MY FARM OF EDGEWOOD 



A fertility too gross for the buildings, so as 

 to bubble over in ricks and temporary appli- 

 ances, is to me a far more cheery sight agri- 

 culturally, than buildings so grand as utterly 

 to outmatch and overshadow all productive 

 capacity of the land. A kernel too big for 

 the nut, promises to my taste a better relish 

 than a nut too big for the kernel. 



These seem to me, at the worst, very plausi- 

 ble reasons, if there had been no final, pruden- 

 tial ones, for making the best of the old build- 

 ings at hand — by re-arrangement, new group- 

 ing, and by shutting up such gaps between the 

 disjointed parts, as should reduce the whole 

 to a quadrangular order, and offer sunny courts 

 for the cattle. 



If a sunny exposure, and grateful shelter 

 from harsh winds be good for the temper of 

 the farm wife and her household, they are even 

 better for all the grosser domestic animals; 

 and it is an imperative condition of the ar- 

 rangement of all farm buildings in our climate 

 that they offer a sheltering lee, and have their 

 principal openings, specially of windows, to 

 the south. Protection against summer heats, 

 if needed for stalled animals, it is easy to sup- 

 ply; but an equivalent for the warmth of the 

 winter's sun, I know no name for. 



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