THE CULTIVATOB. 
2?S. 
A PRAIRIE FARM HOUSE—(Fig. 83.) 
Ground Plan—Fig. 84. 
A correspondent of the Prai¬ 
rie Farmer furnishes the an¬ 
nexed plans for a prairie farm¬ 
house, calculated, he thinks, to 
combine economy,comfort and 
convenience, with a pleasant 
and home-like appearance. 
It is designed for a southern 
or eastern aspect, the end front¬ 
ing to the road. The plan is 
drawn for a frame house, but 
may be altered for brick or 
stone by increasing the thick¬ 
ness of the walls. Its conve¬ 
nience will be seen at a glance. 
It contains all the room which 
a farmer in moderate circum¬ 
stances needs, and there is none 
that is superfluous. Should 
any like to build after the plan, 
who are not able to build the 
whole at once, the rear part 
Second Story—Fig. 85. can be put up first, and will an¬ 
swer as a dwelling, by using the meal room as a bed- 
oom. The main building is 18 by 36 feet outside; the 
lean-to additions, each 8 feet wide. The rear building 
is 18 by 25 feet. The posts to the main building are 16 
feet; to the piazza, 10 feet; to the rear building, 12 feet. 
The rooms of the lower floor are 9 feet between floors, 
the chambers 8 feet. The room b. is intended for a di¬ 
ning-room in summer, and the room h. for a summer 
kitchen; in winter, the room b. to be used for both pur¬ 
poses. The expense of completing the whole, including 
cellar under the main part, is estimated at from $800 to 
to $1,000, according to location and the material used. 
Explanation of ground plan, fig . 84.— a. parlor, ]7 by 
15 feet— b. kitchen, 17 by 15 feet— c . c. bed-rooms, 8 by 
13— d. d. piazzas, 8 by 23— e. e. entries, 6 feet wide—/, 
buttery, 6 feet square—g. milk-room, 6 feet square— h. 
back kitchen, 12 by 13 feet—i. wood-house, 12 feet 
squre— j. meal-room, 6 by 8 feet— k. chamber stairs, 4 
feet wide— l. cellar stairs— m. Franklin stove— n.n. steps 
— o. o. o. o. closets— p. wood-house stairs— q. pump—r. 
sink— s. bulk-head, covering outside cellar stairs—2 
cooking-stove—3, place for stove in summer. Drawn 
on a scale of 16 feet to the inch. 
Second story, fig. 85.— Explanation — a. chamber, 17 by 
15 feet— b. b. bed-rooms, 12 by 18 feet—c. passage— d. 
stair-case—e. closet—/, drum connected by pipe with 
stove below. 
SMUT IN WHEAT. 
A gentleman near Baltimore, has for several years been 
in the habit of washing his seed wheat in a strong solu¬ 
tion of Glauber salts, (sulphate of soda,) with the view 
of preventing smut, with complete success. He says he 
makes the solution strong enough to bear an egg, fills a 
tub half full of it, and then pours in half a bushel of 
wheat at a time; stirs it round well with the hands, skims 
off all the floating grains and other foul matters, dips out 
the wheat with a colander; lets it drain, spreads it out on 
the barn floor till not quite dry, then rolls it in air slaked 
lime, and sows it. One man can wash and prepare in 
this way as much as a dozen men can put in the ground. 
Every description of foul seeds, garlic and filth, (except 
cockle,) is effectually taken out of the wheat by this pro¬ 
cess. He has had no smut in his wheat since he adopted 
this plan. Glaubers salts can be purchased by the barrel 
at about one cent and a half a pound. The wheat swells 
while undergoing the procesis, about 25 per cent; that is, 
four bushels will become five. If, after washing, it be 
left upon the barn floor all night, and thus become dry, 
it will lose a large portion of its increased bulk. It is 
better, however, to put it in the ground while somewhat 
moist, as germination will take place sooner; and the 
quicker any seed germinates after being put in the ground 
the better. Besides the great object in view, the getting 
rid of smut and other impurities, there can be no doubt 
that a most valuable nutritive and stimulating principle 
is added to the seed grain, in the soda that is absorbed. 
Farmers will do well to try the experiment; they may 
be assured it will do no harm, and it is not very costly, 
probably a dollar's worth of the salts would be sufficient 
for fifty or an hundred bushels of seed. 
In Smilhfield Market, London, there were 180,780 
head of cattle, and 1,500,000 of sheep, sold in the year 
1839. 
