380 Transactions of the American Institute. 



the protection afforded to fruit trees and -winter grain. The farmers 

 of our entire country have made a most lamentable mistake in 

 removing all the old forest trees that stood on that side of the farm 

 ■whence came the prevailing winds in winter. Every young man, 

 and old one, too, who contemplates choosing a location for farm 

 buildings, ought to spare the trees round the dwellings and out- 

 buildings. Plant your buildings, if the land be level, near the 

 center of your farm, and let a dense belt of trees, a few rods wide, 

 encircle them. Then let another belt of timber, a few rods in 

 width, continue to grow round about the outside of the entire farm. 

 More grain, grass, fruit or any other product of the land can be 

 grown on seventy-five acres, with twenty-five covered with heavy 

 forest trees, than can be produced on one hundred acres denuded 

 of trees, and exposed to the sweeping winds of the winter months. 



It appears odd to live a hundred rods from the beaten track of 

 the highway, because a prevailing custom, which stands directly in 

 the iiice and eyes of convenience, prompts people to locate their 

 dwelling-houses where every itinerant interloper that travels the 

 streets, by rising on tip-toe, may peep into the parlor or bedroom 

 windows. People often think it is inconvenient " to live away ofi" 

 in the fields," because, when they go to church, to mill, to post- 

 office, or anywhere else, they must travel so far before they reach 

 the highway. 



Now, we will suppose, for example, that it is a hundred rods 

 from the further side of a farm to a highway — which will be 

 attended with the most convenience and economy, to locate the 

 buildings near the center of the farm, and thus save an untold 

 amount of carting manure to the field, and products of the farm to 

 the barn, and spend a few minutes longer in riding from the house 

 to the highway, or to cart a large proportion of heavy materials 

 one hundred rods ? 



There is no need of going into details on this point. The simple 

 suggestion will be sufficient to induce a thinking farmer to put in 

 jDractice what has been alluded to. 



We have seen farms half a mile or more long, of a triangular 

 form, with all the buildings on one corner. It is easy to calculate 

 how much more time is consumed, and how much more team labor 

 is required to perform the necessary carting on those farms than if 

 the buildings were located near the middle of the entire tract. In 

 numerous instances, dwelling-house, barn and all other buildings, 

 are located so imsatisfactorily that it would pay well to have every- 



