THE CONSTRUCTION OF FARM-BUILDINGS AND COTTAGES. 279 



made fat for the market or household use, must be shut up in sties. 

 Sties are frequently made with an inner and an outer court, each being 

 made about six feet square. The Yorkshire cottagers, who are great pig- 

 fatteners, prefer to have their sty made all under one roof, and without 

 any outside court. They maintain that a pig fattens quickest when kept 

 dry and warm, and this is quite reasonable. The door of the sty should 

 be made so that any pig will not be able to lift it up with its snout. 

 Where large numbers of pigs are kept and fattened, a shed with a double 

 row of sties and a feeding-passage in the centre would do well. 



12. The Arrangement of the Stackyard. The greater number of farmers 

 in this country have their stackyards open. Some prefer having all 

 the grain brought home to the steading ; others, again, are disposed to 

 have it divided about the fields. This latter system is to avoid the risk 

 of fire as much as possible. Each system has its advantages and dis- 

 advantages. Where all the grain is brought home to the steading, it is 

 more convenient for thrashing in wet weather, but the risk of fire is 

 greater than in the other case. Covered stackyards have been adopted in 

 some places with advantage ; but the first cost is heavy, and it is very 

 questionable whether the advantages gained are equal to the outlay. 



Tramways and trucks are now coming into use for stackyards. The 

 yard is laid with rails parallel to 

 each other, which in some cases 

 run into a main line in the centre, 

 upon which are turn-tables to turn 

 each truck with a stack upon it, 

 and then to run it into the barn 

 or stack-shed built for the pur- 

 pose. Others, again, can be made 

 by having the lines parallel to 

 each other, and gradually bend- 

 ing at the ends, so as to curve 

 into the barn. Others, again, can 

 be made by having a main line running from the barn through the 

 yard, and sunk below its level, on which a single truck is used. Other 

 lines run at right angles to this sunken line, and the trucks upon which 

 the stacks are built are run on to the other truck in the sunken line, 

 and then taken to the barn. This system is shown in the accom- 

 panying sketches, figs. 107 and 108. The system with the sunken rail, 

 as shown in the figures, is, I am of opinion, the best. The system with 

 curved lines takes up too much space, and that with turn-tables is 

 too expensive. 



13. The General Arrangement of the Farfa-Stcadiny. In the erection 



FIG. 107. 



