CHAP. i. DAIRY HOMESTEAD. 657 



if that term can be applied to a building in which no style at all is 

 observable. Yet there is nothing to prevent this from being a really 

 ornamental feature in the farm buildings. If, however, expense should 

 stand in the way, then the pigeon-house may be made very comfortably 

 at the side of the poultry-house, if that be, as indicated above, placed 

 on the granary floor. Pigeons generally get their living on the farms, 

 and are a source of annoyance on account of the way they have of 

 pulling, or burrowing into, stacks after corn. Moreover, they block the 

 water spouts so much with their dung that many farmers prefer not to 

 keep them, but as the birds look graceful about the place, homesteads 

 are often not considered complete without a dove-cot. Hence these 

 annoyances are put up with, although there are considerable doubts 

 as to the profitableness of the birds. 



We now come to consider the case of a Dairy Farm, the second 

 "representative plan" we have decided to illustrate. 



The large increase in the population of our towns, especially in the 

 manufacturing and mining districts, and what may be called the larger 

 proportional increase in the wages which the people now receive, 

 have added largely to the number of consumers of farm produce. 

 For milk, butter, and cheese the demand is great. Dairies on a 

 large scale are now therefore becoming very common, and what is 

 termed the manufacturing process is carried out in connection 

 with them. It will be well, therefore, to glance briefly at some 

 of the leading points connected with these arrangements and con- 

 structions. Where milk is sent away straight from the cow-shed, 

 there is, of course, no need for any other convenience than the refrige- 

 rator, which can be placed conveniently near to the milking-house, 

 though the proximity to a cool well of water must be considered. 



The dairy buildings proper are those in which the milk is stored, 

 prepared, and fitted for the after or final processes, such as butter and 

 cheese making ; and, being quite distinct from the buildings in which 

 the milk is produced, they may either be connected with or detached 

 from these. But as the two departments are so intimately connected, 

 and as the processes of the one cannot be carried on without the 

 products of the other, it will be well to glance, however briefly, at what 

 constitutes the apartments of a first-class dairy homestead. 



The main or principal part is of course the cow-house, or byre, in 

 which the cows are kept. This is fitted up with stalls, either single or 

 double, and the rows of stalls are so arranged as to give the largest 

 amount of working space beneath the minimum extent of roof surface, 

 the great object being to furnish the roof as cheaply as possible. If the 

 dairy farmer breeds his own stock and does not buy them in, accom- 

 modation will have to be provided for the breeding and rearing 

 department. This will comprise a bull-house, and premises for the 

 young cows which are to supply the dams. This accommodation may 

 be given either in the form of stalls, boxes, or hammels, but stalls are 

 the best, as they can be used when the heifers are in calf and being 

 fed, and also when they calve, for which latter purpose boxes or 

 hammels would not be suitable. A " calf house" will also be required, 



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