Farm Buildings. 
473 
caused to the health of the animals by the foul air generated, and 
the filth in which animals so kept were always immersed. If these 
objections had been in-emediable, they would certainly have been 
fatal to the system ; but the simjjle remedy, devised by Mr. Blundell, 
of placing a layer of earth, about 12 inches thick, at the bottom of 
each box, has the effect of fixing the ammonia and of absorbing the 
liquid portion of the manure, so that the animals can remain in 
these boxes without injury to their health and comfort ; and the 
manure thus prepared and stored is very gi-eatly increased in 
value, while the labour of foddering the animals is considerably 
diminished. 
So much of the cost of all farming operations is reducible to 
labour, and so much of this labour is connected with the homestead, 
that the arrangements of the latter should be especially framed so 
as to economise time. To ensure such a result, the buildings should 
be so placed in respect to each other that no groimd should be tra- 
versed twice without result, and no step taken beyond what is 
necessary. The great principle of profitable circulation should be 
ajDparent throughout. The everyday work at a fannery is to thrash 
out the produce from the straw, and to convey the latter to the 
stock for bedding and conversion into manure, Avhich is to be car- 
ried out to some convenient spot preparatory to its return to the 
fields. The destination of the com, hay, and root stores dictates 
their position at the head of the steading. The straw and the hay 
have to be cut into chaff, the roots to be washed and minced, or 
boiled, and the corn to be thrashed and stored. The conveniences 
and appliances for these several works must, therefore, be close to 
the objects operated on, and of ready access to the feeding-trucks. 
The root-stores should be so arranged that carts could back into 
them. As corn keeps better in ricks than in bams, the ricks should 
be placed on each side of a railwaj' proceeding from the thrashing- 
place. The granary should be partly over the thrashing-place, 
partly over an open shed, to allow waggons to back under it to 
load, and adjacent to the feeding-passage, in order to supply the 
trucks with com by a shoot. The stock-keeper, having taken up in 
the shortest time his load of roots, chaff, straw, or hay, should be 
able to deliver this in the readiest way to the animals he has to 
tend. To effect this the boxes for stock must be placed on each 
side of the feeding-passages, which proceed direct from the stores. 
These passages should have an inclination from the stores, so that 
the labour of running the loaded truck down to the stock may be 
equal to that lequired to return it back when empty. To make 
this truck travel easier, mnning planks should be fixed in the 
feeding-passages, or a light railway formed by screwing light half- 
round iron on wooden sleepers. This cheap railway should be con- 
tinued thi-ough the several stores, and between the hay, straw, and 
com- ricks, and tum-tables formed where necessarj', of equally 
simple construction. As the chief bulk of produce is brought gra- 
dually from the end of the rick-yard, first to the stores and then to 
the stock, the railway should have a fall from its end in the rick- 
