618 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



Two coats of properly-prepared paint will generally be sufficient where the work is well done; 

 but on buildings long neglected, sometimes a third coat will be necessary. 



The choice of color in respect to farm buildings has much to do with their general 

 appearance. This is a matter of taste, since one color of paint would prove as good a pro 

 tection to the wood as another, where durability is the principal object sought in painting. 

 Formerly, white was the prevailing color for farm-houses, and a country village, except 

 houses entirely &quot; innocent &quot; of paint, presented an unpleasant glare of light in a bright, sunny 

 day. This practice also gave a similarity to the buildings that is not in conformity with 

 good taste. At present there is a desirable change in this respect, and we now frequently 

 see the variety of colors that are more pleasing to the eye, and less offensive to the taste. 



In the choice of colors and shades suited to the purpose, there is much latitude, and the 

 opportunity for the display of a cultivated taste and skill in producing a harmony of colors, 

 together with an agreeable and striking contrast. The most pleasing effect is generally pro 

 duced by painting the body of the house one color, and the cornices, corner-boards, casings, 

 and ornamental work another, considerably darker. The farm-house and other biuldings may be 

 painted the same as the house, or other colors may be chosen for the other farm buildings. 

 We prefer the former style ; but it is merely a matter of taste. Where different colors are 

 chosen for the out buildings, they should always be such as will harmonize wi:h that of the house. 



The Farm-House. The location of the farm-house should never be chosen without 

 due deliberation, as it has much to do with the health and comfort of the household, as well 

 as the pleasantness of the home surroundings. The site chosen for the new house should 

 always be on dry soil. A damp cellar is one of the most objectionable features of a house, 

 and the fruitful cause of various ills. Many incurable diseases, besides deaths, that may 

 have been regarded by the members of the family as the dispensation of an overruling provi 

 dence, might be directly traceable to this source. Unless the site chosen be on a naturally 

 dry soil, it should be made perfectly dry by carefully and thoroughly underdraining. A low, 

 marshy locality should be avoided by all means, the air of such places being filled with 

 dampness and malarial disease. 



Hon. Alex. Hyde, Mass., says with reference to this subject: &quot;A prairie farmer once said 

 to us, &amp;lt;I would give a thousand dollars for one of your New England gravel knolls on 

 which to build my house ; but here, where dry knolls abound, they are too often neglected 

 in selecting a building site. The excuse for locating farm buildings in low, damp places 

 is a desire to avoid bleak winds; but the pure, dry air, cold though it may be, which plays 

 about the summit of a hill is not half so much to be dreaded as the damp, malarious 

 atmosphere of the more sheltered valley. The fogs which infest the low lands are more 

 chilling and pernicious in their influence than the dry winds of the hill. We have often 

 noticed in riding over our hills and through our valleys on a summer or autumn evening, 

 that while the air on the high lands might be brisk, it was warm and dry compared to 

 that in the valley. As we have descended into the latter, the transition was as marked as 

 on going from an airy chamber into a damp cellar. It is not necessary that the valley should 

 be marshy in order to perceive this difference in the dryness of the air. We have often 

 noticed it in descending from the hills into the valleys of the Connecticut and Housatonic, 

 where the land of the valley was a dry alluvial. 



It is a mistake to suppose that the hill is colder than the valley. Every farmer must 

 have noticed that the late frosts of spring and the early frosts of autumn do more damage 

 on the lowlands than the highlands, and the thermometer of a cold, still night shows a lower 

 degree of temperature in the lowlands. The valley may furnish a shelter from the winds, 

 but not from the cold. Cultivate, therefore, the valleys, but place your farm buildings on 

 the hills, where an equally good shelter from the winds can be secured by clusters of white 

 pines or other evergreen trees planted on the windward side of the buildings. 



