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On  the  Construction  of  Farm-Buildings. 
side,  and  often  shut  out  from  the  sun,  will  at  once  perceive  the 
superiority  of  the  plan  proposed. 
The  manure-manufactory  of  the  farm  being  thus  provided  for 
by  a line  of  yards,  four,  six,  or  eight  in  number,  with  a wide  shed 
running  along  their  north  side,  the  consideration  of  the  position 
of  the  other  parts  of  the  homestead  will  follow ; and  having  re- 
gard to  economy,  convenience,  and  compactness,  there  is  no 
better  plan  than  to  arrange  them  side  by  side  along  the  northern 
wall  of  the  cattle-yards.  The  position  of  the  barn,  as  the  place 
from  which  much  of  the  litter  for  the  cattle-yards  must  proceed, 
claims  the  first  notice.  It  should  be  nearly  central,  containing 
one  or  two  threshing-floors,  as  circumstances  may  require,  and 
having  the  large  doors  towards  the  north,  and  small  doors  in  the 
south  wall  for  the  convenient  delivery  of  straw  into  the  yards.  On 
the  one  side  of  the  barn  may  follow  the  chaff-house,  stable,  &c., 
and  on  the  other  the  granary,  cart-shed,  &c.  On  the  east  and 
west  wings  of  the  straw-yards,  running  in  a southerly  direction 
from  the  buildings  just  described,  may  be  placed  either  loose 
boxes  for  feeding  cattle,  or  sheds  for  tying  them  up,  or,  if  neither 
are  wanted,  high  blank  walls  to  shelter  the  yards  on  the  east  and 
west.  In  the  arrangement  of  the  yards,  the  horse-yard  will  of 
course  be  placed  near  the  stable,  and  the  size  of  the  other  yards 
may  be  varied  according  to  the  purposes  for  which  they  are  re- 
quired, it  being  only  provided  that  all  are  well  sheltered. 
The  general  effect  of  these  arrangements  will  be  that,  instead  of 
the  farm-homestead  forming,  as  is  commonly  the  case,  a square,  di- 
vided into  yards  and  surrounded  with  sheds  and  various  buildings, 
it  will  form  an  oblong,  containing  on  the  south  side  the  yards  for 
feeding  cattle  and  manufacturing  manure,  and  on  the  north  the 
various  buildings  required  for  the  general  business  of  the  farm. 
Having  thus  given  a brief  sketch  of  the  plan  which  is  proposed 
to  be  followed  in  the  construction  of  farm-buildings,  in  order 
more  fully  to  illustrate  it  I shall  proceed  to  describe  somewhat  in 
detail  a plan  of  a homestead,  suited  to  a farm  of  250  acres,  say 
200  arable  and  50  pasture,  and  which  would,  I believe,  be 
“ erected  at  a reasonable  cost  and  be  adapted  to  the  wants  of  a 
practical  farmer.  ’ 
Although  1 have  placed  the  cattle-yards  as  first  in  importance, 
I will,  for  convenience  sake,  commence  with  the  barn,  the  largest 
of  the  buildings  belonging  to  the  homestead,  and  which  is  num- 
bered 1 in  the  annexed  plan.  Upon  an  ordinary  arable  farm  of 
the  size  we  have  supposed,  a barn  sufficiently  large  to  contain 
two  threshing  floors  will  be  required.  And  even  at  the  outset 
objections  may  be  made  to  this  proposition  by  those  who  advocate 
the  use  of  the  threshing-machine  to  the  exclusion  of  the  flail. 
Large  farms  in  Scotland,  it  will  be  said,  are  managed  with  only 
