Management of a Home Farm. 
249 
fastened by lock and key. On openincr the doors the upper 
portion is found to be divided vertically into three compart- 
ments, each containing five drawers. The ri^jht-hand division 
is reserved for the service of the stable, beginning with the 
lighter ailments, and ending with gripe or colic, which is one of 
the most serious or annoying of common complaints. On the left 
we have a series of drawers devoted to the cow stock, both for 
external and internal use. In the centre is Bagsliaw and Harris's 
excellent foot-halt ointment for sheep, two reserve drawers, vermin 
poison, and dressing for seed-corn. Below is a large drawer, 
stretching across the full width, devoted to Read's instruments ; 
it also contains the box with numbers for branding the herd. 
The above are all lockfast, but there are a couple of deep drawers 
below, . which are not locked. These contain " twine, cord, 
and bandages;" and "tacks, nails, hammers, &c.," respectively. 
Weights and scales are kept, though little used. We are far 
from advocating the home compounding of medicines ; leave 
that matter to the clever chemist behind the counter. It is not 
well when illness occurs to have to run to Clater or Youatt, and 
then to begin compounding, or else to send to the nearest 
druggist. A good selection, kept and aiTanged in the manner 
indicated, will, in the majority of years, and with the majority 
of intelligent men, be constantly in requisition, and prove a most 
desirable adjunct to the fittings of the farm office. 
As the proprietor will generally wish to be able to show choice 
stock of some kind, a pure-bred bull, a Clydesdale stallion, fine 
milch cows, pigs, or poultry, special buildings suited to these 
animals will be wanted. Nor must the implement-shed be of 
narrow dimensions, if a judicious selection of prize implements 
is to be tested and introduced into the neighbourhood. 
2. Arrangements for the Dairy and Stables. 
Whatever doubt there may be whether such a market as London 
affords may not equal or even surpass the best home supplies 
of meat and poultry, for dairy produce few will hesitate to give 
the preference to the home farm. It is, however, very differently 
circumstanced from the common dairy farm in respect of these 
supplies, because milk being wanted all the year round, the cows 
cannot be simultaneously " dry," and ready to make a fresh start 
in the ensuing cheesemaking season. Nay, more, the very time 
when the farmer's dairy is generally at a low ebb is exactly 
that at which "the house" calls for its amplest supply. When 
country amusements are most rife, and country houses best filled, 
a succession of cows must be provided to meet the emergency. 
It is no use for the bailiff to grumble, or for the agent or auditor 
