On  the  Farming  of  Somerset. 
745 
this  can  be  clone,  nor  will  they  be  aware  till  they  look  into  the 
matter  thoroughly  for  themselves,  and  make  it  the  interest  of  the 
tenants  to  assist  them  in  keeping  a check  on  the  expenditure,  by 
taking  (hem  into  personal  consultation  and  considering  how  the 
Greatest  convenience  is  to  be  obtained  for  a given  sum. 
The  humidity  of  the  climate  must  be  taken  into  account  in  all 
West  Country  buildings.  One  of  the  peculiarities  resulting  from 
this  cause  is  the  building  of  a second  storey  or  loft  over  all 
bullock  sheds  : it  is  called  a “ tallat.”  Tenants  in  the  west  are 
rarely  satisfied  without  them.  As  to  the  expediency  of  this  cus- 
tom the  most  opposite  opinions  are  held  and  acted  upon  by 
practical  men  of  no  less  authority  than  Mr.  Hancock  of  Halse 
and  Mr.  Blandford  of  Weston  Bampfield,  when  building  on  their 
own  estates. 
It  is  true  that  one  roof  is  made  to  serve  for  two  floors,  but 
when  the  extra  walling,  long  pillars  or  posts,  joists,  and  flooring 
are  reckoned  up,  the  tallat  will  be  found  to  add  50  per  cent,  to 
the  cost  of  a shed.  The  common  “tallat”  linhav  (1)  standing 
by  itself  in  an  exposed  situation  is  a very  bad  arrangement ; it 
gives  little  shelter,  and  the  hay  in  the  loft  is  sure  to  be  wasted. 
A far  better  plan  for  the  hills  is  a low  building  such  as  Mr. 
Corner’s  (2),  with  wide  piers  and  low  projecting  roof.  If  “ tallats  ” 
be  advisable,  they  ought  not  to  be  mere  lumber-rooms  or  hay-lofts. 
They  may  be  made  subsidiary  to  more  economical  feeding  ar- 
rangements instead  of  means  of  waste,  and  so  may  tend  to 
economise  space  and  masonry.  They  should  then  be  arranged 
as  at  Mr.  Kidner’s  (3),  well  floored,  with  a parapet,  and  connected 
with  the  threshing-floor.  In  this  way  the  “tallat”  may  be  used 
as  a straw-barn  upstairs,  or  as  a floor  for  chaff-cutting,  turnip- 
cutting, grain  bruising,  and  other  purposes. 
The  whole  system  of  barn  economy  requires  to  be  reviewed, 
and  the  improved  threshing-floors  and  rooms  for  dressing  corn 
adopted  with  due  regard  to  our  climate,  which  is  not  so  favourable 
for  out-door  threshing,  or  for  taking  in  ricks  when  wanted,  as  the 
east  of  England. 
In  the  meantime  the  pressing  point  is  to  provide  sufficient  means 
for  bringing  all  the  horned  cattle  (and  ought  we  not  at  the 
present  day  to  say  some  of  the  sheep  too?)  under  or  within  reach 
of  shelter.  Now,  shall  we  put  the  cattle  into  byres  or  under 
sheds — leave  them  loose  in  boxes  or  tie  them  up — or,  lastly,  let 
them  have  the  small  yard  and  shed  combined  as  in  Lincolnshire? 
or,  shall  we  wait  the  issue  of  Earl  Fortescue’s  public  spirited 
experiment  now  in  course  of  trial  at  Castle  Hill — and  gather 
cattle,  sheep,  and  pigs  on  various  stories  under  one  great  roof? 
Meanwhile  there  are  hundreds  of  farmers  in  Somersetshire  who 
would  be  glad  to  have  some  common  linhays  of  poles  and  thatch 
