Paddocks vs. Yards 259 



acres near the barn might be surrounded with a 

 woven wire fence, which would serve admirably 

 for an exercising yard. The sod on this small 

 area might become seriously injured in a year or 

 two, but the field would be enriched by the drop- 

 pings of the animals. The field in such case 

 could be plowed and the wire used to enclose 

 another paddock. But it will be many years be- 

 fore the open barnyard can be, or will be, en- 

 tirely abandoned. What may, and should be 

 done immediately, is to place it at the rear, 

 instead of at the front of the barn, and to cease 

 using it for baptizing manures, and as a storage 

 area for miscellaneous odds and ends. If some 

 change is not made, the farm boy may find a 

 chamber window from which a more restful and 

 inspiring view may be secured than from the 

 one through which he now views daily the evi- 

 dences of thriftlessness and waste. 



PLANNING THE BARN 



Make a good study of many barns at short 

 range ; note what features are good, what 

 faulty, what useless ; by this means much will 

 have been learned and many mistakes will be 

 avoided. Decide approximately the capacity 

 which will l3e required. First, draw a rectan- 

 gular diagram of the barn, then proceed to 



