G52 



THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



the rotting of the sills, and admit of the escape of moisture underneath, which would cause 

 the timbers to decay, and also render the stables damp and unhealthy for stock. 



While a barn that is externally unattractive may be made internally comfortable for the 

 stock that it shelters, and also to furnish good storage for crops, still there are many reasons 

 why the farmer should endeavor to give his barns and other farm buildings a neat and 

 attractive appearance. A symmetrical barn that is an ornament to the premises will go far 

 towards making the surroundings of a home attractive. It also indicates enterprise and 

 good taste in the owner, and will exert an influence for good on the younger members of the 

 household, causing farm-life and home to be more attractive to them; besides, the same enter 

 prising taste will be very likely 

 to be exhibited on all the other 

 portions of the farm, and better 

 fences and improved farming will 

 be the result. 



All farm buildings should be 

 constructed in such good taste 

 that they will harmonize with the 

 surrounding landscape, and not 

 prove a blemish to it. A tasty 

 barn need not necessarily be an 

 expensive one. A symmetrical 



FIG. 1. 



and attractive form, though covered with rough boards, will be far more pleasing and attrac 

 tive than the most highly-finished building with a disproportioned and awkward outline. 

 Rough, unplaned boards may be made to look very well by applying first a heavy coat of 

 crude petroleum, and afterwards a coat of some of the many kinds of paint that will adhere 

 well. Shade trees around a barn add to the appearance of the surroundings, and will furnish 

 shade to the cattle in the yards during the summer, but they should not be so near the build 

 ing as to shade it and intercept the sunlight. All buildings should have the sunlight admitted 

 freely for the sake of health, and also for the warmth afforded by this means in colder 

 latitudes, in winter. 



FIG. 2. 



FIG. 3. 



Shade-trees are an ornament to any building, but they must be sufficiently removed to 

 prevent the obstruction of the sun s rays. When trees near a barn or other buildings are 

 interspersed with evergreens, a great protection is thus afforded against the fierce winds of 

 winter. The expense of building a tasty and somewhat ornamental structure will not much 

 exceed that of an excessively plain and unattractive building. Projecting eaves are a benefit 

 as well as an ornament to a building, while ventilators at the top, which are highly essential 

 where animals are kept, can be made to subserve an ornamental as well as useful purpose, 

 and will cost but a trifle. The above cut, Fig. 1, representing an attractive, two-story 

 barn, is given in striking contrast with Fig. 2, which illustrates the perfectly plain buildings 

 BO commonly seen on the farm. Such a building as this represents does not add to the 



