PLANNING FARM AND FARMSTEAD 



853 



reaching the nearest point of the field. It is unwise to finish the work of 

 that portion of the field nearest the farmstead, and thus travel over it 

 unoccupied to reach the more remote portions. The hauling of the prod- 

 ucts from the field and the manure to the field may, to a certain extent, 

 be planned in the same way. Only when the field is so long that a load can 

 be gathered or unloaded in passing less than twice across the field, is there 

 any loss in this respect. 



Variation in topography and character of soil will sometimes influence 

 the shape and direction of the lines of the field. It is desirable as far as 



2. 



12.6 A* 



6 ' 7 



.aAI.i2.8A 1 12.8 A \2.S A 

 l f 



The Farm Rearranged for Economy in Cultivation and Saving 

 in Waste Land and Fences. 1 



possible to have fields uniform in character of soil, for this facilitates uni- 

 formity in treatment and rate of seeding. 



Rotation Groups. — Under present conditions, the arrangement of 

 fields on a farm most generally becomes a question of remodeling the farm. 

 To lay out a farm from the beginning, the fields should be free from crops, 

 but since this is usually not feasible, it is necessary to change the plan by 

 degrees. It will usually require two or three years to establish the change 

 and satisfactory rotation. Sometimes it will take four years to do it. 



Where two rotations are advisable, two groups of fields are called for, 

 one for the major rotation consisting of large fields, and the other for the 

 minor, made up of small fields. The latter should lie adjacent to the 



1 Courtesy of The Macmillan Company, N. Y. From "Farm Management," by Warren. 



