THE FARM HOMESTEAD. 95 



what in advance in the date, in order to meet the probable 

 requirements of the future. 



The social position of the tenant-farmer is very different 

 from that of his forefathers. The large farmer is now a 

 capitalist and an educated man, and, as such, expects atten- 

 tion to the comforts and amenities of life. During the 

 severe agricultural depression there has been far less diffi- 

 culty in letting farms where the homestead is modern and 

 convenient than where it is inconvenient and dilapidated. 

 The past twenty years have seen a vast improvement in the 

 home of the tenant-farmer. 



In the larger and better classes of farmhouses the 

 accommodation required consists of three rooms, hall- 

 passage, kitchen, pantry, and scullery on the ground floor, 

 with good cellar below, and at least five or six bedrooms 

 above. We need not, however, discuss the accommodation 

 afforded in the farmhouse so far as ordinary domestic 

 requirements are concerned. But it may be noted that a 

 certain largeness of space as to passages, kitchen, cellars, 

 and outhouses is required in farmhouses beyond what in 

 ordinary house accommodation is expected. 



Throughout the greater part of England bricks are now 

 the chief materials used in the erection of farm home- 

 steads. Recent improvements in brick-making machinery 

 have not only lessened the cost, they have also greatly 

 improved the quality of the bricks. Even in districts where 

 stone is plentiful, the enhanced cost of getting and pre- 

 paring it is to a great extent precluding its use. 



The Dairy. This is a necessary adjunct to the farm- 

 house : and, if detached, it should communicate with the 

 house by a covered way. The dairy, to be satisfactory, 



