Roofs for Farm-Buildings. 117 



most conditions of climate, is advantageous alike to all the pro- 

 duce of the farm ; that, provided light and ventilation be given 

 with proper regard to temperatui'e, live stock will thrive better, 

 dead stock will last longer, manure will be better made and 

 preserved, and corn and hay crops will be better harvested and 

 brought into condition for sale, under permanent covering than 

 Avhen exposed to the elements, or left to the chances of being 

 thatched at the right season. 



The acceptance of this truth prevails with greater or less 

 force as we pass from the cold of the north and the rain of the 

 west, towards the warmth of the south and the dryness of the 

 east, and as we recognise the degree of necessity that may exist 

 for economising straw. 



It is not my present purpose to dwell on the value, in a 

 commercial sense, of covering fold-yards, stock-yards, or manure- 

 heaps, though it might be easily shown that in each case true 

 economy is best served by the provision of a greater extent of 

 roofing or shelter than now generally prevails. 



It is upon the assumption that, at no distant period, the 

 covering of yards will be generally recognised as the rule rather 

 than as the exception, that the comparison about to be given has 

 been extended beyond the roofs of ordinary farm-buildings to 

 those suitable for spaces, which, fifty years ago, it would have 

 been considered the height of extravagance to think of covering. 



To make the necessary comparisons of cost, it is desirable to 

 classify the roofs according to the materials employed. 



Thus : 1st. Timber roofs, constructed wholly of wood. 



2nd. Timber and iron roofs, constructed partly of wood and 

 partly of iron. 



3rd. Iron roofs, constructed wholly of iron. 



And it will be necessary to recognise a difference in the 

 roofing of ordinary farm-buildings (apart from the covering of 

 yards) by distinguishing the single-floored buildings, for which a 

 standard width of 20 feet, outside measurement, has been taken," 



othei- purposes, and good Baltic timber only employed in the roofs of farm- 

 buildings. 



2. That for roofs of a span not exceeding 30 feet, there is no economy in using 

 iron in combination with wood, and still less iron alone. 



3. That iron does not answer as a roof-covering, unless, perhaps, corrugated 

 iron, and in exceptional cases. 



* The standard widths here selected are taken from ' The Farm Homesteads 

 of England,' a work recently published by Messrs. Chapman and Hall, of Picca- 

 dilly. In the " Golden Rules," Nos. 2 and 4, p. 145, the following passages 

 occur: — "All lateral single-storied buildings should, if possible, be made of one 

 breadth ; 20 feet outside measurement (brickwork) is considered the best width. 

 The advantage of an uniform width is found to consist in the capability of con- 

 version from one purpose to another, as necessity for alteration or extension 

 arises. All the higher buildings should be of one uniform width. The outside 



