On  the  Construction  of  Farm- Buildings. 
275 
arrangements,  which  admit  of  the  dung  being  daily  removed  from 
the  cattle  with  very  moderate  labour,  and  deposited  in  the  covered 
manure-pit,  so  that  we  take  it  the  question  of  “ adopting  boxes  or 
stalls”  must  very  much  depend  on  the  abundance  or  scarcity  of 
litter  on  the  farm. 
If,  instead  of  fatting  beasts,  a dairy  should  be  preferred,  the 
arrangement  of  our  covered  cattle-sheds  and  the  assistance  of  the 
railroad  will  be  equally  available.  While,  however,  we  advocate 
most  strongly  the  preservation  of  every  particle  of  manure,  we 
dissent  from  the  doctrine  that  beasts  are  to  be  kept  merely  or 
expressly  for  the  purpose  of  making  dung,  and  that  for  this  de- 
sideratum a loss  may  be  submitted  to  on  each  head  of  cattle  with 
impunity.  The  legitimate  object  of  fatting  cattle  is  to  convert 
the  produce  of  the  farm  into  a concentrated  and  marketable  form, 
securing  at  the  same  time  the  manure  voided  by  the  animals.  To 
do  this  advantageously,  it  is  often  desirable  to  use  linseed  and 
corn  in  conjunction  with  roots  and  hay,  thereby  making  the  more 
bulky  food  go  further,  and  thus  fatting  off  the  animals  in  a shorter 
space  of  time.  So  far  so  good ; but  to  go  beyond  this,  and  to 
keep  an  enormous  quantity  of  cattle  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of 
the  farm,  as  is  sometimes  done,  feeding  them  principally  on  pur- 
chased food  for  the  purpose  of  making  manure,  is  at  best  but 
manufacturing  that  at  a great  cost  which  can  be  more  advan- 
tageously purchased  in  the  form  of  Peruvian  guano  or  other  con- 
centrated manures.  We  have  therefore  extended  the  accommo- 
dation of  our  cattle-boxes  only  to  that  amount  which  can  be 
warranted  by  high  though  at  the  same  time  legitimate  farming. 
It  will  be  seen  that  our  covered  houses  for  young  stock,  and 
also  our  calf-pens,  are  placed  at  the  extremity  of  the  cattle-boxes, 
so  that  the  same  system  of  feeding  can  also  be  adopted  with  re- 
ference to  them. 
We  have  presumed  that  cattle-feeding  forms  a prominent  object 
on  our  farm;  but  if  it  be  wished  to  substitute  the  shed-feeding 
of  sheep,  our  arrangement  will  be  found  equally  applicable.  It 
will  require  very  little  alteration,  if  feeding  sheep  in  pens  is  pre- 
ferred, and  not  much  extra  expense  to  adapt  the  space  to  the 
stall-feeding  of  these  animals.  In  each  case  a framework  of  wood 
must  be  used,  allowing  the  manure  to  drop  through  into  the  pit 
below,  from  which  the  more  liquid  part  drains  off  into  the  manure- 
tank.  The  piggeries  occupy  a tolerable  amount  of  space  in  our 
plan,  with  a view  of  accommodating  a large  number  of  pigs  ; for 
we  believe  that  no  animal  will  pay  better  for  food  and  systematic 
arrangements,  both  with  regard  to  warmth,  comfort,  Jnd  the  eco- 
nomy of  food.  Believing  that  exposure  to  cold  and  wet  robs  the 
latting  animal  of  that  which  would  otherwise  become  fat,  and  that 
the  manure  is  also  deteriorated,  we  propose  placing  both  under 
. T 2 
