THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 115 



of the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal, 

 from the French of M. Antoine. The most im- 

 portant of these tables we may give hereafter, 

 but at present we shall merely quote what is 

 said about feeding animals. 



"A certain quantity of food- is required to keep 

 an animal alive and in good health ; this is called 

 his necessary ration of food ; if he has more, he 

 will gain flesh, or give milk or wool. An ox 

 requires 2 per cent, of his live weight in hay 

 per day ; if he works, he requires 2^ per cent.; 

 a milch cow 3 per cent.; a fatting ox 5 per cent, 

 at first, 4| per cent, when half fat, and only 4 

 per cent, when fat, or 4^ on the average. Sheep 

 grown up, require 3^ per cent, of their weight 

 in hay per day, to keep in store condition. Ani- 

 mals while growing require more food, and 

 should never be stinted." 



According to this calculation, a sheep of 50 

 lbs. weight would require 1 lb. 11 oz. per day ; 

 and one of 100 lbs. weight, 3 lbs. 5 oz. Or it 

 would require 199 lbs. of hay to keep the first 

 sheep 4 months ; and 397 lbs. for the same time 

 the last. This, it is believed, agrees very well 

 with the experience of our farmers, who are in 

 the habit of allowing about one ton of hay to 

 every 10 sheep. It must be remembered, how- 

 ever, that this calculation is based on the very 

 best hay ; so that when the farmer whose sheep 

 have had this quantity of thistle, johnswort, 

 daisy, &c. &c, but all called hay, dealt out to 

 them, finds his sheep dying off by dozens in 

 the spring, he need not attribute it to an error of 

 calculation. The great difference between hay 

 of the first quality, and that of inferior kinds, is 

 too much overlooked by the farmer. According 

 to M. Antoine, if 100 lbs. of good hay is taken 

 as the standard, it will require 120 lbs. of the 

 second quality to keep an animal in as good 

 condition as the first ; 140 lbs. of the third qua- 

 lity ; and so on, until hay may be so poor as 

 scarcely to support animal life given in any 

 quantity. — Cultivator. 



For the Southern Planter. 



ARCHITECTURE. 



J\Ir. Editor, — There are few subjects of greater 

 interest and importance to the farmer than the 

 construction of dwellings and other buildings, 

 and, in Virginia at least, there are few subjects 

 on which our farmers show greater apathy or 

 indifference. It is to be regretted that the va- 

 luable and entertaining pages of the Southern 

 Planter have not been enriched by contributions 

 from architects and others, who have it in their 

 power to give valuable information in reference 

 to designing, planning and constructing farm 

 buildings. And why is it that so little attention 

 is paid to architecture, both as an useful art and 

 one intended to embellish and adorn the homes 



of our farmers 1 Surely we all delight to live 

 in a commodious and comfortable and even beau- 

 tiful dwelling. When a gentleman undertakes 

 to build, instead of obtaining the views of a 

 professional architect — one who has by study 

 and practice prepared himself to give valuable 

 aid to those who wish to build, he builds as his 

 neighbor, or after the plan of some one who 

 has not one correct idea of proportion, or taste, 

 or convenience. 



But, Mr. Editor, my purpose to-night is not 

 to give your readers a lecture on this important 

 subject. I design building a cheap cottage on 

 my farm, and, my means being limited, I feel at 

 a loss about the construction of my dwelling. — 

 I desire to build a plain, comfortable and pretty 

 cottage — such a dwelling as would both suit 

 my purposes and at the same time embellish 

 my farm. The perusal of the most valuable 

 and entertaining works on landscape, gardening 

 and cottage residences, by Mr. Downing., (works 

 which every man ought to have,) called my at- 

 tention to the name of an accomplished archi- 

 tect. I corresponded with him — told him my 

 wants — limited him in the sum to be expended ; 

 and the result of my application was the receipt 

 of designs for one of the most comfortable, con- 

 venient, and elegant cottages I have ever seen. 

 He met my wishes in a most satisfactory man- 

 ner — and has really given me a building with a 

 greater number of rooms and closets than I im- 

 agined could be constructed in the space in- 

 cluded in the walls and for the small sum to be 

 expended. I never saw the architect, but have 

 had the pleasure of a very agreeable correspond- 

 ence with him. He is a gentleman of intelli- 

 gence and taste and a superior man in his pro- 

 fession. 



With no desire or interest to make a puff, al- 

 low me, Mr. Editor, to bring to the notice of my 

 brother farmers the gentleman to whom I have 

 referred. I allude to Mr. John Notman, Ar- 

 chitect, Philadelphia. I can cheerfully and with 

 unaffected sincerity recommend Mr. Notman. — 

 I feel assured that those who may have occa- 

 sion to obtain the very valuable aid of Mr. Not- 

 man will not regret that they have done so. 



Cannot you, Mr. Editor, or some of your cor- 

 respondents (more accustomed to the pen than 

 I am) do something for the cause of rural ar- 

 chitecture and embellishment of our beloved Old 

 Virginia — something to adorn our homes, and 

 thus add to the materials of our happiness ? — 

 Rely upon it, sir, if I am compelled to resort to 

 the argument of dollars and cents, (the most ir- 

 resistible of all modes of reasoning,) I can tell 

 your readers that, in the end, it costs no more 

 to build a house of good proportion and with a 

 little embellishment as to architectural appear- 

 ance, than a huge bam-like looking building. 

 And I may be wrong, but it appears to me that 

 it is almost as reasonable for an unskilled person 



