4 FAEM BUILDINGS IN SOUTH AFRICA 



It is probably not advisable for a farmer to rush up permanent 

 buildings immediately following his taking up a farm. It is better 

 for him to use either existing old, or else temporary buildings for 

 some time until, by daily observation and experience, he is at last 

 able to come to some definite conclusions as to the best site for 

 the new buildings, and their best arrangement to suit the working 

 of his farm. 



In few cases will the farmer erect all the necessary buildings at 

 once. If he does not do so he should, nevertheless, start to erect 

 such buildings as he decides to construct at the moment, in accordance 

 with a definite plan of the homestead as it will be when complete. 

 This plan should not only be thought out mentally, but should also 

 be drawn to scale on paper, before any building is commenced. It 

 will then be possible to add to and extend the buildings first erected 

 with as little breaking down of walls, etc., as may be, and the completed 

 homestead will be properly designed, and not the result of hap-hazard 

 additions to the original buildings. 



As an example, referring to the steading illustrated in the frontis- 

 piece, the farmer may decide to erect the cow-byre and feed-room 

 first of all, for the time being remaining content to use a pit silo, and 

 to store his fodder in the stack. At later periods he might erect the 

 tower silo, engine-room, Dutch barn, bull-boxes, stable, etc., as funds 

 permit and requirements dictate. 



While paying due regard to the health of the animals housed, the 

 various buildings of a steading should be arranged as compactly as 

 possible, so as to reduce the labour of attendance, including cleaning 

 and feeding, to a minimum. A compact arrangement will also reduce 

 first cost, and maintenance charges. A striking fault of many South 

 African steadings is the scattered arrangement, or one might almost say 

 lack of arrangement, of the component buildings. 



The live-stock should be housed as near to the food-stores, and feed 

 preparation and mixing-room, as possible; indeed the proper placing 

 and arrangement of these feed buildings, relatively to the buildings 

 housing the stock, may be regarded as the chief guiding principle of the 

 whole process of designing. The food-stores themselves ought to be 

 placed in close relationship to each other, and to the feed preparation 

 and mixing room. Thus to the latter apartment, the silos, Dutch barn, 

 and chaff stores should be conveniently arranged and near at hand. 



