On  the  Construction  of  Farm-Buildings. 
273 
not  less  than  4-horse  power  should  be  used,  with  the  firm  con- 
viction that  sufficient  profitable  employment  will  be  found  for 
such  machinery  in  threshing  and  winnowing  all  the  corn  grown 
on  a well  cultivated  farm  of  300  acres,  cutting  also  at  the  same 
time  all  the  chaff  required  for  the  daily  feeding  of  some  30  fatting 
beasts,  with  the  young  stock  and  all  the  horses  on  the  farm,  and 
also  grinding  whatever  corn  or  linseed  these  cattle  and  the  pigs 
may  require.  By  so  doing  we  avoid  the  loss  of  time  so  frequently 
incurred  in  sending  a horse  and  cart  to  a neighbouring  mill  for 
grist,  and  we  also  have  the  other  advantage  of  using  all  our  bran 
at  home. 
The  facilities  for  chaff'  cutting  afforded  by  means  of  steam-power 
are  so  great,  that  we  would  allow  no  rack  food  to  be  given  what- 
ever, for  even  in  summer  it  will  be  found  more  advantageous  and 
wholesome  to  cut  the  green  food  into  chaff  with  straw.  Having 
said  thus  much  in  favour  of  using  a steam-engine,  we  propose  to 
avail  ourselves  of  another  modern  mechanical  improvement,  viz., 
the  railroad. 
The  only  reasons  why  practical  science  cannot  be,  or  rather  is 
not,  more  frequently  rendered  available  in  the  mechanical 
arrangements  of  the  farm-yard,  in  the  same  manner  as  in  our 
numerous  manufacturing  operations,  are  the  want  of  concen- 
tration that  really  exists  and  the  supposed  insufficiency  of  the 
amount  of  labour  to  be  executed  to  repay  a fair  interest  on  the 
cost  of  the  required  mechanical  contrivances.  But  beginning,  as 
it  were,  de  novo,  and  concentrating  all  our  operations  towards  one 
point,  we  may,  we  are  convinced,  with  considerable  advantage 
combine  the  benefits  of  the  steam-engine  with  that  of  the  rail- 
road, and  thus  profitably  save  both  manual  and  horse  labour. 
It  will  be  seen  that  a single  line  of  rail  4 feet  apart,  passes 
through  the  barn,  diverging  at  each  end  into  a double  line,  by 
which  means  we  not  only  avail  ourselves  of  the  direct  advantage  of 
two  lines  through  the  rickyard  and  the  cattle  boxes,  but  we  avoid 
the  necessity  of  any  turn-table  or  switches ; as  in  taking  in  a rick 
it  is  only  necessary  to  push  the  empty  waggon  on  to  the  rail  not 
in  use,  in  order  to  allow  the  loaded  waggon  to  pass  into  the  barn. 
Thus  we  dispense  with  the  assistance  of  several  horses,  which 
are  generally  employed  in  taking  in  a rick,  as  the  manual  power 
on  the  spot  is  quite  sufficient  to  propel  the  waggon  on  the  rail, 
and  we  propose  to  assist  this  by  laying  down  the  rail  on  an  in- 
clined plane,  commencing  at  the  extremities  of  the  rickyard,  and 
having  a fall  of  18  inches  at  its  termination  in  the  dung-pit ; so 
that  the  labour  of  pushing  a loaded  waggon  down,  or  an  empty 
waggon  up,  the  rail  shall  be  equalized.  The  ricks  are,  of  course, 
so  arranged  on  the  sides  of  each  rail  as  to  be  readily  loaded  into 
the  railway  waggon.  There  are,  of  course,  two  of  these  trucks 
VOL.  XI.  T 
