284 CHYMISTRY APPLlEt) TO AGRICULTURE. 



Other is employed in manufacturing and furnishing to the 

 agriculturist all the implements required in labor. 



Rural buildings should be constructed without any refer- 

 ence to luxury : the perfection of them consists in furnish- 

 ing a healthful abode to the people and animals of the farm, 

 and in storing conveniently and safely the products of the 

 various harvests. 



These two requisites in farm building are seldom found 

 united : in one place, men and animals are crowded within 

 damp and badly ventilated places, where they contract innu- 

 merable diseases ; in another, the harvests are destitute of 

 any protection against the ravages of animals, and the peas- 

 ant sees the fruit of all his labors devoured before his eyes, 

 without being able to prevent it. 



I shall not enter into particulars in regard to the best 

 method of constructing farm buildings : others have written 

 upon this subject, upon which, after all, it is impossible to be 

 very precise, as the necessary arrangements must vary much 

 in different localities, according to the kind of materials 

 that can be procured, the kinds of animals with which a 

 farm is stocked, the nature of the climate, the fortune of the 

 inhabitants, &c. 



The art of constructing and arranging the buildings upon 

 a farm in a convenient manner is not the one upon which 

 rural proprietors most need instruction ; but that which re- 

 lates to the salubrity of situation and the means of turning 

 an infected dwelling into a healthful habitation, ought to find 

 a place in this work : to knowledge of this kind the farmer 

 is almost everywhere nearly a stranger. 



The choice of a suitable spot for a farm-house is not so 

 easy a thing as may at first be thought : buildings of this 

 kind should always be placed as nearly as possible in the 

 centre of the domain, in order to avoid loss of time and la- 

 bor in the transportation of the products : the oversight of 

 a farm can likewise be managed more easily by this ar- 

 rangement. 



Independently of these considerations, the buildings should 

 be situated upon the most heathful part of the farm, and 

 where the soil is the least valuable ; where there is no stag- 

 nant water, and where there is a plentiful supply of pure wa- 

 ter, both for drinking and other domestic purposes. 



It is oflen very difficult to find a situation exactly right 

 in all these respects, but the most important considera- 

 tion, and the one to which all others should be sacrificed, 

 is salubrity. 



