248 
Management of a Home Farm. 
impressed by the contrast. Rather let the estate bear a quiet 
and unassuming aspect, its buildings being plain but sufficient, 
showing that repairs and alterations are promptly and judici- 
ously executed, from the farm in hand down to the humblest 
outlying tenement. 
If the home premises are to be remodelled and a new site 
selected, a spot about a quarter of a mile distant from the man- 
sion should be chosen. If more remote, the supply of provisions 
to the house will be inconvenient, and the afternoon stroll of 
visitors to the farm an effort; if nearer, the farm-traffic will 
invade the privacy of the walks and drives. But, wherever be 
the site, neatness and order should alike prevail, nor will a little 
extra labour expended to that end be money thrown away ; 
houses and sheds will be all the sweeter, as well as look better, 
for being whitewashed inside two or three times a year. 
A messroom for the hands is indispensable ; and let it be a 
snug, comfortable place, where men may meet sociably at meal- 
times, and thus compensate, as far as possible, for the long walk 
home which most of them are obliged to take, since the nearest 
village may be considerably beyond the park bounds. Plenty 
of fuel should be supplied, a boiler and oven available, with plain 
table and forms to complete the furniture ; and a woman should 
be appointed to give the room a thorough weekly cleansing. The 
addition of a few books and an occasional newspaper will be 
found an acceptable boon. A farm office, for the manager, must 
not be forgotten. It is not well that he should have to transact 
the bulk of his business in his own house, or to pay the men in 
his kitchen, or to bring every stranger into his parlour whose 
business demands the use of pen and ink. The cost of a farm- 
office well fitted up is generally a good investment : there the 
hands are paid, and there the simple instruments for surveying — 
a tape, chain, cross-staff, and draining-level — will be deposited, 
together with maps, plans, and farm accounts, as well as any 
agricultural literature which the owner may think well to supply. 
To complete the furniture of this room, it is desirable that 
some such medicine-chest should be provided as was made, from 
a design sent by the writer, by Messrs. Burgess and Key, of 
London. Although we should not advise either the farmer or the 
home-farm manager to become his own veterinary surgeon in 
the more serious class of cases, it is, nevertheless, desirable to 
have a well-arranged selection of compounded remedies at hand in 
case of emergency ; and no properly qualified professional man 
will view this practice with feelings of jealousy. Indeed, our. 
supply of prepared medicines is furnished by the gentleman who 
has attended the horses on this farm for over thirty years. 
The upper portion of this chest is protected by folding-doors, 
