25 



terial improvement can often be made in a farmstead by a read- 

 justment as new buildings are put up, though the best results are 

 obtained where things are planned right from the start. 



In selecting a site for the house, good drainage is the first re- 

 quisite. A south or east slope is generally to be preferred while 

 a north slope is undesirable. In its location give the house 

 greatest prominence. The farmstead first of all provides a home 

 and the residence should stand out as the central and most con- 

 spicuous feature of the picture. To place the barn and other 

 buildings in front of the house is to reverse the logical order of 

 things. Locate the house back far enough from thel highway to 

 afford privacy and give a good stretch of lawn in front, and yet 



l-jk^J The Barn in Front of the House an Illogical Arrangement 



not so far back as to suggest a spirit of exclusion, nor with a lawn 

 so large that it cannot be properly cared for. Most city door- 

 yards are too small while many of those in the country are so 

 large that it is impracticable to give them lawn treatment. 



The location and grouping of the general farm buildings is a 

 perplexing problem and each place presents its own peculiar con- 

 ditions and difficulties. The most common mistakes occur in the 

 location of buildings as to convenience. The corn crib should be 

 located near the particular feeding-place that will call for the 

 bulk of its supply and the toolshed where the implements can be 

 taken up or dropped enroute to or from the field. In this con- 

 nection the importance of providing enough shed room for the 

 tools and general equipment needs emphasis. The promiscuous 



