and six horses. It was erected at a cost of twenty- five hundred dollars, which, according to the owner, is cheaper than a rec- tangular barn, housing the same num-= ber of stock, can be built for. The carpenter who' built the barn stated that he would just as soon build a round barn as any other barn of the same size. Economize in Potato Planting Potato seed is very high priced. this year and consequently great care should be taken in putting it into the ground. The pieces may be cut quite small, if care is taken to have an eye in each piece. Experiments have shown that good crops may be grown from pieces as small as one-half ounce in size, and in many cases by digging the eyes out of potatoes that are to be eaten. In this way six bushels may be made to plant an acre. It will, however, be necessary to plant such small pieces with a hand regulated planter, or by hand. Special care should also be given to the soil. Such small pieces of potatoes will not stand the adverse conditions that the larger sized ones will. Plant such small pieces about two inches deep. ; It is also a fact that good yields are produced by hill planting. Place two pieces of potatoes in each hill and have the hills 33 inches apart each way. This method allows better cul- tivation and should appeal to those who plan for only a small acreage this year. Scab is prevented by placing the potatoes in' a solution of one pint of 40 per cent formaldehyde to 30 gallons of water, and letting them soak for one and one-half hours. Farmers Orgamze to Save Food Supply Minnesota Producers Have Committees Working in Eleven Counties NE of the important meetings in tlie Northwest, looking to- ward food conservation, was held in ' Crookston recently when the Minnesota Red River Valley Crop and Public Safety association was organized. This meet- ing was occassioned by the need for organization in handling thé problem of increased production and resulted in the formation of county- committees to handle this work in each of eleven counties. . Some of the important topics dis- cussed were: Increased acreage and means to secure it; labor mobilization; organization of city and rural schools for increased production; interesting the women, both in production and .in preventing waste; livestock promotion work; financing «of the work and district organization. .Resolutions,adopted were as follows: “We deem it absolutely necessary that every available acre be planted to food products. “To enable farmers to command- re- sources necessary to produce the larg- est amount of food possible, we recom- mend that a minimum protective price be fixed for all food produced during the continuation of the war. LET FARMER BOY RAISE FOOD FOR THE FIGHTERS “If conscripAtion becomes necessary, we favor selective conscription so that -will do our the boy required en the farm, who is trained in farm work and produces the food to supply the fighting forces at the front, shall be recognized as per- forming no less patriotic duty than the soldier or sailor under arms. “In case of labor shortage for harvesting and threshing the crop,-we utmost individually and collectively to lend the necessary as- sistance. “We recommend that all public school authorities be empowered to give full credits to students employed in the production of food products the same as if present in the school room. “We believe- it to be the patriotic duty of_the bankers and other business men to furnish money to worthy ap- plicants with .which to purchase seed, brood animals, and feed, and in general to aid in agricultural pursuits, at as low a rate of interest as is consistent with business principles”, : The ‘committee = also recommended that every eommunity should develope a strong public opinion that every per- son able, men, women, boys and girls, should ‘work at: productive -employ- ment. They urged the churches to im- press: the fact-upon the people :from the pulpit-that:food- production is an important public service, and to popu- larize wheat production, potato culture, TEN navy bean raising and garden cultivas tion~ WOMEN SHOULD HELP TO CONSERVE FOOD SUPPLY To the women they suggested the following: Keep an accurate account of all materials used in the home, checking carefully to locate needless expendi- ture, for instance, a too liberal use of lard or an over generous use of sugar. Concerted . “action toward sim- plicity in the meals served,at home every day and for special oceasions. Conscientious study of foods and food values with a view to getting the best returns for the money expended. . Careful planning: of meals with two aims—properly balanced meals to con- serve-the health of the family, thereby diminishing doctor’s bills; -meals so planned that all left-overs are wisely used. Help to produce abundant quantities '-and to use the foods ' one can most easily get, as garden produce, eggs and milk; a generous use of skim milk is ‘especially recommended in soups, ete. - Can all left-over garden produce, preserve eggs, freeze or can meat, and pack all root crops in sand in the cellar. Remember that it is not wise to cut down on total food lest-the; members of the family suffer, but that the aim should be- the selection of cheaper * foods .of the highest nutritive vaule. —_