1922.] 



Farm Buildings fob Small-Holdings. 



118 



FARM BUILDINGS FOR SMALL- 

 HOLDINGS : 



A WEST RIDING IMPROVEMENT. 



Major H. P. G. Maxjlb, D.S.O., M.C., F.R.I.B.A., 



Ministry of Agriculture. 



The planning of new farm buildings, whether on a large or 

 small scale, presents many problems to the architect, and at no 

 time more than the present, when the results of scientific 

 research are becoming more generally recognised, and many of 

 the old established methods and customs of farming practice are 

 being weighed in the balance. Certain broad and elementary 

 principles of planning may, however, be said to be firmly estab- 

 lished and to be applicable to any type of English farming, and 

 it may be well to record some of these before proceeding to dis- 

 cuss the main subject of this paper. 



First, buildings must be suited to the nature of the land, the 

 type of farming, and the prevalent climatic conditions. 



Secondly, the buildings must be planned with a view to the 

 utmost economy of labour in the care of stock, i.e., in feeding, 

 cleaning and general w^ork, the guiding factor in this being the 

 correct placing of the storage rooms and mixing floor for the 

 collection, preparation, and distribution of fodder. 



Thirdly, the health and well-being of stock must not be sacri- 

 ficed to either of the above considerations by inadequate planning 

 or insufficient area. 



Fourthly, attention must be given, especially in the case of 

 the small holder (who cannot be expected to purchase artificials 

 to the same extent as the large farmer) to the adequate conser- 

 vation and economic distribution of manurial produce. 



A careful analysis of many of the existing farmsteads in this 

 country shows that these principles are more often honoured in 

 the breach than in the observance, and even buildings erected in 

 the " golden age " of farming in the last century, leave much to 

 be desired when viewed in the light of modern conditions and 

 practice. 



It is to be expected, therefore, that the immediate future will 

 show several variations from existing types, and already there 

 are signs of approaching changes in the construction and placing 

 of cow houses, in the greater attention paid to the conservation 



B 



