312 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



ing in importance all considerations of pecuniary profit and 

 natural beauty of situation, are those agencies and influences 

 of Nature affecting the health, comfort, and physical welfare 

 of her people. 



THE SANITARY ESSENTIALS OF THE HOME AND FARM. 



Of these, the first and most important to be secured is an 

 abundant supply of pure air : therefore the selection of the 

 site for a farm and the buildings thereon should be made 

 with care and good judgment. We would select an elevated 

 situation, where surface-water would find an unobstructed 

 course to valley and brook, with a soil so porous as to allow 

 a free percolation of rain and surface water to a low level. 

 We would study the geological formation, the character, and 

 dip of the underlying strata of rock and earth. 



Rocky and stony soils are generally healthy, Avhile a sandy 

 soil may or may not be, depending on its freedom from, or 

 its containing, a large amount of organic material in its strata 

 to ferment and decay. Whether it rests on an impervious 

 bed of clay, or has clay in its composition, such a soil will be 

 wet, cold, damp, and unhealthy. 



A healthy soil, after a storm, will readily become dry by 

 evaporation and percolation, and have the power to absorb 

 moisture and heat from the air. 



We would examine the composition and structure of the 

 ground about and under the spot for the house in respect to 

 the orfjanic constituents it micrht contain. 



The superficial layer of all soils is more or less rich in 

 organic material derived from vegetable and plant growth : 

 where this is found in large quantities deep in the earth, as 

 in alluvial and drift soils, the changes attending its decompo- 

 sition from the gaseous emanations constantly given off may 

 so affect the ground-air as to make the situation unhealthv. 



The condition of the ground-water, its purity, and depth 

 from the surface of its level, and its fluctuations, should be 

 ascertained. Sites with a low level and great purity of the 

 ground-water are the most desirable and healthy. 



All soils are derived from the disintegration of the rocks, 

 and the organic remains of plant and animal growth. 



All rocks and soils, without exception, absorb and retain 



