CHAP. in. FARM COTTAGES. 697 



CHAPTER III. 

 ON FARM COTTAGES. 



GOOD farm-cottages are very necessary to the welfare of all 

 connected with an estate, for the landlord cannot let his farms 

 freely unless there is a good supply of labour, and the farmer cannot 

 pursue his business unless he has a call on a fair number of men ; and 

 without good homes men are very liable to be discontented with their 

 lot, and are ready to leave the place for very little inducement. Farm 

 hands are better in every respect for a good home, especially if it is 

 surrounded by a convenient garden where spare time can be utilised, 

 rather than wasted in loafing, or in frequenting public-houses. Men 

 with the responsibility of a good house are doubtless better citizens than 

 those who exist in inconvenient and comfortless abodes, and where it is 

 impossible for them to live in decency, or in accordance with the first 

 principles of sanitation. This has become recognised by almost every 

 landowner, and cottages are now built on much more comfortable lines 

 than in the past, so that the wretched hovels which were once con- 

 sidered good enough are rapidly passing away. The consequence is 

 that farm-cottages are rarely built in the expectation of their becoming 

 profitable investments in the first instance, though indirectly they may 

 reasonably be expected to give a good return, and they are properly 

 regarded as quite as necessary as any other portion of the steading, for 

 without them the equipment of the farm is incomplete. Though 

 money should not be wasted on them, the aim should nevertheless be 

 to provide the greatest amount of room and comfort for the outlay 

 incurred. 



Some estates are noted for excellent cottages, but the latter 

 have been rendered more expensive than was necessary by the intro- 

 duction of useless gables, which frequently are not water-tight, and are 

 costly to maintain. The more simple the cottage the better, unless it 

 is the owner's wish to add to the picturesqueness of the landscape. It 

 is very desirable that there should be a convenient out-house, to be 

 divided into a closet and a store-room for the man's tools and other odd 

 things, even if there is an indoor closet also. Land in the country is 

 not of great value, and the cost of erecting such an out-house need not 

 be great. When it is decided to build away from the farm-homestead 

 and village, cottages should be erected in pairs, so that in time of sick- 

 ness or accident one family may be able to render assistance to the 

 other. 



It is obvious that the scope of our work prevents our entering fully 

 into all details. These, indeed, must be looked for in special treatises 

 on the subject. In commencing to plan a cottage, it will result in 

 some saving if the following points, too often lost sight of, are duly 



