Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/542

 518 COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE. rest. Again, in some stables, there may be a horse of a particularly timid disposition, who seems a sort of butt of the whole stud ; and who, if he could speak, would doubtless exclaim with Falstaff, ' Nags of all sorts take a pride to gird at me.' All such should be separated from their fellows, or accidents will very likely happen. It is not well to put too many horses together in one yard. In Lancashire and other parts of the north of England, the farm horses are clothed up in warm close stables ; the consequence of which is, that if a horse stand any little time in a cold wind, even though his cloth be on, he is almost sure to catch cold, and be laid up. Now, a Norfolk man never clothes his horses ; unless, perhaps, in very severe weather, when a carter throws a sack, or some such covering, over the horse's loins, while corn or other articles are loading or unloading. This is proper enough, but anything beyond it tends to make the animal tender, and susceptible of cold." With respect to the keep of farm horses, Mr. Taylor is decidedly in favour of cutting their fodder, whether it be hay, straw, or a mixture of both. The best criterion of the excellence of this plan is the fact, that, in seasons when the hay crop is unusually short, farmers invariably resort to it as a measure of economy, in order to make their stock of fodder hold out. 1037. The Norfolk System of managing Cows and Cattle is the same as that for horses; except that in the cow-houses and cattle-sheds there are no racks, but only troughs or mangers from which they eat their food. 1038. The Sheep System of Norfolk is very simple ; though some persons go to a great expense for movable racks and feeding-troughs. Mr. Taylor thus describes, in the Country Times, a movable fold, with a sheep-rack attached, which he used for a number of years : — " It is well known that, in setting and striking a fold in frosty weather, there is not only great difficulty, but that the wear and tear of the hurdles is considerable ; to say nothing of the loss of time incurred by the frequent repetition of this operation. Wicker hurdles are made on a frame, with holes bored for the upright stakes ; around and between which, the smaller wood is woven or wattled. The frame is usually six feet long, and of course this is the length of each hurdle. Instead of a six-feet frame, get a larch pole, or oak stand that will square about five or six inches, and is about eighteen or twenty feet long. Bore holes in this similar to, and at the same intervals as, those of a hurdle frame ; then fix it on a pair of axletrees about four feet long ; each axle- tree having attached to it a pair of cast-iron wheels, just high enough to carry the hurdle when finished ; the whole presenting an appearance like that of fig. 1036. For greater strength, the end uprights may be of iron, fastened to the bottom with nuts and screws. Fig. 1037 is an end view of the hurdle on its axle, with the addition of a small, or bank, 1036 1037 hurdle, as it is sometimes called, sloping outwards, and forming the economical hay-rack of which we have been speaking. Being low, the strain on the main hurdle is but trifling, and it is easily kept in its place by tar-line. The hay forms not only food but shelter for the sheep. About a fourth of the total length of the movable fold may thus be made into hay or straw racks in a very few minutes ; and the whole fold can be shifted by a man and a horse in the tenth of the time it would take to remove it if formed of common hurdles and stakes. Iron rings or staples are provided at the end of each di-vision of the fold, to which the horse is fastened when it is wanted to be moved. There being but little wear on the hurdles, they will last treble the time of those in general use, and, even when the wickerwork decays, it may be replaced at the cost of a few shillings. A fold on the same principle was invented by the late Mr. T. Plowman of Broome, near Bungay, but it was made of sawn stuff, painted, and of course vastly more expensive in its construction." (Country Times, vol. i. p. 27.) Mr. Taylor has suggested a still cheaper sheep-rack and fold, which may be formed in a few minutes, of wicker hurdles (which cost about 10s. or lis. per dozen), set sloping round a yard, as represented in the section fig. 1038; the yard itself being supposed to be fenced in with bush faggots (faggots composed of thorns from the hedges, which, when wanted for yard fencing, ought to be cut with the leaves on, and stacked flatwise previously to using, in order to render them close and compact ; thus treated, they wUl also go further, and make a better fence) ; a represents the line of hurdles, and b the faggot fence. The hurdles may be secured at top to the stakes of the faggot fence with a piece of tar-