454 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. 



and expensive structures — is a serious drawback to good farm- 

 ing. The two principal points to be attended to are economy 

 of labour in attending the stock, and economy of warmth. To 

 meet the first requirement, there should be such a disposition of 

 the various departments that the straw and food should go in at 

 one side and pass continuously on until they go out at the other 

 as manure, with no carrying to and fro, especially of so bulky an 

 article as straw. 



The labour of one man saved for an hour per day during 

 the six months when the stock are mostly at the homestead, repre- 

 sents something like 60/. worth of buildings. As to economy 

 of warmth, I venture to think that the same food that would keep 

 four beasts in open foldyards exposed to cold winds would 

 keep five in a well-protected yard with plenty of good sheds. 



I have seen such gross violation of these rules that I have 

 been tempted to note them ; on the other hand, 1 have seen 

 many very good homesteads replete with every convenience. 



The best conversion of inconvenient into suitable buildings I 

 have met with was made by Mr. Randell at Chad bury. Amongst 

 other improvements, he has erected a steam-engine, and con- 

 verted the old circular shed formerly used as a horse-walk into a 

 chafF-room : there is a loft over this, with an opening to the straw- 

 barn ; in this loft the chaff is cut, and falls on to a riddle which 

 sorts it into different lengths to suit the stock, each length falling 

 into a different compartment at the centre of the old horse-walk : 

 into these compartments a pipe conveys the waste steam from the 

 engine, so that if the chaff is not quite sweet it can be rendered 

 so, and can also be steamed regularly if preferred in that state. 



The farms being generally small, the erection of fixed steam- 

 engines does not make much progress. On those farms where 

 straw is very deficient it may be desirable that the cattle should 

 be fed out in the yard instead of in the sheds, they have then 

 dry beds in the sheds to go to and lie down upon after filling 

 themselves. 



A great deal of unnecessary expense is often incurred in 

 the erection of farm-buildings ; where the work is to be done 

 with borrowed capital, the expense often deters the tenant from 

 entertaining the question. In such cases the tenant should be 

 called upon to pay 5 per cent., the landlord undertaking the 

 rest of the charge for a loan ; these terms would often lead to 

 the work being more economically executed. Good sheds for the 

 stock are the principal requirement ; one good barn is suffi- 

 cient ; and, where there are several, they should be converted to 

 other uses, the making of beef and mutton being the grand 

 objects to be kept in view. Upon sheep-land there are often 

 far too many buildings. 



