Proceedings of tee Farmer^ Club. 381 



thing moved to a more convenient and desirable location. Farmers, 

 as a general rule, have too little regard for location. 



THE FOUNDATION OF BUILDINGS. 



The durability of any building will be greatly enhanced by means 

 of an excellent foundation. It is unwise policy to rest a building 

 on a foundation that will yield in a few years. In many localities 

 the earth is so soft that a cellar may be sunk to any desired depth 

 wuth a shovel. When heavy buildings are erected on such ground, 

 there is much danger that some corner may settle, to the serious 

 injury of the edifice. Boards or planking are frequently laid on 

 the ground beneath the foundation wall. But such a practice 

 camiot be denounced in too strong language, as boards, in such 

 places, so favorable to speedy decay, will soon lose their solidity, 

 and thus allow the wall and a portion of the superstructure to 

 settle. The true way to prepare a foundation in such places is to 

 excavate the dirt, say six inches lower than the bottom of the 

 cellar, and three or more feet wide, stamp the earth thoroughly 

 with a rammer, and lay thick flagging stones on the bottom, resting 

 on a bed of cement. Such a foundation will not be expensive, and 

 it will remain intact for ages after the men who built the wall have 

 been forgotten. If the land is at all springy, let drain tiles be laid 

 entirely around the outside of the foundation, to catch and conduct 

 away the excess of moisture that would render the cellar or Imse- 

 ment of the building undesirably damp. A few dollars expended 

 in a proper maimer, and at the correct period, will not fail some- 

 times to enhance the value of a building or cellar more than a 

 hundred dollai'S. A poor foundation beneath a fine superstructure 

 is often a source of grief that a few dollars can never mitigate. 

 And let me urge, at this point, the importance of preparing a per- 

 manent foundation for every barn and other out-building. If the 

 country afibrds no other material than bricks, miles away, lay a 

 firm foundation, if the superstructure is to be nothing but a hennery 

 or piggery. And let the bottom stones, or bricks, be placed so far 

 in the earth that frost will never disturb them. When the earth 

 freezes and thaws beneath a wall for a few successive winters, some 

 part of the building will most assuredly be thrown from its desired 

 position. Always exercise unusual care in placing the foundation 

 stones at each corner. So long as the corners continue unmoved, 

 the foundation walls and the superstructure will remain firm and 

 whole. Barns and other outbuildings, that do not stand over a 



