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THE ILLINOIS FA.IIM:EII. 



323 



vatory, from which to take a view of 

 your farm at a glance, and see if "the 

 boys'* are doing as they should, or if 

 any marauding cattle are encroaching 

 upon your premises, and we have done 

 with this department, except to add that 

 the additional expense of such a fixture 

 as we have mentioned upon a barn, will 

 pay for itself in one year by the mileage 

 it will save. 



We will now introduce our plan, to 

 show what has been considered a good 

 arrangement for a farmer's surround- 

 ings. 



[See Kngraving.] 



By the arrangement here represented, 

 a large amount of convenience is secured 

 at a comparatively cheap rate. 



The yard in front of the barn should 

 be seeded down and used only as a ren- 

 dezvous for the teams, &c., preparatory 

 to going to the fields. 



The cattle yards should be dry and 

 large. If the animals are sheltered in- 

 stead of stabled, the shelter should face 

 the south. The fence surrounding this 

 yard should be high and tight. 



Swine ought not to be allowed to run 

 at large, except perhaps in acorn time. 

 They should be made comfortable and 

 happy at home, which can be done by 

 furnishing them with plenty of food and 

 drink and straw to sleep on. 



The poultry yard should be picketed, 

 and the fowls should not be allowed to 

 visit the lawn or the garden, though they 

 may be permitted to run at large back of 

 their own yard. There can be no grea- 

 ter nuisance than to have fowls ranging 

 where they will, and few greater addi- 

 tions to a farm establishment than a 

 Well selected, well governed yard of 

 poultry. 



The location of the well is a good one, 

 being equally accessible to the barn, 

 poultry yard and house. 



The kitchen garden must be ample and 

 of great variety. There are few things 

 more inconsistent than for people who 

 voluntarily renounce the conveniences 

 and pleasures of a town for a country 

 life to deprive themselves, through sheer 

 neglect, of benefits so accessible and so 

 desirable. 



The planting of an orchard should not 

 be deferred. (We are aware that we are 

 now encroaching upon the domains of 

 the sense of taste, in the opinion of some 

 of our readers ! ) The trees will grow 

 while their owner is sleeping. His time 

 and attention will be only occasionally 

 required to insure their growth and 

 prosperity, as far as he can aid them. 

 The labor is small, the luxury, the 

 profit, very great. Do not neglect this 

 important branch of agricultural econ- 

 omy. 



It is manifestly a convenience to have 

 the pasture back of the barn. But if 

 one has no pasture ? Locate your gate 



wlicre we have ours, and, 'hope for better 

 things" ere long. 



Swine should be kept as much in the 

 "back ground'' as possible. Indeed, all 

 animals should h.-ive their "sphere of ac- 

 tion" in the territory back of the barn. 

 It is just as economical and far more 

 pleasant. And there is no necessity for 

 having the stock of grain placed on a 

 range with the house, injuring irrepara- 

 bly the effect, and adding nothing to the 

 convenience, that is providing the grain 

 is drawn to the house, which should 

 always be the case. The danger of its 

 being destroyed by fire is far less, espe- 

 cially as long as the custom of annually 

 firing our prairies continues. No time 

 is lost in the process of drawing grain 

 "to the house,'' which the time gained 

 by being so much nearer home during 

 threshing and storing time will not bal- 

 ance. Besides, the labor of drawing 

 straw for the use of stock is saved, and 

 the manure made by the decay of it is in 

 an available position. 



Having mentioned the principal ways 

 in which and by which the king of senses 

 is to be supplied with evidences of em- 

 bellishment, we come to the next sense, 

 which is to test the taste exercised in the 

 arrangement of a country home, viz : — 

 hearing. This field of inquiry is not so 

 extensive as the one just surveyed. — 

 Sounds about a farm may be agreeable 

 which in a town would be of quite a 

 contrary nature. 



The bleating of sheep, more from the 

 associations it brings of shade and pas- 

 tures, than from any real melody in it, 

 is a pleasant sound. The lowing of 

 herds, the neighing of horses, the bark- 

 ing of dogs are pleasant sounds in their 

 sphere, but out of it are no more suita- 

 ble than "Yankee Doodle with varia- 

 tions" would be, pealing from a piano- 

 forte in the heart of a dreamy forest. 



But the prime object in this particular 

 is the singing of birds. This, at least, 

 is cheap enough. It costs only a little 

 corn, the absence of gun firing from the 

 vicinity of the house, and groves in which 

 the birds may nest. Then you have 

 your orchestra "without money and with- 

 out price;'' your concerts of a choicer 

 music than a Lind or a Parodi could dis- 

 course, and the inspiration of nature 

 too. Provide your own musical enter- 

 tainments then, and they will soon be- 

 come indispensable to you. 



With respect to the third sense men- 

 tioned. Placing the out-buildings in the 

 positions designated will banish all disa- 

 greeable odors, while the perfumes of 

 flowers, the freshness of grass and the 

 aroma of a pure air, will take their place. 

 We do not consider it as our province 

 to speak of the many ways in which a 

 well regulated system of occupation, as 

 studies, gardening, &c., will contribute 

 to the happiness and contentment of the 



inmates of all "country homes.'' Of the 

 importance of these, and many other 

 things more strictly pertaining to the in- 

 ternal affairs of a home, our readers are 

 aware. We aim not now at giving hints 

 beyond the "outward seeming" of em- 

 bellishment. Of that higher, holier 

 beauty — the beauty of a pure life and 

 honest purpose — it is not ours to speak. 

 Yet this is as needful, and even more 

 needful to the attainment of perfection 

 in a home than anything we have men- 

 tioned. Anything, be it moral, educa- 

 tional or ornamental, which is said, or 

 sung, or written, the object of which is 

 the advancement of the home interests 

 of our nation, is a noble endeavor fc^ a 

 noble cause* Man is tossed here and 

 there upon the rough billows of life like 

 a ship at sea, but he is never at rest, 

 never at his destination — still like the 

 ships, till anchored trustingly in the 

 quiet of home. Men prepare costly 

 havens for ocean's leviathan wanderers 

 — no expense is spared, no labor denied, 

 to make them safe, secure and tranquil. 

 Coast cities vie with each other in im- 

 proving their natural harbors, and the 

 city whose harbor is best receives the 

 largest share of commerce. The situa- 

 tion of man and home is parallel to that 

 of ship and harbor. From the one let 

 us derive lessons for the benefit of the 

 other. As "Heaven" is the watchword 

 for Eternity, so is "Home" the watch- 

 word for Time. 



Our Next Connty Fair. 



Mr. Editor: The county fair usually 

 takes place the present month. In many of 

 our counties we have exhibitions that would 

 do no discredit to the best fairs in the eastern 

 States; but we can do much better than we 

 have yet done. And I want Sangamon 

 county to have a better fair this fall than has 

 ever taken place here yet. 



We have the finest stock in this county 

 that can be found in the State. Old Prior's 

 stock is here, as well as himself. Young 

 Barnton is also here, and can bring forward 

 to the fair a most interesting family of colts. 

 Sangers' Morgan, too, can boast of a beauti- 

 ful and prosperous family. The sires will 

 be on the fair grounds this fall, with their 

 progeny. It will be an interesting sight. 



We shall have, too, the noble herds of 

 Island grove and Rock Creek, and from 

 other portions of the county. And we ought 

 to have present graded stock in large num- 

 bers. Why is no graded stock brought to 

 the fair? The premiums are good, and 

 graded stock often look better than full 

 blooded stock. This certainly has been the 

 case. Let us see cows and steers of the gra- 

 ded stock present at our fair. 



The best sheep of this or any other county 

 will be at the fair. There are now in this 

 county as good French Merino sheep as can 

 be found. 



No pains or expense have been spared to 

 receive the best stocks. Whj is it that more 

 of our farmers do not go into the business of 



