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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #68243 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68243)
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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Farmstead, by Isaac Phillips
-Roberts
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: The Farmstead
- The making of the rural home and the lay-out of the farm (5th
- edition)
-
-Author: Isaac Phillips Roberts
-
-Release Date: June 5, 2022 [eBook #68243]
-
-Language: English
-
-Produced by: Charlene Taylor, Harry Lamé and the Online Distributed
- Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
- produced from images generously made available by The
- Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FARMSTEAD ***
-
-
-
- Transcriber’s Notes
-
- Text printed in italics has been transcribed between _underscores_,
- bold face text between =equal signs=, and blackletter text between
- ~tildes~. Small capitals have been replaced with ALL CAPITALS.
-
- More Transcriber’s Notes may be found at the end of this e-text.
-
-
-
-
- ~The Rural Science Series~
- EDITED BY L. H. BAILEY
-
- THE FARMSTEAD
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
- THE FARMSTEAD
-
- _THE MAKING OF THE RURAL HOME AND
- THE LAY-OUT OF THE FARM_
-
- BY
-
- ISAAC PHILLIPS ROBERTS
-
- Director of the College of Agriculture and Professor of Agriculture in
- Cornell University; author of “The Fertility of the Land”
-
- _FIFTH EDITION_
-
- ~New York~
- THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
- LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD.
- 1910
-
- _All rights reserved_
-
-
-
-
- COPYRIGHT, 1900
- BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
-
- Set up and electrotyped January, 1900
- Reprinted August, 1902; January, 1905;
- August, 1907; June, 1910
-
- ~Mount Pleasant Press~
- J. Horace McFarland Company
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS
-
-
- CHAPTER PAGES
-
- I. RURAL HOMES 1-11
-
- II. THE FARM AS A SOURCE OF INCOME 12-42
-
- III. EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY ON THE FARM 43-53
-
- IV. SELECTION AND PURCHASE OF FARMS 54-64
-
- V. THE RELATION OF THE FARMER TO THE LAWYER (_By Hon.
- DeForest VanVleet_) 65-73
-
- VI. LOCATING THE HOUSE 74-86
-
- VII. PLANNING RURAL BUILDINGS 87-131
-
- VIII. BUILDING THE HOUSE--GENERAL LAY-OUT 132-157
- Building the Foundations 138
- Wooden Houses--The Frame 142
-
- IX. BUILDING THE HOUSE, CONCLUDED--OUTSIDE COVERING,
- PAINTING 158-180
- Veneered Houses 168
- Old Houses 170
- Painting the House 173
-
- X. INSIDE FINISH, HEATING, AND VENTILATION 181-192
- Heating and Ventilation 190
-
- XI. HOUSE FURNISHING AND DECORATION (_By Professor Mary
- Roberts Smith_) 193-203
-
- XII. CLEANLINESS AND SANITATION--WATER SUPPLY AND SEWAGE
- (_By Professor Mary Roberts Smith_) 204-223
- Water Supply and Sewage 217
-
- XIII. HOUSEHOLD ADMINISTRATION, ECONOMY, AND COMFORT (_By
- Professor Mary Roberts Smith_) 224-236
-
- XIV. THE HOME YARD (_By Professor L. H. Bailey_) 237-248
-
- XV. A DISCUSSION OF BARNS 249-265
- Location 255
- Planning the Barn 259
- Water Supply 261
-
- XVI. BUILDING THE BARN--THE BASEMENT 266-287
- Excavation 268
- Walls 271
- Floors 277
- Stalls 280
- Mangers and Ties 285
-
- XVII. BUILDING THE BARN--THE SUPERSTRUCTURE 288-297
-
- XVIII. REMODELING OLD BARNS 298-305
-
- XIX. OUTBUILDINGS AND ACCESSORIES 306-320
- Poultry Houses 306
- Piggeries 311
- The Silo 316
-
- XX. LIGHTNING PROTECTION (_By H. H. Norris, M.E._) 321-335
- Metal Roofs 324
- Protecting Wooden Roofs 326
-
- XXI. THE FIELDS 336-345
- Fences 336
- Orchards 340
- Farm Garden 341
-
- INDEX 346
-
-
-
-
-THE FARMSTEAD
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I
-
-_RURAL HOMES_
-
-
-Man is made partly by heredity, partly by environment; both may be
-controlled and modified to a far greater extent than is generally
-supposed. In speaking of farm life, its disadvantages are frequently
-emphasized, while its possible advantages as an environment for the
-development of the finest quality of human nature are as often ignored
-or overlooked.
-
-Nature, with her ever-varying form and color, beauty and symmetry, is
-forgotten in the city; the shady forest, the meadow brook, the waving
-fields, are unknown. There, instead, is incessant noise, the clang and
-clash of trade, towering and ugly buildings, skies darkened by the smoke
-of factories, children who never saw a tree or played elsewhere than
-upon a hard and filthy pavement; and worst of all is the
-nerve-destroying haste and unequal competition, wearing out body and
-soul. In rural life, however tame and lonely, the home is not merely a
-few square feet hedged in by brick walls, but the whole wide
-countryside: the barns, the fields, the woods, the orchards, the animals
-wild and domesticated, the outlook over hill and valley--these all
-constitute the farmer’s home.
-
-The manufacturer locates his factory in some by-street or suburb where
-land is cheap, and as far as possible from the residence part of the
-city; his home is far removed from these unsightly surroundings. But the
-farmer must live within a few hundred feet of his barns and
-outbuildings, and if these be ugly and dirty, the beauty and comfort of
-the home are sadly marred. If the farmer, then, has the whole landscape
-as a background for his home, he must on the other hand modify his
-immediate surroundings so as to overcome their almost inevitable
-unsightliness.
-
-Besides the ever-present beauties of nature, country life has certain
-other advantages over the city: it is the place to develop the strong
-health-physique. The luxury of rich and populous communities tends to
-produce puny and enervated citizens; the excessive toil, bad air,
-limited space and scant food of the poor tend to degrade and destroy
-body and soul; but the comfortable simplicity, space, air, sunlight and
-abundant food of the open country give opportunity for the finest
-development of the human animal. It is true that even on the farm there
-are sometimes overwork and privation; but, at the worst, these cannot be
-so severe as in cities so long as the sun shines, the wind blows, and
-green things grow for the worker out of doors. Here the child may be
-born right and nourished by pure food and air. It is surrounded by
-animals whose life and motion become an incentive to action, and who
-become its companions without danger of moral contamination. The lamb,
-the calf, the colt, are far safer playmates than the city urchin
-precociously wise in evil ways.
-
-Professor Amos G. Warner says that “children reared in institutions are
-much below par because they lack the power of initiative.” The farm
-child has an incessant, varied and unconscious training of the eye, the
-hand, and the mind. While he is developing strength, symmetry, courage,
-the mental is being coördinated with the physical. The hand is made to
-obey the will, while the fact that the handicraft is made useful lends
-charm and delight to the work. The city child must try to learn, by a
-course of manual training in some public school, what the country child
-picks up unconsciously in the natural process of play and work.
-
-After half a century, I look back to one of the happiest moments of my
-life, when I presented my mother with a dove-tailed wooden flower box,
-painted bright red. That flower box first taught me how to make wood
-take the form desired. While the flower box has long since rotted, the
-board-runner sled smashed, the water wheel broken, and the boat lies
-rotten in the bottom of the lake, the time spent upon them was not
-thrown away, for they gave me the inspiration and power to “boss” wood,
-and this power has served me well in many an emergency.
-
-As knowledge begins to dominate the hand and train it to change the form
-and character of things, certain physical laws are discovered. If the
-sail is made too large or the boat too narrow, a cold bath is the
-result. If the sled runners are too short and rough, the school-mate
-arrives at the bottom of the hill first. No schoolmaster was needed, for
-when one of these natural laws was broken or ignored, the penalty
-followed quickly and with full force. So, in a thousand ways, the youth
-is taught respect for the laws which govern matter. All this leads the
-youth on the farm, if full play and direction are given, to investigate
-everything in sight, to discover that there are other than physical
-laws. The higher laws puzzle him greatly, give him much concern, lead
-to doubts, for they are too abstract and too far-reaching for his
-youthful comprehension. The physical laws have been found by experience
-to be ever true and stable, and the youth cannot but believe that moral
-and spiritual laws are equally so. This is the sheet anchor which holds
-him to belief in them, however imperfectly he may understand them. He is
-anxious to investigate, even to experiment along these lines, but is
-disappointed because the results cannot be set down in pounds or feet or
-units of energy. If here on the farm the mental and physical have been
-kept healthy and active, the moral and spiritual will develop as
-naturally as the fruit from the blossom. The development of spiritual
-fruit to high perfection is slow, because the power to think and reason
-correctly and abstractly comes only with age, experience and mental
-development.
-
-But the greatest advantage of country life lies in the opportunity for
-the promotion of healthy family relations. Parents naturally find their
-chief happiness in the education and development of their children; and
-in time the children stimulate the parents. The sharing of common labors
-from babyhood up, the working together for common interests and
-ambition, which farm life especially entails, produce the most
-wholesome family relations. The most valuable part of any person’s
-education is really in the home. To “help father and mother” becomes the
-keynote of a child’s life, and unselfish, willing service is the first
-and last and best lesson of morality and religion. The pride in honest
-and capable ancestors, the natural and wholesome ambition for the future
-of the children, fill up a measure of contentment difficult to find
-elsewhere. In such a family there need be nothing to conceal; life takes
-on dignity in place of affectation, honesty instead of sham; it has
-simplicity, pure affections, fidelity. Artificial sex distinctions
-disappear; men and women may do that which is needful and human, the
-woman in the field, the man in the house, if desirable, sharing their
-common, healthful activities.
-
-All this is very well, some will say, but how shall such a home be
-maintained on the income of the farm? “Farming doesn’t pay.” This
-statement is unverified, and, carrying on its face, as it does, a little
-truth, is misleading. Does farming pay? Does anything pay? What is pay?
-All depends upon how you value the currency in which the pay is
-received. Is “wisdom better than rubies?” Are the sayings of the wisest
-and best of men true? “Give me neither riches nor poverty. Get wisdom,
-get understanding. Take fast hold of instruction.”
-
-A modern thinker, Professor L. H. Bailey, in the report of the Secretary
-of the Connecticut Board of Agriculture, 1898, puts it in this wise:
-“But there is another cause of apprehension which I ought to mention,
-perhaps founded upon the probable tendencies of our sociological and
-economic conditions, especially as they apply to rural communities.
-There is a tendency towards a division of estates as population
-increases, and the profits of farming are often so small that educated
-tastes, it is thought, cannot be satisfied on the farm. There are those
-who believe that because of these two facts we are ourselves drifting
-towards an American peasantry. Let us take the second proposition
-first,--that the profits of farming are so small that educated tastes
-cannot be satisfied and gratified on the farm. Now I grant this to be
-true if the measure of the satisfaction of an educated taste is money;
-but I deny it most strenuously if the satisfaction of an educated taste
-lies in a purer and better life. We must make this distinction very deep
-and broad, for it is a fundamental one. I believe we have made a mistake
-in teaching agriculture, during the last few years, by putting the
-emphasis on the money we make out of it. I do not believe that people
-are to become wealthy on the farm, as a few do in manufacturing; I
-should not hold out that hope to men. There are certain men here and
-there who have great executive ability, who see the strategic points and
-take advantage of them, who can make a success of farming the same as
-they would at the making of shoes, or harnesses, or buttons, or anything
-else. But as a general thing, the farmer should be taught that the farm
-is not the place to become wealthy. I do not believe it is. Certainly I
-should not go on the farm with that idea in view. But if I wanted to
-live a happy life, if I wanted to have at my command independence and
-the comforts of living, I do not know where I could better find them
-than on the farm; for those very things which appeal to an educated
-taste are the things which the farmer does not have to buy,--they are
-the things which are his already.”
-
-The wealthy few of the cities give voice to the thought that the farming
-classes in the United States are always on the verge of poverty, yet in
-the last century they have rescued from barbarism and solitude nearly
-all of the arable land of the two billion acres of which the United
-States are composed. More than four million five hundred thousand farm
-homes have been planted, valued at more than thirteen billion dollars.
-Much hue and cry has been raised of late about farm mortgages. If the
-facts were known, it is more than probable that the farmers, as a
-whole, have assets in mortgages, promissory notes and savings banks
-amply sufficient to liquidate all such outstanding obligations. Added to
-the real estate, the farmers own implements and machines valued at five
-hundred millions of dollars, and their live stock, upon ten thousand
-hills, numbers one hundred and seventy-five millions, valued at more
-than two billions of dollars, while the annual value of the farm
-products is between two and three billions of dollars. It should be
-remembered that these values are nominal, the true value being in most
-cases more than double these amounts. The farmers are not now in danger
-of becoming paupers. From the farms come more than half of the college
-students. At the present time it is probable that the income of the
-farmers exceeds three billion dollars annually. When it is considered
-that there is little or no direct outgo for rent of house, and that
-nearly three-fourths of the food is produced at home, and that these
-items are seldom taken into account in the statistics of income, it
-appears that the farmer’s real income is much larger than is usually
-estimated in money. In other words, a five hundred dollar net income on
-the farm, under the conditions which now prevail, provides for a more
-comfortable living than does a thousand dollars in the city.
-
-But these results of the labors of the farmer as set forth in figures,
-tell but half the story, for nothing is said in these census reports of
-an empire redeemed, of the thousands upon thousands of miles of road
-constructed, of rivers spanned, of the school house by every roadside,
-or of the church spires which mark the progress of agriculture and
-civilization in countryside, in village and in hamlet. The census report
-does not give the number or value of the great men and noble women which
-the rural homes have produced, though they are the most valuable product
-of the farms. It says nothing about the perennial rural springs from
-which flow, in a never-ending stream, statesmen, divines, missionaries,
-teachers, students and business men. Although more than half of these
-life-giving energies of the nation and civilization come directly from
-the rural homes, the census report gives no clue by which the value of
-these, the nation’s wealth and power, can be ascertained.
-
-Looking over all the trades and professions which are followed by
-civilized and barbarous peoples, none give opportunity for rearing the
-family under so nearly ideal conditions as does the profession of
-agriculture: none furnish such good conditions for rearing children and
-for developing them into strong, natural and useful men and women. Here,
-then, on these broad acres of America, under the flag which we love, we
-are to help transform the rude surroundings of the pioneer and the
-slovenly homes of the careless into pure and beautiful nurseries of
-American citizenship. Having shown, in part, what a rural life has to
-offer to those who are trained to appreciate the beauties of nature and
-to obey her laws, and having shown that the average farmer always has an
-assured though modest income, and that the better farmers have an ample
-income for maintaining improved rural homes, the further discussion of
-how they may be made to minister to the natural longings for broader and
-more refined lives may be taken up.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II
-
-_THE FARM AS A SOURCE OF INCOME_
-
-
-If it cannot be shown that the profession of agriculture offers as good
-opportunities for securing, with a fair degree of certainty, what all
-should prize,--a beautiful and comfortable home and a modest
-surplus,--then this little volume will be for the most part useless and
-uncalled for, as the following chapters presuppose an income sufficient
-for maintaining a home, and for gratifying, in part at least, the
-simple, educated tastes of the better class of American farmers.
-
-In “The Fertility of the Land” I attempted to set forth some fundamental
-principles which, if followed, should result in such increased incomes
-as to justify the present book. A comfortable home must be secured from
-the products of field and stable, with a reasonable expenditure of
-physical energy, or farming in its highest sense is a failure. In
-addition, farming must give fair opportunity for training and educating
-families, and for making provision for old age and unforeseen
-contingencies.
-
-In the previous chapter the annual income of the farmer has been set
-forth, and, approximately, the accumulated earnings of the rural
-population. Unfortunately, we are so short-sighted that the present--the
-dollar--blunts the appreciation of the higher and more enduring values
-which spring from well conducted farms. This being so, of necessity much
-stress must be laid on immediate benefits which flow from a well ordered
-farm life. While it is not proposed to write here of the details of farm
-management along the lines of greatest financial results, yet something
-must be said, at least in general, about the methods most likely to
-produce the necessary competence.
-
-A fairly liberal income and financial reserve give, or should give, some
-leisure. Leisure gives opportunity for study and recreation, without
-which life becomes one ever-revolving round of work, and results in
-producing an automatic animal. If this is to be avoided, far-reaching
-plans must be laid, energy directed into its most efficient channels,
-and time and resources economized. All this implies training and
-education directed, primarily, along the lines which broaden and
-ennoble, and those of the occupation to be followed.
-
-For centuries, the higher education has been in the direction of the
-humanities, while education along technical and non-professional lines,
-until recently, has been conspicuous by its absence. Prior to the
-present century, what provision was made for coördinating the hands and
-intellects of the industrial classes? None at all. Is it any wonder,
-then, that the farmer and mechanic, until recently, received but meager
-rewards for their efforts?
-
-All this is now changed. Already the industrial classes are enabled to
-secure far more of the necessaries and luxuries of life for a given
-period of work than could their ancestors. In every state and territory
-one or more colleges have been equipped and endowed to teach, among
-other things, “such branches of learning as are related to agriculture
-and the mechanic arts, ... _in order to promote the liberal and
-practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits
-and professions of life_.” In addition to this provision, Congress gives
-to each state and territory $15,000 annually for conducting experiments
-and investigations in agriculture. In 1890 the Federal government
-supplemented the benefactions of 1862 by appropriating annually $15,000
-to each of the Land Grant colleges; this sum has now been increased and
-finally fixed at $25,000, for the purpose of strengthening the
-departments of agriculture and mechanic arts. Most, if not all, of the
-states have made additional appropriations for agriculture, in some
-cases very liberal ones. At first, there was a strong prejudice against
-these colleges devoted to the improvement of the industries and those
-engaged in them, but this has nearly disappeared.
-
-A broader view of education now prevails than formerly. The modern
-colleges and universities think it not undignified to offer other than
-four year courses of study preceded by difficult entrance requirements.
-Many courses of from six weeks to one or two years are now open to those
-who prize knowledge above a diploma. Most of these courses are given at
-such seasons of the year as best suit the pupils. In America all doors
-which lead to knowledge have at last been opened, and all earnest
-students may enter and find teachers awaiting them. The effect of the
-recent changes in college courses has been most marked and beneficial.
-Many of the colleges have, as far as possible, adopted the words of the
-founder of Cornell University: “I would found an institution where any
-person can find instruction in any study.”
-
-The following data show the incomes of the United States Land Grant
-colleges for the year ending June 30, 1897. The table is condensed from
-one recently published by the United States Department of Agriculture:
-
- _Income of the U. S. Land Grant Colleges for the Year Ending June 30,
- 1897_
-
- ============================+===========+===========+=============+
- |Interest on| Interest | U. S. Appro-|
- STATES AND TERRITORIES | Land Grant| on Other | priations, |
- | of 1862 | Funds | Act of 1890 |
- ----------------------------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
- Alabama (Auburn) | $20,280.00| ...| $12,012.00|
- Alabama (Normal) | ...| ...| 9,988.00|
- Arkansas (Fayetteville) | 10,400.00| ...| 16,000.00|
- Arkansas (Pine Bluff) | ...| ...| 6,000.00|
- California (Berkeley) | 43,619.33| ...| 22,000.00|
- Colorado (Fort Collins) | 3,238.99|$109,997.18| 22,000.00|
- Connecticut (Storrs) | 6,750.00| ...| 22,000.00|
- Delaware (Newark) | 4,980.00| ...| 17,600.00|
- Delaware (Dover) | ...| ...| 4,400.00|
- Florida (Lake City) | 9,107.00| ...| 11,000.00|
- Florida (Tallahassee) | ...| ...| 11,000.00|
- Georgia (Athens) | 16,954.00| ...| 14,666.66|
- Georgia (College) | ...| ...| 6,333.00|
- Idaho (Moscow) | ...| ...| 22,000.00|
- Illinois (Champlain) | 23,241.10| 500.00| 22,000.00|
- Indiana (Lafayette) | 17,000.00| 3,830.48| 22,000.00|
- Iowa (Ames) | 47,729.75| ...| 23,000.00|
- Kansas (Manhattan) | 50,689.50| ...| 22,000.00|
- Kentucky (Lexington) | ...| ...| 18,810.00|
- Kentucky (Frankfort) | ...| ...| 3,190.00|
- Louisiana (Baton Rouge) | ...| ...| ...|
- Louisiana (New Orleans) | ...| ...| 11,346.00|
- Maine (Orono) | 5,915.00| 4,000.00| 22,000.00|
- Maryland (College Park) | 6,142.30| ...| 22,000.00|
- Massachusetts (Amherst) | 7,300.00| 3,820.23| 14,666.66|
- Massachusetts (Boston) | 5,896.00| 35,000.00| 7,666.67|
- Michigan (Agricultural | | | |
- College) | 39,009.66| 386.34| 22,000.00|
- Minnesota (St. Anthony Park)| 27,410.55| 21,856.00| 23,000.00|
- Mississippi (Agricult’l | | | |
- College) | 5,914.50| ...| 10,217.08|
- Mississippi (West Side) | 6,814.50| ...| 11,000.00|
- Missouri (Columbia) | 16,100.00| 6,469.58| 20,804.02|
- Missouri (Rolla) | 4,025.00| 6,469.58| 5,201.00|
- Missouri (Jefferson City) | ...| ...| 1,195.98|
- Montana (Bozeman) | ...| ...| 22,000.00|
- Nebraska (Lincoln) | ...| ...| 22,000.00|
- Nevada (Reno) | 4,464.89| 1,803.55| 22,000.00|
- New Hampshire (Durham) | 4,800.00| 3,880.50| 23,000.00|
- New Jersey (New Brunswick) | 6,644.00| ...| 22,000.00|
- New Mexico (Mesilla Park) | ...| ...| 22,000.00|
- New York (Ithaca) | 34,428.80| 314,407.51| 22,000.00|
- North Carolina (West | | | |
- Raleigh) | ...| ...| ...|
- North Carolina (Greensboro) | ...| ...| ...|
- North Dakota (Agri. College)| ...| 392.96| 22,000.00|
- Ohio (Wooster) | 31,450.58| 1,511.63| 22,000.00|
- Oklahoma (Stillwater) | ...| ...| 22,000.00|
- Oregon (Corvallis) | 7,164.68| ...| 22,000.00|
- Pennsylvania (State College)| 25,637.43| 5,382.57| 22,000.00|
- Rhode Island (Kingston) | 1,500.00| 1,000.00| 22,000.00|
- South Carolina (Clemson | | | |
- College) | 5,754.00| 3,512.36| 11,000.00|
- South Carolina (Orangeburg) | 5,000.00| ...| 11,000.00|
- South Dakota (Brookings) | ...| ...| 22,000.00|
- Tennessee (Knoxville) | 23,760.00| 1,650.00| 22,000.00|
- Texas (College Station) | 14,280.00| ...| 16,500.00|
- Texas (Prairieview) | ...| ...| 5,500.00|
- Utah (Logan) | ...| ...| 22,000.00|
- Vermont (Burlington) | 8,130.00| 1,500.00| 22,000,00|
- Virginia (Blacksburg) | 20,658.72| ...| 14,666.67|
- Virginia (Hampton) | 10,329.36| 30,264.61| 7,333.33|
- Washington (Pullman) | ...| ...| 22,000.00|
- West Virginia (Morgantown) | 5,223.00| 1,485.00| 17,000.00|
- West Virginia (Farm) | ...| ...| 5,000.00|
- Wisconsin (Madison) | 12,250.00| 14,000.00| 23,000.00|
- Wyoming (Laramie) | ...| ...| 22,000.00|
- ----------------------------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
- Total |$609,992.64|$574,120.08|$1,009,097.07|
- ============================+===========+===========+=============+
-
- ============================+=============+=============+=============
- | State | ...|
- STATES AND TERRITORIES | Appropria- | Miscellane- |
- | tions | ous | Total
- ----------------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------
- Alabama (Auburn) | $8,746.83| $2,821.20| $43,860.03
- Alabama (Normal) | 4,000.00| 16,898.44| 30,886.44
- Arkansas (Fayetteville) | 26,911.00| 1,200.00| 54,611.00
- Arkansas (Pine Bluff) | ...| 418.25| 6,418.25
- California (Berkeley) | 133,415.46| 12,180.48| 311,212.45
- Colorado (Fort Collins) | 38,892.01| ...| 64,131.00
- Connecticut (Storrs) | 26,800.00| ...| 55,550.00
- Delaware (Newark) | ...| 1,620.74| 24,200.74
- Delaware (Dover) | 4,000.00| ...| 8,400.00
- Florida (Lake City) | 5,000.00| 1,896.88| 27,003.00
- Florida (Tallahassee) | 4,000.00| ...| 15,000.00
- Georgia (Athens) | 29,000.00| 1,600.00| 62,220.66
- Georgia (College) | ...| ...| 6,333.00
- Idaho (Moscow) | 6,000.00| 339.80| 28,839.80
- Illinois (Champlain) | 121,214.93| 41,305.09| 211,591.60
- Indiana (Lafayette) | 58,562.96| 29,552.35| 127,115.31
- Iowa (Ames) | 37,232.10| 49,397.49| 157,359.34
- Kansas (Manhattan) | 16,557.70| 9,323.88| 98,571.08
- Kentucky (Lexington) | 32,429.32| 6,680.61| 57,819.93
- Kentucky (Frankfort) | 5,000.00| 76.00| 8,266.00
- Louisiana (Baton Rouge) | ...| ...| ...
- Louisiana (New Orleans) | 9,000.00| 439.46| 20,785.46
- Maine (Orono) | 20,000.00| 20,001.13| 71,916.13
- Maryland (College Park) | 9,000.00| 18,000.00| 55,142.30
- Massachusetts (Amherst) | 15,000.00| 1,920.00| 42,706.89
- Massachusetts (Boston) | 25,000.00| 253,076.23| 318,638.90
- Michigan (Agricultural | | |
- College) | 10,000.00| 12,825.62| 84,221.62
- Minnesota (St. Anthony Park)| 174,332.59| 74,496.48| 321,095.62
- Mississippi (Agricult’l | | |
- College) | 22,500.00| 14,597.96| 53,227.54
- Mississippi (West Side) | 7,000.00| ...| 24,814.50
- Missouri (Columbia) | 3,762.34| 5,022.73| 52,158.67
- Missouri (Rolla) | 5,476.65| 2,192.16| 23,364.39
- Missouri (Jefferson City) | ...| ...| 1,195.98
- Montana (Bozeman) | 2,500.10| 2,439.57| 26,939.57
- Nebraska (Lincoln) | 123,572.50| 7,801.53| 153,374.03
- Nevada (Reno) | 16,250.00| 327.35| 44,845.79
- New Hampshire (Durham) | 5,500.00| 1,148.00| 40,328.50
- New Jersey (New Brunswick) | ...| 21,170.37| 49,814.37
- New Mexico (Mesilla Park) | 19,792.01| 875.70| 42,667.71
- New York (Ithaca) | 25,000.00| 191,660.07| 587,496.38
- North Carolina (West | | |
- Raleigh) | ...| ...| ...
- North Carolina (Greensboro) | 12,500.00| 157.92| 12,657.92
- North Dakota (Agri. College)| 27,000.00| 3,446.62| 52,839.58
- Ohio (Wooster) | 118,906.53| 175,140.39| 349,009.13
- Oklahoma (Stillwater) | 500.00| 3,391.00| 25,591.00
- Oregon (Corvallis) | 1,854.79| 1,342.37| 32,361.84
- Pennsylvania (State College)| 45,000.00| 8,340.27| 106,360.27
- Rhode Island (Kingston) | 10,000.00| 6,000.00| 40,500.00
- South Carolina (Clemson | | |
- College) | 54,053.29| 700.00| 75,019.65
- South Carolina (Orangeburg) | 13,000.00| 1.00| 29,001.00
- South Dakota (Brookings) | 5,900.00| 8,038.12| 35,938.12
- Tennessee (Knoxville) | 1,674.00| 7,271.89| 56,355.89
- Texas (College Station) | 22,500.00| 9,361.39| 62,641.39
- Texas (Prairieview) | 15,700.00| 10,836.78| 32,036.78
- Utah (Logan) | 22,000.00| 5,811.83| 49,811.83
- Vermont (Burlington) | 6,000.00| 16,603.09| 54,233.09
- Virginia (Blacksburg) | 15,750.00| 12,352.48| 63,427.87
- Virginia (Hampton) | ...| 109,110.46| 157,037.76
- Washington (Pullman) | 29,000.00| ...| 51,000.00
- West Virginia (Morgantown) | 38,060.00| 10,315.13| 72,083.13
- West Virginia (Farm) | 14,500.00| 600.00| 20,100.00
- Wisconsin (Madison) | 285,000.00| 47,000.00| 381,250.00
- Wyoming (Laramie) | 7,425.00| 775.59| 30,200.59
- ----------------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------
- Total |$1,821,072.01|$1,239,902.90|$5,203,580.82
- ============================+=============+=============+=============
-
-It has been thought strange that the farmers did not more quickly see
-and appreciate the valuable opportunities offered to their children. But
-why should they at once appreciate and value the princely provisions
-which were being made for them? With no opportunity for education along
-the lines of their profession, following a more or less despised
-calling, from being the butt and jest of those who had had educational
-advantages from time immemorial, how could they at once understand the
-value and far-reaching effects of the new order of things? Then, too,
-these liberal provisions were made somewhat in advance of the times. The
-pioneer must first redeem the land from the wilderness, fight the
-physical battles and endure the hardships of a new country. As soon as
-these primitive conditions passed away, the farmers made an effort to
-bring their profession up to a high intellectual plane and make it a
-delightful and honorable calling. The evolution from the primitive to
-the complex, from the age of toil to the age of thought, from excessive
-muscular effort to a more intelligent direction of energy, from the
-narrow and prejudiced to the broad and liberal, from the coarse and ugly
-to the refined and beautiful, is proceeding rapidly, and is in part
-realized. What happier task than to give direction and help, sympathy
-and encouragement to these new-born desires! The part which the youths
-on the farm are taking in this evolution leads naturally to a higher
-intellectual plane, and hence to a more rational understanding and
-fuller comprehension of what the rural home should be. This desire to
-gratify the love for the true and beautiful, which has been growing up
-by reason of the better education, leads directly to the securing of an
-income sufficiently large to gratify the more refined and newly acquired
-tastes.
-
-Taking the rural population as we find it, with added wants and new
-aspirations, and with a somewhat better understanding of the value of a
-more extended culture, it will be seen that a more rational system of
-agriculture, a more economic expenditure of energy, and a clearer
-comprehension of the highest and most economical use of money must be
-secured if the objects sought are attained. To secure the results
-desired, it must be shown how a competence can be secured without
-excessive toil, how the results of work may be put to the best uses, and
-lastly, but not least, it must be shown what is really valuable, what
-real, what substantial, what polite, what beautiful, what worthy of
-intelligent Americans. On the other hand, vulgar display must be shown
-to be vulgar, shoddy must be unmasked, the effect of aping the
-uncultured rich set forth, and that which is unreal and that which goes
-for naught but vanity displayed under their true colors,--that
-comparisons may be made, and that truer conceptions of life, its duties
-and obligations, may be secured.
-
-How may a competence be obtained? Briefly, by securing a knowledge of
-the laws which govern the business or undertaking entered into, and by
-conducting the business or undertaking in obedience to the modes of
-action or laws which apply to the specific case in hand. What are some
-of the dominant laws which should govern the farmer and farm practices?
-The farmer should specialize along those lines for which his taste and
-training, in part at least, fit him. To be more specific: A farmer will
-show you his potato patch with pride, but not a word will be said about
-his work animals and their offspring, which look like Barnum’s woolly
-horse. Then the first principle of agriculture is, follow up successes.
-In this case, the man has land and skill in potato culture which should
-lead him directly to success. Why not each year increase the output of
-potatoes, and let some horseman breed the horses? I have no ear or taste
-for music; why should I spend time in thrumming a piano and in making
-the life of my neighbors miserable? I love a bird and am interested in
-all its ways, its beauty and its life. Why not study the birds, and let
-them make the music?
-
-Much of life’s energy is spent in trying to adjust square pegs to round
-holes and round pegs to square holes, and life may be spent before the
-adjustment is complete. Modern civilization tends to specialization. Men
-vary as widely as do the stars. There is a place for everyone and some
-one to fill the place, if this great mass of unlike units can only be
-sorted and fitted into the complex problem of civilization.
-
-The first question, and the question which should be repeated often is,
-What am I good for; what branch or branches of agriculture will give me
-the greatest pleasure and profit? Having answered this question, pursue
-the work through all discouragements to a successful issue. It is
-possible you have no capacity for farm life, and, since you cannot buy a
-capacity, better go directly to town and there fit yourself into your
-environment. I have known men to toil many years on a farm, and near the
-close of life to be driven to town by the sheriff. There they made not
-only a living, but secured a modest competence in conducting some little
-one-horse business, the profits or losses of which could be counted up
-every night. The farm, with all its complexities, with its profits and
-losses a year or five years in the future, was too large and
-far-reaching for their narrow understandings. All are not so fortunate.
-Some remind us of the Quaker’s dog which he sold to his friend and
-recommended as a good coon dog. The dog proved to be a failure and was
-returned to the seller, who said, “I am much surprised. Thee believes
-that nothing was created in vain, does thee not, Ephraim?” “Most
-certainly I believe that the Creator made all things for some beneficent
-purpose.” “I, too, believe this, and I had tried that dog for everything
-else under the heavens but coons, so I was certain he must be a good
-coon dog.”
-
-A competency is always in sight in this country for those who do well
-those things which are suited to their tastes and training. A competence
-may be secured by following those branches of farming which require the
-minimum of labor and the maximum of skill and training. My friend of
-Westfield, Mr. G. Schoenfeld, from Germany, has six acres of land, a
-part of which is covered with glass. He did that terrible thing,--ran in
-debt for the full purchase price of the land. It and the valuable
-improvements upon it are now paid for. His modest home is valued at
-$6,000. While paying for it a large family has been raised and educated,
-the eldest boy entering Annapolis Naval Academy with a high standing. It
-is possible that this son will one day be acknowledged as the
-intellectual and social equal of the aristocracy of Germany should he
-ever visit the fatherland of his parents. But why this long account of a
-not infrequent occurrence? To show how it was done: This German, though
-untrained, succeeded from the first in producing superior carnations. He
-followed up his successes, and sold the product of brains instead of the
-fertility of his little farm. Mr. Schoenfeld sold in Buffalo during one
-year--October 1, 1896, to September 30, 1897--carnations (80,946
-flowers) for the net sum, over commissions, of $719.08. The amount of
-plant-food removed by the 80,946 carnations was as follows:
-
- Nitrogen Phosphoric acid Potash
- 5 lbs. 4 ozs. 2 lbs. 3 ozs. 10 lbs. 8 ozs. (valued at $1.32)
-
-The table below shows the amount of plant-food removed by 856 bushels of
-wheat, being the amount which, at 84 cents per bushel (the average price
-of wheat for the last ten years in central New York), would bring
-$719.08, the amount received for the carnations.
-
- Nitrogen Phosphoric acid Potash
- 904 lbs. 437 lbs. 298 lbs. (valued at $158.34)
-
-In addition, 20,000 flowers used in making flower displays for
-weddings, and the like, were sold at retail, by the dozen, for
-$450.80. The net returns for flowers sold during the fiscal year ending
-September 30, 1897, amounted to $1,169.88. The expenses, including
-taxes, insurance and 10 per cent on the capital, were $790.67. This
-includes the cost of raising 12,000 plants, about 6,000 of which netted
-$263.24. In round numbers, then, the net income from the one leading
-industry--flowers--after paying 10 per cent on invested capital, coal,
-commission and workmen’s bills, was $642.45, with an additional
-prospective income from the 6,000 plants which remained unsold.
-
-When I last visited this gentleman, he informed me that he had all the
-land he wanted. Since that time he has purchased eight acres adjoining,
-has made some improvements upon the land, and now values it at $2,000.
-He stated incidentally that the reason he made his purchase was that the
-land was in the market, and he wanted control of it that he might choose
-his neighbor. The land, he says, is now in the market, although it paid
-9 per cent, clear of all expenses, on a valuation of $2,000. The
-question is often discussed as to how much land is necessary to secure a
-competence. Here we find that six acres suffices. A large family has
-been fed chiefly from the products of the orchards, vineyard and garden,
-and the children are receiving a practical and, in some cases, a
-liberal education. All this has been accomplished because the man
-quickly learned the value of scientific agriculture and was wise enough
-to follow up his successes.
-
-Not only follow up success, but learn to do the difficult things; there
-will always be a throng seeking to do the easy things,--things which
-require the maximum of muscle and the minimum of brains. Why do such
-multitudes seek this hard, easy work? Because they will not consent to
-endure the toil, shall I say, of acquiring the power to think deeply,
-accurately and effectively. Some of our sympathy is thrown away upon
-these muscular workers. Their desires are few, their wants simple, their
-appetites good, and their sleep peaceful. Let us show them the way to a
-higher life, open the doors to those who choose to enter, and fret not
-because all will not enter in.
-
- “Some are and must be greater than the rest,
- More rich, more wise; but who infers from hence
- That such are happier, shocks all common sense.”
-
-The man who fells the trees in the woods may receive 15 cents per hour;
-the man who controls the carriage of the great sawmill and decides on
-the instant what shape and dimensions the lumber shall take may receive
-25 cents per hour for simply moving a little lever; a third man causes
-a piece of the wood to take on the forms of beauty for the great
-staircase, and may receive 50 cents per hour; the fourth furnishes the
-design for this beautiful staircase, and may receive $1 an hour. The man
-who does the so-called “hard” work receives the least pay. Why? Because
-it is the least difficult. This difference of remuneration holds good on
-the farm. Mushrooms sell for 50 cents per pound; maize for one-half cent
-per pound. Why? Because anybody, even a squaw, can raise maize, but only
-a specially skilled gardener can succeed in mushroom culture. Hothouse
-lambs bring from $6 to $10 when two months old; a poorly bred sheep at
-two years of age may bring from $2 to $4. Why? The breeding and feeding
-of the one is easy; of the other difficult.
-
-In 1897 the raising of potatoes was difficult. The blights, the bugs and
-the beetles were present in full force. Good potatoes in the middle and
-eastern states rose to 65 cents per bushel wholesale. The man who
-watched and fought intelligently secured 300 bushels per acre and a
-ready market; the careless man and the man who should have been raising
-horses or chickens secured 30 bushels per acre and a slow market. Why?
-Because unusual difficulties were present, and the man who was able to
-cope with them drew the prize of $195 per acre for his potatoes. This
-successful potato raiser the previous year secured more than 300 bushels
-per acre, and sold them for 25 cents per bushel, but even at this low
-price they brought more than $75 per acre. If from 200 to 300 per cent
-profit can be secured and the limit of profit not reached by raising one
-of the most common products of the farm, what possibilities loom up for
-securing a competence from those products which require greater skill
-and knowledge than the raising of potatoes?
-
-Consider the crops which are supposed to give promise of securing little
-or no profits at the present low prices, as wheat, maize, hay and oats.
-One man, on land naturally below the average, has secured during the
-last fifteen years an average of nearly 35 bushels of wheat, and in a
-few cases 40 bushels per acre. The average yield for the whole United
-States in 1889 was a shade less than 14 bushels per acre. During the
-same year the average yield of oats was 28.57 bushels per acre, and hay,
-including such other crops as are used for forage, averaged 1.26 tons
-per acre. Good farmers secure 40 to 50 bushels of oats, and 2 to 2¹⁄₂
-tons of hay, and in propitious years 50 to 60 bushels of oats and 3 tons
-of hay per acre. (Compare Figs. 1 and 2.) These latter yields always
-show large profits and lead to a competency, while the average yield
-usually gives no profit. If the average yield gives only a bare
-subsistence, what must be the condition of those who secure much less
-than the average? If one man raises 35 bushels of wheat, five other men
-must each raise 10 bushels to secure an average yield of 14 bushels per
-acre. Some entire states--as, for instance, Mississippi, North Carolina
-and Tennessee,--have an average of 6, 6 and 9 bushels, respectively, per
-acre. What is the remedy? Stop raising wheat, and raise something better
-adapted to soil and climate, or go to town and sell peanuts. Some of
-these men who utterly fail to comprehend the laws of wheat culture may
-be good “coon dogs,” after all.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 1. Thirty-five-bushel wheat field (Cornell
-University).]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 2. Eight-bushel wheat field, on a farm adjoining
-that shown in Fig. 1.]
-
-It will be said that if the yield per acre be doubled, the market will
-be so flooded that no one will receive profits. This is the old
-scarecrow. No farmer can control the prices of his product. The law of
-supply and demand is inexorable. What he may do is to improve quality,
-diminish cost, reduce area, find the best market and the products most
-sought, and increase the production from a given area. If he raises the
-yield from 20 to 35 bushels, while the yield of his neighbor remains at
-10 bushels and prices remain low, we shall soon see a fine illustration
-of “the survival of the fittest.” The 35 bushels will yield a fair
-remuneration for the work expended in production when prices are at the
-lowest. When they are high the profits are 200 to 300 per cent. Wheat,
-for the last ten years, has averaged 84 cents per bushel in June in
-central New York. Allow $3 for the straw of the lower yield, and if the
-wheat was sold at the average price, the total income per acre would be
-$11.40. For the straw of the larger yield allow $6, which, added to the
-wheat at the average price, would give a gross income per acre of
-$35.40.
-
-The cost of raising and marketing an acre of wheat, including $5 for
-rental of land and $2 for fertilizers, may be set down at from $15 to
-$20 in New York. If the most successful compels the less successful
-farmer to stop raising wheat at a loss, what will the latter do with his
-land? Better give it away than lose by farming it. Better abandon the
-farm and go to town and set up a second-hand clothing store. There is
-always at least a small profit in that business.
-
-In central New York a large herd of dairy cows was tested, and the owner
-of the herd was informed that about one-fourth of his cows were quite
-profitable, one-half paid their board bill and a little more, and
-one-fourth were kept at a considerable loss. He was advised to dispose
-of the unprofitable cows. His answer was, “But what will I do for cows?”
-
-Then, to secure a competence, the crops and the land which uniformly
-produce loss must be abandoned. How it worries the city penny-a-liner
-and how it rejoices the successful farmer to see land thrown out of
-cultivation--“abandoned.” To me nothing is so encouraging in agriculture
-as this lately acquired knowledge which reveals the fact that vast areas
-have been cleared and brought under cultivation which should have been
-left undisturbed, except to harvest the mature trees and protect the
-young plants from ravages of fire and cattle. As the blackberry bushes,
-year by year, creep down the steep hillsides and over the rock-covered
-fields, one rejoices at the pioneer work these modest, hardy, tap-rooted
-plants are accomplishing. How wisely and well they fit the soil for a
-higher and more noble class of plants, and how surely in time they cover
-the shame and nakedness of mother earth!
-
-The rural population has made many serious mistakes, toiling to reclaim
-land which was not worth reclaiming, not worthy of an intelligent
-farmer. But how could they know better? Not one college of forestry in
-all this great land up to 1898, and as yet but one in its infancy! Until
-the last generation not a single school of agriculture, scarcely a book
-obtainable which might give direct help to the rural American boy and
-girl! Therefore, the farmer should not be blamed for the wasteful and
-unscientific treatment of forest and field. All this leads to the
-conclusion that to secure a competence, lands of high and varied
-agricultural capabilities, lands worthy of an intelligent American,
-should be selected upon which to build and maintain rural homes.
-
-Quantity of farm products we have in abundance; better quality is what
-is wanted, since quality may improve prices and widen markets. To assist
-in securing a competence some specialization is advisable. Sometimes
-this has been carried so far as to work serious disaster. Many farms in
-western New York have been almost exclusively devoted to the raising of
-grapes, which, when abundant or moderately so, sold at ruinous prices.
-It is noticed that where only an eighth or a fourth of the farm was
-devoted to vines, the yield was not only proportionately larger but the
-quality better than where nearly all the land was used as a vineyard.
-Wherever diversified agriculture was carried on to a limited extent and
-plantations were restricted, the low price of grapes made no serious
-inroads on the income. Where all the land was given up to grapes, work
-was intermittent, the farmer being overtasked at one season of the year
-and idle at another. The demoralizing effect on the farmers and their
-families of this army of unrestrained youths and loungers of the city,
-which, for a brief period, swarms in the districts devoted to
-specialized crops, as grapes, berries and hops, is marked.
-
-The baleful result of raising a single or few products in extended
-districts may be seen in California and the great wheat districts of the
-northwest. In such localities there is little or no true home life, with
-its duties and restraints; men and boys are herded together like cattle,
-sleep where they may, and subsist as best they can. The work is hard,
-and from sun to sun for two or three months, when it abruptly ceases,
-and the workmen are left to find employment as best they may, or adopt
-the life and habits of the professional tramp. It is difficult to name
-anything more demoralizing to men, and especially to boys, than
-intermittent labor; and the higher the wages paid and the shorter the
-period of service, the more demoralizing the effect. If there were no
-other reason for practicing a somewhat diversified agriculture, the
-welfare of the workman and his family should form a sufficient one.
-Happily, many large and demoralizing wheat ranches are being divided
-into small farms, upon which are being reared the roof-tree, children,
-fruits and flowers.
-
-To secure a competence, no more activities should be entered into than
-can be prosecuted with vigor and at a profit. On the other hand, too few
-activities tend to stagnation and degeneration. Mental power, like many
-other things, increases with legitimate use and diminishes with disuse.
-The farmer who simply raises and sells maize is often poor in pocket and
-deficient in understanding. The college graduate who attempts but a few
-easy things seldom becomes a ripe scholar.
-
-To secure a competence, the petty outgoes should be met by weekly
-receipts from petty products. I have known so many farmers to succeed by
-specializing moderately along one or two lines, while holding on to
-diversified agriculture, in part at least, that I am tempted to give a
-single illustration as a sample of thousands which have come under my
-notice.
-
-A Scotchman and his family of four little children landed in northern
-Indiana with three to four hundred dollars; to this was added as much
-more by day labor. A farm of about one hundred and fifty acres was
-purchased, one hundred acres of which were adapted to wheat, corn and
-clover. Thirty acres were marshy pasture land; the balance, timber.
-Wheat was selected as the great income crop, which was supplemented by
-the sale of one to three horses yearly. The butter from a dozen cows,
-the chickens, ducks, and their eggs, were taken to the city once each
-week. The result was that at the end of the year there were no debts of
-subsistence to be paid. This left all the money received for the wheat
-and horses to be applied towards liquidating the mortgage. In a few
-years a large, comfortable house was built. This was followed by the
-purchase of another farm, and still another, until each child was
-provided with a home and facilities for securing a modest income. This
-shrewd Scotchman succeeded because he neglected neither little nor great
-things.
-
-With what pride the writer, in 1863, deposited $1,700 in bank, the
-product of a single wool crop!--and the little farm of one hundred and
-twenty acres was not all devoted to wool-raising. If a young man can
-secure a loving, helpful wife, four good cows and enough land to produce
-feed for them, with room left for an ample garden, a berry patch and a
-small orchard, he may consider himself rich, and if he be able and
-intelligent he will soon have a competence.
-
-The farmer, of necessity, goes to the city or village once each week for
-supplies which cannot well be produced on the farm. He should return, if
-possible, with more money than he had when he left home. It is not the
-big mortgage which was given for part of the purchase price of the farm
-which should make him unhappy, but the steadily increasing little
-charges accumulating on the tradesmen’s ledgers until this “honest”
-farmer dreads to meet a score of his town acquaintances.
-
-The farmer who, from his well-painted covered democrat wagon, sells the
-product of his skill and labor looks to me quite as dignified as does
-the merchant who sells nails and codfish, turpentine and bobbins, patent
-medicines and jews’-harps, none of which represents his own skill or
-labor.
-
-Farming will never be carried on in America by trusts or syndicates. A
-combine can run fifty nail factories or breweries, but not fifty farms,
-at a profit, because farming is too difficult, requires too close
-supervision and frequent change of details and combinations, and new
-plans to meet the ever-changing conditions of climate and soil. The
-conditions which surround agriculture in America put a quietus forever
-on “bonanza farming,” and tend to the rearing of ideal homes and the
-accumulation of modest incomes. Mining-farming on virgin, fertile,
-unobstructed areas can be successfully prosecuted only for a time.
-
-“The Red river valley native soils contain from .35 to .40 of nitrogen,
-while the soils which have been under cultivation (in wheat) for twelve
-to fifteen years contain from .2 to .3 of a per cent.”[1] Another
-important point: When humus is taken out of the native soil as above,
-only .02 of a per cent of the phosphoric acid is soluble by ordinary
-chemical methods, while in the native soil three or four times as much
-phosphoric acid is soluble and is associated with the humus. Allowing
-that an acre of soil one foot deep weighs 1,800 tons, the native soil
-would contain from 12,600 to 14,400 pounds of nitrogen per acre, while
-the cultivated soil would contain from 7,200 to 10,800 pounds per acre.
-If the average amount of nitrogen in native soils (13,500 pounds per
-acre), and the average in the soil after it had been cropped twelve to
-fifteen years (9,000 pounds per acre), are compared, it will be seen
-that the soil has lost 4,500 pounds of nitrogen per acre, or more than
-one-third (probably one-half) of the nitrogen which could well be made
-available, and this in less than a quarter of a century.
-
- [1] Henry Snyder, Bulls. 30, 44, Minn. Exp. Sta. See “Fertility of the
- Land,” p. 256.
-
-Fifteen crops of wheat of 25 bushels per acre require 433 pounds of
-nitrogen, or one-tenth of the amount which the soil lost during the
-years of cropping. This soil, under “bonanza farming,” has lost outright
-nitrogen sufficient for 155 crops, each requiring as much nitrogen as
-does a crop of 25 bushels of wheat per acre. When the amount wasted on a
-single acre is multiplied by the acres of the vast, fertile wheat plains
-of the west, where “bonanza farming” is carried on, the loss of nitrogen
-to our country is seen to be so great as to appal the thoughtful man who
-looks forward to the generations who will want this element in the not
-distant future. Happily, this “bonanza farming” has its own cure. When
-mining-farming reduces the yield so that profits vanish, then these
-great farms will be cut up into modest-sized ones, true homes will rise,
-intermittent labor and the tramp harvest-hand will disappear, and the
-last and only condition which tends to produce an uninstructed peasant
-class will cease to exist.
-
-The other great “bonanza” industry which still remains and which affects
-agriculture, and the land directly, is lumbering. This, like “bonanza”
-wheat farming, may be classed as a mining industry, carried on at the
-surface instead of in the bowels of the earth. Without rational
-direction, restraint or control, this agricultural mining goes on until
-the sources from which the profits are drawn are so depleted as to be no
-longer profitable. There is no home or competency for the farm boys in
-the lumber camp or on the great wheat farm. Here the rule is to
-take all and return nothing. After the ax and the binder, comes the
-fire to complete the wanton destruction. The shade-giving and
-moisture-conserving brush, stubble and straw, and all living plants, are
-destroyed, and nothing but the mineral matter, unmixed with surface
-humus, remains. A blackened waste, devoid of animal or vegetable life,
-is left behind. No homes can be reared here, no competence secured until
-nature, assisted by man in the coming years, slowly restores the
-covering and productivity of the soil. This unwise treatment of the land
-must soon come to an end; then the hardy home-builder will have
-opportunity to repair, by more rational methods, some of the wanton and
-unnecessary waste.
-
-Is it too much to hope that before the close of another decade every
-state and territory will have a school of forestry, and that all
-national forest domains will have been brought under rational
-supervision and control? The future home-builders will need them, and
-the present owners of homes have a right to a share of the benefits
-which flow from intelligently managed forest preserves. It is not enough
-to show that intelligent farming is highly remunerative at the present
-time; provision must be made by which the children and the children’s
-children, for all generations, may have opportunity for securing a
-competence from rural pursuits.
-
-Can a competence and a comfortable home be secured by the renter? If
-not, why not? Shall the farmer put his little capital into a home and
-run in debt for supplies and necessary equipment; or had he better rent,
-and start even? This depends to a large extent upon the individual. A
-successful country life does not depend upon owning the land in fee
-simple. Here is a picture of what may be called “a country gentleman”
-(Fig. 3). He, his father and his grandfather, all have been renters of
-the same farm. He has a competence and an assured income. This hue and
-cry about renting has no terrors for those who have been renters and
-have found that this is often the most satisfactory way to start when
-capital is limited. The merchant of limited means invariably rents the
-building in which he does business, because it is safer and usually more
-economical to rent than to purchase the business block.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 3. A farmer and a renter.]
-
-In an old city of 12,000 inhabitants, it was found that 84 per cent of
-the business was carried on in rented rooms. The trouble in renting
-farms in the United States lies chiefly in the fact that there are no
-well digested laws or old customs which help to guide the renter and
-rentee. A few simple laws would provide for adjusting the value of
-betterments removed from or put upon the farm at any time. Long leases,
-with inducements to long occupancy, would give the rentee a permanent
-occupier. The renter has quite as good a chance of finally securing a
-home in fee simple as has the man who purchases and mortgages heavily.
-The possession of a valuable farm and an assured income, especially in a
-new country, is often most surely and easily secured by renting for a
-series of years. Good farming pays liberal profits even on rented land.
-If there is failure, it is the man and not the occupation which causes
-it. The fault will not be “in the moon,” but in ourselves if we fail or
-become underlings.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III
-
-_EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY ON THE FARM_
-
-
-More and more we are coming to believe that the rural district schools
-offer but few opportunities for educating the farmers’ children. Various
-schemes have been recommended for providing better and more convenient
-educational facilities. One proposition is first to improve the
-principal highways. This, it is thought, will make it possible to run
-’buses or carriages twice daily to transport the children to and from
-some centrally located graded school. Such schemes are usually proposed
-by some one who has seldom seen a country school-house and who is
-totally unacquainted with the conditions which prevail in rural
-communities.
-
-Admitting, for the sake of comparison, that teacher and pupil in the
-country are not so far advanced in book-lore as they are in the city,
-how does it happen that the country youths are able to maintain
-themselves on an educational level with the pupils of the graded schools
-when they meet them in the academy and college? Is it not quite possible
-that the wide opportunities enjoyed by the country youth for becoming
-acquainted with natural objects of use and beauty are a full offset, so
-far as training is concerned, for the more systematic instruction given
-in the city schools?
-
-I can but look with some degree of solicitude on the effect on
-civilization and on the home, of palatial hotels, and great school
-buildings, filled with heterogeneous masses of children, in which love,
-solicitude and sacrifices, each for all, have little opportunity for
-growth and development. The family seems to be the sacred unit of
-civilization and morality. A full and sufficient reason must be given
-for massing men, much more children, in a single great structure,
-thereby destroying the quiet and breaking the sacred ties of the home.
-What good reasons can be offered for massing children between the ages
-of six and twelve in an uncomfortable school-room? Children do not
-study; they learn little except when they read the lesson in the
-immediate presence of the teacher who is able to amplify and explain the
-lesson in hand. Sending these little ones to school is a relic of the
-primeval days, when, by reason of large families, lack of training and
-excessive toil of the parents, there was no other way but to make
-nursery maids of the school-teachers.
-
-I have a vivid recollection of those early days when I was crowded into
-a 16 × 20 school-house, with two score other bounding, mischievous
-urchins, all seated on the hard side of unbacked, long-legged slab
-benches, which left our bare legs, for which the flies had a liking, to
-dangle between heaven and earth. True, all this has now been improved,
-and good and appropriate seats are usually provided, but this only
-ameliorates the conditions; it does not cure them. If the parents who
-have lost something of their first love for their children, or who are
-too lazy or careless or ignorant to teach them, will go to these
-patent-seated school-rooms and sit for five mortal hours on one of these
-hard, wooden, uncushioned seats, they will no longer place their tender
-children in these modernized stocks. You who no longer have the hot
-blood and restless nervous energy of youth make long faces and complain
-bitterly from your well cushioned pew, if the over-earnest pastor
-prolongs his sermon ten minutes beyond the customary time. It may be
-said that many, nevertheless, secured a primary education under these
-unfavorable conditions. But I did not; I received it at my mother’s knee
-in the old kitchen, some of it before daylight. About all I got in that
-old school-house were kicks and cuffs from boys who were older and
-stronger than I, and round shoulders from sitting through many weary
-hours on backless benches, and blistered hands in punishment for my
-unrestrained interest in things in general, and in my school-mates in
-particular.
-
-But what has all this to do with the opportunities which a farm life
-gives for education? It is to emphasize the need of more home training,
-more personal attention by the parents, and a more natural and rational
-education of those whom it has been our responsibility to bring into
-existence, and upon whose shoulders will rest the weal or woe of our
-country. In these rural homes, children should be reared and educated
-until they have reached the point beyond which their parents or the
-older children cannot carry them. The child, when only two or three
-years old, begins to learn handicraft, performs some little helpful act
-for another; it is being taught to work. As it becomes more mature it is
-to do useful things; but who thinks of keeping the child of eight to ten
-years of age at continuous work for five or six hours daily? Why not
-carry on the child’s mental education along these natural lines in the
-same manner as it receives its primary technical education?
-
-I am almost persuaded that the farmers’ children would be better off if
-the old red school-house on the dusty, treeless four corners was
-abandoned, and the responsibility for the education of the children up
-to twelve or fourteen years of age was thrown upon the parents. As it
-is, the parents who have received a fairly good primary education become
-rusty and illiterate simply from non-use of the education which they had
-when they left the schools. If the unexcelled opportunities which rural
-life offers for securing a primary education were only utilized, there
-would be fewer country youths hating even the sight of that red
-school-house which has received such honorable mention. It has been
-glorified in every Fourth of July oration, but it still remains not only
-unevolutionized but even degenerated.
-
-If you ever imagined that the best provision has been made for teaching
-the little ones, spend a day in one of these school-houses. Take some
-book with you that is as abstract and useless to you as the children
-believe their books to be to them, and make the attempt to memorize a
-single page, or essay to write a composition on “The Immortality of the
-Soul,” or on “The Wisdom of Annexing the South Sea Islands.” Meantime,
-classes are reciting in falsetto voices; the teacher is giving many
-admonitions and making dire threats; a festive bumblebee has found its
-way through the open window and makes as much commotion among the timid
-girls as a mouse at a tea-party. Now a dog barks, and the boys know
-that Bowser has safely treed a squirrel. Before you have had time to
-collect your thoughts a lusty farm boy, perched on a creaking wain,
-whooping loudly to his team, goes rattling by. Stay a week and finish
-your composition, and see how fast your children are securing disjointed
-fractions of an education. A half-hour of continuous, quiet, intensified
-study at home is worth more than a day in many a school-room where
-little muddy driblets of knowledge are being doled out to the children.
-
-You may say that you have no time to teach children. Business is too
-pressing, and you are already overworked. You should have thought of
-that sooner, and been wholly selfish and saved the money and time you
-spent to persuade that beautiful maiden to join you and help perform the
-duties and functions of life.
-
-You will certainly agree that home education is the best, the ideal
-education. For a child, an hour or two of study and recreation a day, an
-equal time employed in useful work, and the rest of the day spent in
-picking up fun and facts, both of which may be found in abundance on the
-old farm, is the natural way to secure a broad primary foundation, upon
-which to rest a liberal education.
-
-After the child has reached the age of ten or twelve and has had careful
-home training, what provision can be made for continuing its education
-during the next four to six years? Two or more districts might be joined
-to form one, for graded school purposes. On every farm is, or should be,
-a spare horse and a light wagon; a few dollars would provide a stable
-near the school building. Such an arrangement would permit the children
-to drive to and from the central school, although the distance might be
-two or three miles. All this means that the children will be around the
-family fireside in the evening instead of on the street, as is too
-frequently the case when they are sent to the village or city school and
-remain during the week. All this keeps the boys and girls in sympathy
-and healthful touch with home life and their parents, until character
-has been strengthened by age and knowledge. Here, in these country and
-village graded schools, the home life, with its restraints and duties,
-is preserved. Only the mentally strong or the courageous and aspiring
-will seek the halls of higher learning, from which, if they tend to go
-astray or neglect their work, they are quickly returned to the bosom of
-their families. If the central graded school is impracticable in some
-cases, then a few families might join and employ a private instructor;
-this would be far cheaper and more satisfactory than to send the
-children away from home.
-
-It is not so much lack of facilities as a lack of an appreciation of the
-true value of an education which debars the country youth from securing
-even a wholesome and logical primary education. The value of an
-education for citizenship must be placed first, and its value as a
-money-making power second. Now the first question that is usually asked
-is, Will an education help to secure a position or to make money? The
-question, Will an education help to a nobler citizenship? is not even
-thought of. We shall have no evolution in rural training until the
-parents secure a clearer conception of the true value of an education.
-
-Evolution along educational lines has already begun, and it is not
-difficult to see many beneficial effects of the changed methods. M.
-Demolins’ recent book has this to say: “‘It is useless to deny the
-superiority of the Anglo-Saxons. We may be vexed by this superiority,
-but the fact remains, despite our vexation.’... Considering the
-superiority conclusively proved, the author proceeds to search for the
-cause of this superiority. He finds the secret of this irresistible
-power of the Anglo-Saxon world in the education of its youth, in the
-direction given to studies, to the spirit which reigns in the school.
-The English and the people of the United States have perceived that the
-needs of the time require that youth should be trained to become
-practical, energetic men, and not public functionaries or pure men of
-letters, who know life only from what they learn in books. M. Demolins
-has personally studied with care some prominent English schools. In
-these he found the school buildings, not as in France, immense
-structures with the aspect of a barrack or a prison, but the pupils were
-distributed among cottages, in which efforts were made to give the place
-the appearance of a home. They were not surrounded by high walls, but
-there was an abundance of air and light and space and verdure. In place
-of the odious refectories of the French colleges, the dining-room was
-like that of a family, and the professors and director of the school,
-with his wife and daughters, sat at table with the pupils.”[2]
-
- [2] Editorial, “Literary Digest,” July 2, 1898.
-
-Here is seen the beginning of better methods in primary education. In
-the rural districts of America, this system needs but little
-modification to fit it to the rural home. All else must yield to the
-inborn rights of the children. If that Brussels carpet which adorns the
-dark and unused parlor must be pulled up and some of the worst pictures
-relegated to the garret, in order that provision for a school-room for
-the children of the family or for those of the immediate neighborhood
-may be made, then pull it up. Receive the visitor in the sitting-room
-or on the veranda, and let the neighborly chat be where there is “air,
-and light, and space, and verdure.”
-
-Reduce the above picture of an English school to suit environment, and
-we have the family as a unit; the mother and her companion as teachers;
-and we shall have not only the appearance of home, but a true home,
-where duty commands and love obeys. This is no far-fetched picture; it
-is one drawn from many observed instances of these farm home schools.
-The youths on the farm have a right to a liberal education if they
-desire it; they own the earth, and why should they not have the best it
-affords if they make good use of what the earth and all that therein is
-has to offer.
-
-When we come to the higher education, there are good and sufficient
-reasons why pupils should be massed. At the college, expensive and rare
-appliances, great laboratories and museums, ample and expensive
-libraries, and distinguished and able teachers, must be provided. Then,
-too, the pupils of the college have arrived at that period of maturity
-which gives them a fair degree of self-restraint and discretion.
-
-Connected, as I have been for more than a quarter of a century, with
-college life, I have had many opportunities to observe the freshness,
-vigor and purity of many of the country lads and lasses who come
-directly from the healthy, solid home instruction of their parents.
-
-I am well aware that this chapter will not revolutionize rural primary
-education. I do not want it to do so. Revolution destroys; evolution
-builds. But if these brief words of one who received until near manhood
-the thoughtful, loving home training of a mother, who said, “I received
-a better education than my parents did, and, come what will, I determine
-that my children shall have better opportunities for securing an
-education than I had,” shall persuade some that the farm home is the
-natural, the appointed place for training children until they have
-passed the critical mental and physical period of life, I shall be
-content.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV
-
-_SELECTION AND PURCHASE OF FARMS_
-
-
-In selecting a farm, many things should be considered. One purchaser may
-lay stress on the quality or productivity of the land, another on its
-location as to market, another as to the outlook or scenery, and another
-as to the society in the immediate locality. Some would be unhappy if
-far removed from city or town, while others delight in many broad acres
-far removed from the busy crowd. All these different phases of the
-subject, with many others, should be considered before the purchase is
-made. It is seldom that a farm can be secured which fulfils all
-desirable conditions; therefore, such choice should be made as will most
-fully meet the desires and tastes of the purchaser.
-
-Some farms are purchased with little or no thought of their producing a
-livelihood, while others are selected largely for the purpose of
-securing profits in their cultivation, and others are bought because
-they are expected to furnish safe and profitable investments. It is
-evident that no specific or even general rule can be formulated which
-will be applicable to all purchasers, since tastes, training, needs and
-desires of the purchaser vary widely; nevertheless, a discussion of the
-subject may be profitable. Those who secure their income and profits by
-agriculture alone should lay stress on four things; viz., healthfulness,
-environment, quality of land, and water supply.
-
-Without health, life often becomes a burden; therefore, climatic
-conditions, soil and surroundings, so far as they relate to physical and
-mental vigor, should be considered first. But health and vigor are not
-all, for if the moral, intellectual and social conditions of the people
-in the neighborhood are undesirable, the children may take the road
-which leads towards semi-barbarism. This road is open to all, in city
-and country, but parents should avoid thrusting their children into it.
-Church, and social congenial and God-fearing associates should be
-accessible to the growing family. Children are and must be active,
-physically and mentally, if they are to grow straight; and if provisions
-are not made for directing their energies into proper channels, they are
-likely to find improper ones. Wherever the farmer sows not a full
-abundance of good seeds, weeds are certain to spring up. The farm must
-provide a fair and liberal income, because want brings lack of true
-pride, breeds carelessness, even hatred of others, filches self-respect
-and courage. Therefore, if profits are desired, good land, land of wide
-agricultural capabilities, should be selected. The greater variety of
-crops the land is capable of producing and the more varieties the farmer
-raises, provided he does not exceed his mental and executive
-capabilities, the better will be his education and training.
-
-Frequently the purchaser has too little means, and feels that he must
-secure cheap lands, which too often are situated far from the railway
-markets and centers of activity. In such a case, he places himself
-outside the activities of the towns, which are extremely helpful to him
-if he be wise enough to choose the good and refuse the evil which they
-offer. Of course, much depends on the good sense of the parents and the
-inheritance and training of the children as to how much they will imbibe
-of that which is good and how much they will refuse of that which is
-evil. Children cannot be placed entirely beyond evil influences, but
-they can be prevented from becoming too familiar with them.
-
- “Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,
- As, to be hated, needs but to be seen;
- Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
- We first endure, then pity, then embrace.”
-
-Already something has been said with regard to an abundant supply of
-water, but it may not be out of place to emphasize the necessity of
-securing healthful water for household purposes. Modern science has
-revealed the fact that a large number of diseases are introduced into
-the system by means of drinking water (see Chapter XII). All drinking
-water may be boiled; it may be said that it should be, for in too many
-cases water that appears limpid and pure, drawn from sources which have
-every appearance of being uncontaminated, is not only dangerous but
-sometimes deadly. Careful physicians recommend that all water be
-filtered, but so many of the filters are imperfect and are so badly
-neglected that there is no certainty that filtered water is entirely
-safe; therefore, it may be said that the only safe way is to boil all
-drinking water. As the streams and soil become more and more
-contaminated by unsanitary conditions, it is only in rare cases that
-safe water can be secured naturally. When wells or streams become low,
-or when streams are quickly flushed by heavy rains, invariably there is
-danger that the water which they contain may be impure. Care should be
-taken to provide an abundance of water, and that used for household
-purposes should be treated in such manner as will make it entirely
-healthful.
-
-Having discussed the subject from four leading standpoints, those of
-less importance may be taken up. It is usually not wise to purchase a
-farm, however well it may fulfil the requirements of healthfulness,
-desirable environment and productivity, if the lands by which it is
-surrounded are poor, since man, in one respect, is like the tree toad,
-which partakes largely of the color of the thing to which it adheres.
-The French have a proverb which runs in this wise: “Tell me where you
-live, and I will tell you your name.” Translated into modern thought, it
-would read: “Tell me your environment, and I will tell you your
-character.”
-
-Beauty of natural scenery may not be entirely ignored, although utility,
-the dollar, must be kept prominently in view. One can afford to
-economize in the living expenses in many ways not dreamed of by those
-who load the farm table with a superabundance of good things, if it be
-necessary to do so, to secure beautiful surroundings. It may be only a
-question of choice between a moderate subsistence and a reposeful
-environment, or an overloaded table with uninspiring surroundings.
-Natural as well as artificial beauty and pleasurable environment have
-their values. A certain lot on one street sells for $1,000, another one
-on the same street for $500. They are both within easy reach of the
-business center, on the same street-car line, of the same size, and have
-the same elevation. Why the difference in price? Because of environment.
-A seat in the dress circle at the theater costs a dollar, one in the
-peanut gallery ten cents. The play can be seen as well with a glass in
-the cheap seat as in the more expensive one. Then environment has value,
-as well as land and buildings.
-
-The value of the farm may be greatly modified by the improvements upon
-it. It is well to ask, Is the house well located? May it not have to be
-virtually rebuilt before it is at all satisfactory? Will it be necessary
-to move and repair barns before they are at all suited to their
-purposes? The improvements may be too extended for the needs of the
-purchaser. Some farms are overloaded with buildings (Fig. 4); some have
-badly arranged, unsightly buildings, too good to destroy and too ugly
-and unhandy for either economy or pleasure. Farm buildings are not a
-direct source of income and are expensive to keep in repair; therefore,
-there would better be a slight deficiency of them than an ill arranged
-surplus. All other permanent improvements, such as orchards,
-plantations, fences, and the like, should be carefully considered. A
-good bearing orchard of only a few acres may serve to furnish enough
-profit each year to liquidate taxes and interest charges. The orchard
-may be cheaper at $500 per acre than the balance of the farm is at $75
-per acre, or it may be only an incumbrance of good land. Is the farm
-naturally or artificially drained? If not, will $35 per acre have to be
-spent in thorough draining before the land is really satisfactory? If
-not drained, will it bring constant disappointment? Fences, lanes and
-the necessity for them, the amount and location of inferior land as
-pasture land, the kind of weeds about the farm, as well as the amount,
-kind and location of timber, should be considered.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 4. Too many buildings for eighty acres of land.]
-
-Land devoted to market-gardening should be near the market town where
-the perishable products are to be sold. Vegetables should reach the
-market early in their season in a fresh and presentable condition and
-cheaply, if satisfactory profits are desired. Then land which can be
-tilled early (warm or sandy land), though it may contain a comparatively
-small amount of natural plant-food, will be more satisfactory than rich,
-cold land situated farther from the market. An acre of poor, sandy land
-near the market may be worth, to the gardener, three or four times as
-much as an acre of the more distant fertile upland.
-
-Near the town, manures, which are so necessary to force many
-market-garden products, can be procured cheaply and in abundance. The
-added distance of even one or two miles from the switch or shipping
-station may have an important effect on profits. Land situated far from
-market may well be devoted to stock-raising and such other products as
-may be marketed infrequently or at leisure. As yet, agricultural methods
-in America are so new that they have not adjusted themselves to the
-growing cities, nor have specialized crops found their appropriate
-localities. Too often are seen truck farms located half a score of
-miles from the city, and the meat-producing farms within sight of it. As
-the country becomes older, the varied activities in agriculture will fit
-themselves into their appropriate localities, as they have already done
-in many parts of Europe. The dairyman of the Channel islands has long
-since learned that the piebald cattle of the poulders are not suited to
-his wants, and the boer of the lowland knows that the meek-eyed,
-thin-skinned Jersey is not best adapted to his cold, windy country and
-wet pastures.
-
-Cost of tillage should be considered when valuing land. When produced on
-friable land, crops may be secured at much less cost than on tenacious
-clay. On the other hand, while sandy soils are the most easily
-cultivated, they are ever demanding more plant-food, and hence are not
-well adapted to grass or general agriculture, as the expense of keeping
-them productive is usually so great as to preclude profits.
-
-Except in special cases, as in truck farming, it is cheaper to purchase
-natural plant-food in the soil than artificial fertility. One acre of
-land may have potential plant-food sufficient under superior tillage for
-one hundred crops, while another unaided will yield but half as many,
-and yet the two pieces of land are often priced at the same figure. In
-other words, land of high productive power is usually cheaper than land
-of low productive power. A good farm may be cheaper at $50 per acre than
-a poor one as a gift.
-
-Last, but not least, is the road to the farm. Every free-born American
-demands a public highway in front of his house; if farms are small there
-must then be a highway about every mile, or, at most, every two miles.
-This leads to cutting up the country into enlarged checkerboards, to a
-multiplication of highways so great that none of them can be kept
-passably good without overtaxing the land which adjoins them. On account
-of the contour of the land over which they pass, some roads are
-extremely difficult and are well described by the man who, when asked
-how far it was from a certain town to another one, answered: “Thirty
-miles, and it’s up hill both ways.” As I write this I look out upon a
-washed clay road which stretches up and on towards the horizon for six
-weary miles, so steep that the team must maintain a walk for the whole
-distance in ascending or descending. What is land worth at the other end
-of this road, as compared with that which lies six miles away in the
-other direction, along a smooth, level pike? Every grown farm boy should
-have a good horse and a good road upon which to drive, if he be worthy
-of such a noble animal as the horse. When he starts for himself let him
-locate on a good road. There are always enough persons who are not
-thankful for advice, especially if it be in a book, who are looking for
-cheap land at the end of the hilly road.
-
-Many farms are purchased by young men just starting out in life before
-judgment has been developed by experience, while men of mature years
-take in the whole problem, or rather series of problems, easily and at
-once. The novice would do well to make a list of the topics enumerated
-above, and add to them such others as appeal to his tastes or conditions
-and then study them, one at a time; in fact, there is nothing left for
-the young man to do but to make out a score-card upon which he records
-his judgment in numbers as he investigates each phase of the difficult
-problem of selecting a farm.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V
-
-_THE RELATION OF THE FARMER TO THE LAWYER_
-
-
-Doubtless more than one reader will be astonished, perhaps even
-horrified, to think that the writer should seriously suggest that there
-ought to be any relation whatever between the farmer and the lawyer.
-
-It has come to be generally believed by many farmers that lawyers are at
-best a necessary evil, which it is well to avoid if possible; but,
-strange as it may appear, this very feeling is responsible for much of
-the litigation, with its attendant loss and sometimes ruin, in which too
-many farmers have been engaged. It is not the purpose of this short
-chapter to treat of the subject of law, or to try to lay down any rules
-to be blindly followed in legal matters. An old and learned lawyer, who
-had all his life been engaged in a country practice, once told me that
-the most prolific sources of litigation were alleged text-books of law,
-bearing such alluring and seductive titles as “Every Man his own
-Lawyer,” or “The Farmer’s own Law Book.”
-
-Several years ago, a wealthy manufacturer of the state of New York sent
-a bright son to a law school, to help prepare him for a business career.
-At the end of his course the proud father was present at commencement,
-and, in the course of conversation with his son, said: “Well, John, I
-suppose you have learned a great deal.” John answered, “I have learned
-one thing which I think is of value; and that is, if any legal matter
-comes up in the course of my business, to consult the very best lawyer I
-can find.” That young man had really learned something worth far more
-than the cost of his course in the college of law.
-
-There is, perhaps, no other of the so-called learned professions which
-is so exacting and which requires more devotion and study for its
-mastery. Some of the brightest men in this country have devoted a
-lifetime to the study and practice of law, only to have just entered its
-broad field as they have been compelled to lay down their work. How
-futile, then, would be the attempt to make every man his own lawyer! The
-real purpose of this chapter is to open the eyes of the farmer to the
-necessity of a closer relationship between himself and the lawyer,--the
-family lawyer, if you please, having his confidence to the same extent
-as that of the family doctor.
-
-Most farmers desire a comfortable and a beautiful home, and it is to aid
-such that this book is written. Such a farmer would doubtless consult a
-builder or an architect as to the foundation, walls, plan and materials
-of the home to be constructed, and he would act wisely; but how many
-would think so far as to consult a lawyer as to the very foundation upon
-which his home and his future happy occupancy of it rest: the title to
-the farm. Too many times he is satisfied with the services of the
-village solons,--the shoemaker who is a notary public, the justice of
-the peace, or the pettifogger who daily overrules the supreme court or
-the court of appeals. Years after he has purchased his farm, he finds,
-perhaps, that some man has given a deed whose wife has not signed, and
-upon the death of the woman’s husband our farmer friend is confronted
-with a law suit; and he finds that this wife, who did not sign the deed,
-is entitled to dower in his farm, the use of one-third of its value at
-the time her husband gave the deed, for life. Such cases are frequent,
-and might easily be prevented by submitting an abstract of the title to
-a lawyer at a cost of $5 or less. The flaw in the title may be a
-mortgage or judgment, or a failure of all the heirs of a deceased
-person, somewhere along the chain of title, to join in the deed; all of
-which might be overlooked by the ordinary business man, and yet be
-readily detected by a lawyer.
-
-Some day the farmer may be annoyed by the encroachment of a neighbor
-upon his farm, and, when in the midst of a litigation, find that the
-description of his farm is so defective that there is no relief. I have
-in my possession a deed of a valuable farm containing this description:
-“Beginning on the ---- road at the south end of a pile of four-foot
-wood; running thence westwardly to a black cherry tree, thence northerly
-to a stake, thence easterly to a pine stump in the center of the road,
-and thence southerly to the place of beginning, containing 100 acres,
-more or less.” For fifty years this description has been copied, a score
-of times, by the various justices of the peace and notaries public of
-the neighboring hamlet, but fortunately, however, it has never devolved
-upon the owners to establish the boundaries of that farm. The first
-lawyer who got hold of this particular deed insisted upon such a
-description as would be tangible and certain. Not many years ago a
-mortgage on a valuable farm in Tompkins county, N. Y., was foreclosed,
-and during the foreclosure it was discovered that this mortgage covered
-about fifty acres of Cayuga lake, and what had been supposed to be a
-valuable mortgage was depreciated one-half by reason of the neglect and
-incompetence of the country conveyancer.
-
-So, too, there are questions as to line fences, water courses, rights of
-way, encroachment upon the highway, and an innumerable train of
-threatening evils, continually arising, any one of which, if neglected
-or referred to the many wiseacres common to every community, may lead to
-costly litigation, or even to the loss of the farm itself. A bit of
-counsel at the right time, which is when the matter first appears, will
-prevent, at trifling cost, all the attendant evils of a law suit.
-
-Such instances are very common in the experience of every lawyer who
-enjoys even a moderate country practice; and it is an alarming fact that
-perhaps fifty per cent of the titles to all the farms, especially in the
-older states, have flaws more or less serious, any one of which is a
-microbe of trouble, liable to assert itself when least expected. This
-being so, the general and inflexible rule should ever prevail, never to
-take a deed of property without an abstract of title which has been
-examined by a competent attorney. The so-called maxims of law, often
-repeated and distorted, especially in farming communities, are extremely
-dangerous to follow. They may have some foundation in fact, but as
-almost all rules of law have their exceptions, and as no one not versed
-in the law is competent to pass upon them, they should never be blindly
-followed by a layman.
-
-To illustrate this point: Not long ago a prosperous farmer, relying upon
-the oft-repeated assertion that twenty years of peaceable possession
-gave title, became involved in a lawsuit with the town over a fence
-which had been built in the highway adjacent to his farm. He was an
-astonished man when the lawyer whom he consulted told him that
-possession for a thousand years of the land claimed would not give him
-title as against the public.
-
-It seems almost incredible that a farmer, who will drive his horse for
-miles to have him shod by an expert, or who will summon a veterinarian
-to treat a sick cow, will be satisfied to consult what someone has
-brightly termed a necessity lawyer,--because necessity knows no
-law,--upon matters affecting his farm, his home, or his competence,
-rather than the experienced lawyer. The cow might be replaced for forty
-or fifty dollars if a mistake was made, but the farm, the competence,
-have cost a lifetime of labor.
-
-Perhaps the most striking example of neglect on the part of the farmer
-is in regard to the disposal of the fruits of his life-work. It is true
-that anybody can draw a will, and yet the fact that men and women allow
-anybody to draw their wills is productive of more fat fees than arise
-from any other source. Not long ago an acquaintance, who did not realize
-the truth of the old adage that “a little knowledge is a dangerous
-thing,” drew his own will, and, being childless, sought to leave his
-property to his wife, who had been the partner of his labors in a long
-life of toil. The law of the state of New York requires two witnesses to
-a will. He procured only one, and upon his death the property, which
-husband and wife had with so much toil secured, was for the most part
-scattered among distant relatives, almost strangers, because he was
-afraid of lawyers and their fees.
-
-In all the varied business which a farmer will meet,--the giving of
-notes, mortgages, etc., or, better, the taking of mortgages, bills of
-sale, and promissory notes,--it is well to remember that different
-conditions of fact make necessary different interpretations of the law,
-and that it is usually unsafe to follow a neighborhood precedent.
-Oftentimes you may be called upon to transact business where it is not
-convenient to consult a lawyer. In such cases, and in all transactions
-of any magnitude or possible importance, all talk, or the essence of it,
-should be reduced to writing. Then it cannot get away or be distorted
-or forgotten, and is in good shape to submit, at the first opportunity,
-to your lawyer, who, if an error has been made, can, while the matter is
-fresh, more easily correct it. Remember that a contract is simply a
-meeting of the minds of the contracting parties, and the best drawn
-contract possible is one that states, in language simple and concise,
-what each means as expressed by word of mouth.
-
-Most of the litigation so much feared by the farmer is due to the farmer
-himself and his neglect to seek an ounce of preventive. It is true that
-there are rascally lawyers; so, too, there are dishonest men in every
-trade, occupation or profession, but they are generally easily located.
-
-If this chapter shall lead the farmer to feel that his business is
-farming, that “a jack-at-all-trades is master of none,” and that the
-law, justly interpreted and enforced by those who know it thoroughly and
-well, is to be the foundation of his success, the guarantee of his home
-through life, and the channel of its proper disposal after death, then
-it has not been written in vain. Remember that the province of the true
-lawyer is to keep his client out of trouble, rather than to get him out
-of trouble. An honest lawyer, of whom, thank Heaven, there are very
-many, notwithstanding the popular prejudice of those who have suffered
-from litigation, will always try to steer you clear of litigation and
-loss.
-
-In conclusion, then, always consult a lawyer in matters affecting your
-farm or property. The average fees of a lifetime will not exceed fifty
-dollars, and oftentimes valuable advice will be given free. Select one
-in whom you have confidence, and stick to him. Become his friend, and
-let the relation be one of mutual confidence. Do not neglect to ask him
-a question because you fear he will think you dumb; he probably knows
-less about farming than you do about law. He will need your advice and
-influence in minor matters as much as you need his. Call on him when you
-are in town, and he will be glad to see you. Very often he will answer
-your question gratis. When he charges you what may seem a large fee,
-remember that you are paying for skilled labor, and that you are
-entitled to expend as much for the possible welfare and happiness of
-your family as you expend upon the choice stock in your stables.
-Farmers, more than any other class of men, perhaps, are prone to neglect
-legal matters, or place them in incompetent hands.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI
-
-_LOCATING THE HOUSE_
-
-
-Since more than three-fourths of the life of the farmer and his family
-are spent in sight of home, more than one-half of life in the house, and
-more than one-fourth in bed, the house, the place where they live,
-should receive most careful attention. Having secured sufficient land to
-maintain a home, and having made certain that these lands are productive
-and profitable, a problem is presented in locating and building the
-house which demands a high degree of intelligence, long, painstaking
-study, and a good understanding of what constitutes fitness, beauty and
-durability.
-
-Life in the country gives one the idea of repose, of strength and
-breadth, of largeness, of solidity and durability, of healthy,
-symmetrical, solid development. Things which are evanescent, unreal,
-shoddy; things which are simply for show or vulgar display; things which
-have the appearance of aping that which may be appropriate under
-different conditions, but are totally out of place in rural life, must
-be avoided if utility, natural beauty and comfort, economy and repose
-are to be secured.
-
-The pioneer in the wooded districts built the home in some sequestered
-nook or valley at the base of the hill or table land, where the spring
-or the stream issued from the wood-covered heights. The rural house of
-the pioneer allowed free circulation of the frosty air; the problem of
-ventilation they solved without knowing it. Unwittingly they adopted the
-correct principle; viz., ventilation by many small, gentle streams of
-air instead of by a few large openings, which create dangerous drafts.
-It must be admitted that our forefathers overdid the ventilation in most
-cases, and rheumatism and chilblains were the result; but the principle
-was correct.
-
-Now the spring has dried up, the water from the deforested hills comes
-rushing to the lowlands until the streams overflow their banks, and
-these and other changed conditions indicate that the future farmsteads
-should be erected on higher land, on the slopes of the hills. From the
-one extreme we have gone, in some cases, to the other, and the home has
-been built on the very apex of some lofty hill. Such locations may be
-well adapted for summer residences, where little or no farming is
-carried on, but are not suitable for the farm home.
-
-Now that the house is constructed by more skilled workmen than
-formerly, and out of better material, there is little need of locating
-the home in the sheltered nook, except possibly in the extreme north, or
-on plains subject to tornadoes. The object in locating the house on
-somewhat elevated lands is fourfold. First, air drainage. In deep,
-crooked, narrow valleys the air is pocketed, especially at night, and
-the damp, cold air settles in the lowest land as certainly as water
-finds the low-lying pool. In these pockets between the hills, frosts
-come early and remain late.
-
-While traveling in western North Carolina in the late summer and fall, I
-could not but observe how every little break in the hillside and every
-narrow valley was filled at sunrise, to the crest of the adjoining hill,
-with a dense fog. Slowly the sun, as it approached the zenith,
-dissipated the fog, but the narrow valleys were often free from fog for
-only a few hours each day. Here the home might be situated well up the
-mountain side, as shown at the right in Fig. 5.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 5. A house in the bottom of the valley and one on
-the mountain side.]
-
-In a little pocket about twenty feet deep, formed by hills, with a road
-embankment at its mouth, fruits failed, although they flourished on the
-adjoining land, where there was good air drainage (Fig. 6). If fruits do
-not thrive on these undrained areas, the natural conclusion is that the
-children will not. It is found that the upper stories of city buildings
-are healthier than the lower ones, and that the ground floor is the most
-unhealthy of all. This is the only objection to a one-story house. On
-the level prairies little opportunity is offered for locating the house
-above the level of the surrounding country. Fortunately, many of the
-prairies are undulating, and furnish most beautiful locations for
-country homes. Much may be done, even in the level country, to overcome
-the disadvantages of the site by placing the cellar of the house only
-two or three feet in the ground and grading up to within a short
-distance of the top of the wall. A pool or two, or a miniature lake near
-the barns, and skilful planting of trees will lend a diversity and charm
-well worth the attention and time given to them.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 6. A frosty pocket.]
-
-A pool may be made by scooping a place in hard earth or by damming a
-stream (Fig. 7). If no water is allowed to flow over the dam and it is
-raised some two feet above the overflows, it will serve every purpose as
-well as an expensive grout or stone structure. It will be noticed in the
-picture that provision has been made by digging shallow ditches on the
-right and left for carrying off the surplus water when the miniature
-lake is full. In constructing the dam, a trench two feet wide, at right
-angles to the stream, should be dug to the depth of one foot, or until
-solid ground, unmixed with vegetable matter, is reached. Fill the trench
-with clayey earth which is free from humus, which will prevent the dam
-from leaking at the bottom where it meets the natural soil. The stream
-which feeds the lake or pond should be small, and need not be perennial
-if the dam is raised as high as it should be. If the water is dammed
-back to the depth of twelve to fourteen feet, and the banks of the pond
-are rather steep (A, Fig. 7), a cool, useful miniature lake will be
-formed, and not an unsightly marsh, during the dry months of summer.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 7. A useful pond.]
-
-Dryish, gravelly soil and subsoil is to be much preferred as a site for
-a house to clayey or dark, damp soil which contains much humus. If the
-ideal soil cannot be secured, then thorough drainage should be provided.
-In locating on a gentle declivity, there is a constant tendency for
-water to penetrate the wall next the hillside or to pass under the wall
-and appear in the bottom of the cellar. Unless this can certainly be
-prevented, another location had better be selected.
-
-The house should be situated on somewhat elevated ground, to promote
-both surface and house drainage. If it is the purpose to introduce into
-the house more water than has been furnished heretofore, then full
-provision should be made for carrying all waste water and fecal matter
-to a safe distance from the house, and to do this beyond a peradventure,
-sufficient fall must be secured to give permanency to the work and an
-unobstructed outlet.
-
-One of the objections urged against a country home is that it is “too
-quiet,” too much shut up from the outside world. This, in part, is true.
-It detracts much from the enjoyment and beauty of the country home if
-vision is shut in to a few acres just about the house. The American
-farmer is not content to live under the conditions which delight the
-Transvaal Dutch farmer, so isolated that he cannot see the smoke from
-his neighbor’s chimney nor hear the bark of his neighbor’s dog.
-
-When visiting the home of the Hon. Edwin Morgan, I found that he was
-having three large trees cut down. It seemed to the uninstructed like
-vandalism. When asked the reason for sacrificing these noble trees,
-nourished and tended for half a century, he answered: “I have many more
-trees, but I have but one lake--Cayuga--and I must have vistas through
-which I can watch the white sail, the crested waves, the ever-changing
-colors of the water as the winds open vistas in the fleecy clouds. I
-love the trees not less, but the soft reflection of the moonbeams on the
-rippling wave more, and so the trees must give way.”
-
-The outlook from the vine-covered veranda should be broad and extended.
-If possible, the hill and dale, the stream and wood, neighbors’ houses
-nestled in plantations of trees and shrubs, all should be in sight. As
-life advances, I see more and more clearly the effect of that noble
-lake, its now boisterous now placid surface of the rippling water which
-laved the stony beach. I see its effect on that “tow-headed” lad who at
-one time breasted the waves, at another sat dreamily casting pebbles
-into the clear expanse, wondering what life had in store, what the
-great unknown world offered for the nut-brown, high-tempered, crude
-country boy. Then plant the country home where nature in her happiest
-moods has showered her richest gifts!
-
-But beauty loses much of its charm where healthy vigor gives not the
-power to appreciate and enjoy it. So the house should be located on a
-healthy eminence. But it is not easy to find a location which shall
-combine convenience, beauty, air and water drainage, and healthfulness
-all in the highest degree. In the case of the farmer, convenience as to
-carrying on the various operations of the farm and healthfulness are
-paramount. Drainage may be artificially improved, vistas opened,
-miniature lakes constructed, and surroundings made more beautiful. The
-farm and its equipment is the workshop, and must be convenient in all
-its appointments, or much energy is spent for naught; health must be
-maintained at the highest, or work may become but toil and drudgery.
-
-In locating a house, its relation to the size of the farm, its
-productiveness and agricultural capabilities should be considered. In
-locating the site, two places should be carefully avoided: First, at the
-end of a long lane in the middle of the farm. It may be said that the
-buildings form the natural nucleus in and around which the work
-centers, and therefore they should be placed near the middle of the
-estate. But the work carried on in the fields forms but a small part of
-the farmer’s activities. He must ever, in these modern times, be in
-touch with the school, the church, the post office, the railway, the
-market, and his neighbors. When an infrequent call is made at the end of
-this long lane, the children appear like frightened deer as they seek
-shelter in the shrubbery or behind the corner of a building, and the
-more the inherited timidity and reserve, the wilder they appear.
-
-The other location to be avoided is within a few feet of the highway.
-Such locations are only admissible in the city, where land sells by the
-square foot. What fortunes are sometimes spent in the city to secure
-some amplitude of space between the dusty, noisy street and the
-residence! What dignity and repose an ample, well kept house-yard gives
-to even a plain, modest house! The effect of the mistake of locating the
-house too close to the highway is often accentuated by locating the
-barns on the other side and immediately upon the highway, and in front
-of the house. The location of the house, as to the highway, should be
-governed, in part, by the size and productive power of the farm. If
-ample acres and means are available, then the grounds should be ample;
-if limited, the grounds should be made to correspond.
-
-In moderate-sized holdings, a clear space of from 100 to 200 feet
-between the house and the highway, and width equal to or exceeding the
-length, will give room for a few shade trees and an ample grass plat.
-The site should be either suited to the house or the house to the site.
-Therefore, the character of the proposed house and the site should be
-considered at the same time. One location may be suited to a one-story,
-another to a two-story house. No location is suited to a
-story-and-a-half house.
-
-It may be said that on most farms the house is already located, and has
-grouped around it plantations and barns. In many cases it would be
-inexpedient to change the site of the house, as this would necessitate
-many changes of outbuildings and other permanent improvements. But if a
-careful inspection is made of farmsteads, it will appear that many of
-the houses are in need of repairs and additions, and that the cost of
-making them would be but slightly increased if either the house or the
-outbuildings were removed to a more desirable site. In the great
-majority of cases, the old barns should be gathered together into one
-structure, or into two at most, and adapted to the needs of modern
-agriculture (as will be explained in a subsequent chapter). All changes
-presuppose well matured plans and long and careful study of problems
-which will have to be solved if the location of the house or barn is
-changed.
-
-The scope, and particularly the cost, of the changes should be known
-approximately before the execution of the plan begins. “For which of
-you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down and counteth the cost,
-whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply after he hath laid
-the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin
-to mock him, saying, this man began to build and was not able to
-finish.” Far better live in the old house, with its inconveniences, and
-get the greatest possible happiness out of the ancient structure, than
-to build a new one and cover it with shining paints of many colors and a
-mortgage which sticks longer than the paints.
-
-Some of these old farm houses embody many beautiful and reposeful
-characteristics, are well located, and need only slight modifications to
-make them fit the site as nicely as a bird fits its nest. If thought can
-be awakened as to the possibilities of these neglected homes and some
-information imparted as to their treatment, or, in other words, if the
-eyes and understanding can be trained to take in the fundamental
-principles of beauty, dignity, fitness, and repose, we shall soon see
-fewer architectural monstrosities. That there are not more is a wonder.
-What lad or lass has ever had the slightest instruction by teacher in
-rural or city school along the lines of fitness, beauty, and
-healthfulness of sites for country homes? The few youths who reach the
-institutions of higher learning are scarcely better off. Some of these
-are taught to see the beauties and wonders of nature through a
-microscope, and, in rare cases, one may be taught to observe the lines
-of symmetry and form as exhibited in a poor plaster cast of some
-mythological Roman warrior; but as for any instruction which leads
-directly to a broad understanding or keen appreciation of nature in her
-broader, happier, and grander aspects, it is painfully conspicuous by
-its absence. So, is it any wonder that the farmer is deficient in
-appreciation of the fitness and beauty of the tree-clad, gently rolling
-plateau for a home site, when the “liberally” educated fail to see the
-innumerable beauty-spots which cover the face of nature?
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII
-
-_PLANNING RURAL BUILDINGS_
-
-
-The farm house is not what is called, a “paying investment.” It is not a
-direct source of income; neither can the other rural buildings be said
-to produce a direct income. Generally speaking, the farm house can
-fulfil but four purposes if properly planned and well constructed: the
-house may serve to keep the family warm in cold weather, cool in hot
-weather, dry in wet weather, and to gratify a love for the beautiful.
-Since the farm house as a paying investment is usually a failure, if it
-does not supply the wants of the household and fulfil its object, it
-becomes a failure indeed. The first great mistake which the prosperous
-farmer usually makes is to invest too much money in expensive, hastily
-planned buildings. The house should be built to serve its inmates; too
-often the inmates become the servants of the house. A farmer’s wife
-cannot well afford to devote one room in the overcrowded house to the
-storage of expensive, useless upholstery and bric-a-brac, nor time to
-keep them presentable and in order.
-
-The debt incurred for a part of the purchase price of the farm forbids
-the employment of help to keep in order this home museum of things
-useful and beautiful, and things useless and ugly. If plainness,
-durability, and natural beauty in parlor, sitting-room and chamber would
-only become fashionable, what a burden would be removed from the
-shoulders of housewives, both in country and city! The time is at hand
-when health and intelligence should count for more among American women
-than show and the possession of a miniature upholstery shop. The
-furnishings of the rooms should minister to the comfort of their owner,
-and not tend to make life burdensome.
-
-Not infrequently farmers of energy and ability become possessed of more
-than a competence near the close of life. Having lived in somewhat
-restricted circumstances, they think to make the close of life more
-comfortable and luxurious. So, notwithstanding the fact that most of the
-children have left the paternal roof, they set about building a large
-house, tear down or remodel, and add to the outbuildings; and at the
-close of life they leave the possessions encumbered and a farm
-overloaded with buildings as an inheritance to a child unable, by reason
-of youth and inexperience, to secure a competence sufficient to live and
-keep up repairs.
-
-A beautiful farm of 180 acres, in central New York, is provided with the
-following buildings:
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 8.
-
-The buildings on a 180-acre farm.]
-
- A house, part 2-, and part 1¹⁄₂-story, 110 feet long.
-
- A horse barn, 30 by 80 feet.
-
- A grain barn, 40 by 80 feet.
-
- A straw shed, 20 by 30 feet.
-
- A machinery and husking barn, 20 by 80 feet.
-
- A hay barn, 16 by 30 feet.
-
- A cart shed and chicken house, 20 by 24 feet.
-
- A piggery, 20 by 24 feet.
-
- A corn crib, 12 by 18 feet.
-
- A carriage house, 24 by 32 feet.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 9. The farm house that is too big for the farm.]
-
-Some of this lay-out is shown in Figures 8, 9, and 10. These buildings
-could not have cost less than $15,000. A fair valuation of the farm at
-the present time would be $14,000 to $16,000. The family which now
-occupies the house consists of man and wife, one child, and two regular
-employes, one of whom has his own home. The father overloaded the farm
-with buildings, his son is struggling to keep them in repair, and the
-wife labors to keep unused rooms presentable. These buildings might well
-serve for a section of land and a family of twenty.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 10. Scattered farm buildings.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 11. A cosy farm house.]
-
-Another house not far from this one was built nearly a century ago (Fig.
-11). If the upper story was a full instead of a half-story, it would
-fulfil all the demands of a house, except possibly beauty. It stands on
-a rather steep front slope, which stops abruptly on the shore of one of
-our beautiful inland lakes (Fig. 12). By reason of the steep incline at
-the front of the house, a tall building would be far less beautiful than
-this lean-to, severely plain structure. This simple old house has a
-restful, almost beautiful appearance when viewed in conjunction with the
-trees, the steep, sloping lawn, and the broad, placid lake. The shaded
-veranda gives the idea of social repose far more than does the formal,
-stiff, restricted one shown in Fig. 9, which has scarcely room for two
-easy chairs, and is so constructed that no grateful shade is secured.
-Woe be to the man who destroys this restful old house and substitutes
-for it a lofty, narrow-waisted one adorned with peaks and spires, bay
-windows and a filigree cornice!
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 12. The lake view in front of the house.]
-
-Before ground is broken for the foundation, carefully considered plans
-suited to the site, the size and productiveness of the farm, and the
-probable income, should have been made. It may be said that the size of
-the house should be governed by the size, or the probable size, of the
-family. But “it is better to dwell in the corner of the house-top than
-in a wide house” with insufficient means to maintain it. The general
-plans should be outlined at least a year before a new building or
-extensive enlargement of the old is begun. The houses which are to be
-built in the future should be planned with a view to greater economy,
-convenience, beauty, and durability. There is now little excuse for
-erecting poor, uncomfortable, inconvenient houses on the farm. True, the
-rural population is handicapped, for few city architects have made any
-study of the plain rural house, and fewer have paid any attention
-whatever to farm barn construction. Even if architects had given
-attention to the needs of the rural population, the farmer would feel
-that he could hardly afford to pay $100 to $200 for the plans of a house
-costing $1,000 to $2,000, exclusive of the labor which the owner, his
-men and teams were able to perform upon it. The task of planning a
-country house is too great for the country carpenter; he cannot even
-interpret plans correctly; his range of observation and training have
-been too limited. Then, who is to plan the house? Why, the farmer and
-his family, and it will take at least two years of study and observation
-of other houses and their modern conveniences before intelligent, crude
-plans and instructions are ready to be placed in the hands of the
-draughtsman.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 13. A house of seven gables.]
-
-Few persons are original; therefore, if the little conveniences which
-help to lighten work and make life more pleasurable are to find a place
-in the house, they must be seen in other houses. All men have more ideas
-than any one man; therefore, the range of study should be wide, that
-whatever is suitable to the conditions may be adopted. After having
-built many farm houses and barns, and having made a long and most
-careful study of them, I estimate that from 30 to 40 per cent of the
-cost of farm buildings is useless, and sometimes worse than thrown
-away.
-
-A small farm house on a modest-sized farm is shown in Fig. 13. The site
-is beautiful, and is worthy of a house better fitted to the situation,
-the farm, and the farmer. The illustration shows seven gables, and the
-house, therefore, might serve as a model for a work of fiction; but the
-left-hand side of the house is like unto the right-hand side, so it will
-not do for fiction, for if the truth must be told, there are eleven
-gables and twenty-two valleys on this house.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 14. Filigree work is expensive, and does not look
-well on a farm house.]
-
-The vine-covered veranda is most beautiful, and looks cool and
-comfortable, but there are too many vines, and, with the exception of a
-few days in summer at midday, the air under this veranda would be damp
-and uncomfortable. It is far better to secure shade by means of awnings
-and a few tall, well trimmed shade trees, which preclude dampness and
-permit air drainage, than to overburden the veranda with vines. The
-covering of this veranda is an unprotected floor, and extends along the
-front and well around both sides. Notice the too expensive balustrade
-and frequent fancy posts, an enlarged section of which is shown in Fig.
-14. All of this expensive wooden material is exposed to our
-ever-changeful, paint-destroying climate. The tinsmith, the painter, and
-the carpenter will reap a rich harvest if the external part of this
-house is kept in order. It seems hardly necessary to call attention to
-the chambers, which, of necessity, must be of such a character as to
-preclude comfort, beauty and repose.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 15. Ground plan of a house which is out of character
-on a farm.]
-
-A house built after the ground plan, Fig. 15, might make a not
-unpleasing picture in the landscape, but it would not be appropriate for
-the farm, and would be unnecessarily expensive in construction and
-maintenance. It would be difficult to heat, on account of the great
-surface exposure due to the broken outlines and numerous corners, which
-are seldom air-tight. The style might not be altogether inappropriate
-for a cheap seaside cottage.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 16. A good model for a farm house, having strong
-lines and much character.]
-
-A rear view of a somewhat larger house is given (Fig. 16). It would not
-cause the passerby to stop and stare. It may be compared to a well,
-appropriately, and simply dressed lady, while the other is a reminder of
-the over-dressed, furbelowed damsel, who attracts the prolonged stare
-and the thoughtless comments of every sidewalk idler. Here are seen
-repose, beauty, elements of durability, and freedom from expensive
-ornamentation and repairs.
-
-A back view of this house has been shown purposely to emphasize the fact
-that the rear side of a house may be made nearly as beautiful as the
-front side. It would be improved both in looks and convenience if a
-partially enclosed porch were placed over the door and two of the
-windows.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 17. Ground plan of the house shown in Figs. 16 and
-19.]
-
-The planning of a house is not difficult if wants are clearly defined
-and the principles of economy, dignity, durability and repose, as
-applied to the exterior of the house, are fairly well understood. If the
-site is ample, and it always is in the country, you have but to draw a
-rectangle, the length of which is one-third to one-fourth longer than
-its breadth. Fig. 17 is a ground plan of the house shown in Fig. 16.
-
-The farm house shown in Fig. 18 is located thirty feet from a dusty,
-muddy, much-traveled public highway. Opposite to it, and immediately on
-the road, are located the ill-kept farm buildings. How the aromas of the
-stables and kitchen are to be kept each on its respective side of the
-road is a question difficult to solve. Here, as in so many cases, the
-wife showed better training and more commendable pride in her
-surroundings and her workshop than the husband. She may coax him some
-day to set a few trees, which may serve in part to hide his workshop on
-the other side. There are many things about this farm house which are
-commendable, and the only wonder is that so few mistakes were made in
-planning it. Farmers’ wives must have a sort of natural intuition; how
-else can the fewness of their mistakes be explained, for they have
-seldom received the slightest instruction along the lines of
-house-building. True, the tower on the corner is expensive and
-inappropriate, but if the house had an appropriate setting of trees and
-shrubs it might be beautiful.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 18. The house is too fancy. The small projections
-make it look weak. The view is not attractive.]
-
-The farm house should have one large bed-room on the first floor, a well
-appointed kitchen and living room. When the size, number, and
-arrangement of the other rooms are fixed, the lines which bound the
-outside of the rooms will not, of necessity, always coincide with the
-rectangular lines. On one side the house may extend slightly over, on
-another fall short of the lines which bound the rectangle. Does the
-rectangle embody fitness and beauty? If the manufactured things by which
-we are surrounded are noted, it will be seen how many of them are
-rectangular. The book, the sheet of paper, the pamphlet, the photograph,
-the picture frame on the wall, the rug on the floor, the writing case,
-the chiffonier, the trunk, and thousands of objects of use and beauty
-naturally take the rectangular form: then why not the house? Man
-constructs along the lines of acute, obtuse, and right angles unless
-there are specific reasons for adopting curves, while nature’s modes
-adhere closely to circular and curved outlines.
-
-A front view of a substantial, appropriate house fronting to the west is
-shown in Fig. 19. It is the house of which a rear view is shown in Fig.
-16. The wide, projecting eaves, the simple roof over the second-story
-windows, and the plain veranda, all protect the windows from storm and
-the glaring afternoon sun. The eave-trough near the edge of the roof
-serves to relieve the plainness of the projecting roof, which really has
-no cornice. The side and ends of some of the rafters are seen, and no
-attempt has been made to box them in. The treatment is dignified,
-plain, inexpensive, and suitable,--therefore it is beautiful. The
-planting at the left is too thick for any but a dry climate. A lofty elm
-tree would serve better for shading the veranda in the late afternoon,
-and permit of better air drainage. The trees shown are deciduous, and
-therefore cannot form an ideal winter windbreak. If they were evergreens
-they would be entirely too close to the house. The mournful sighing of
-evergreen trees in the bleak November winds does not promote
-cheerfulness.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 19. A dignified, restful, economical house.]
-
-Four college buildings are shown in Figs. 20, 21, 23, and 24. School
-buildings can hardly be said to be a part of the farm lay-out, but they
-will serve quite as well as farm buildings to educate the taste and to
-train the eye and the judgment. The reader will see at once which two of
-these buildings are most dignified and pleasing.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 20. University building,--gray stone and tile roof.]
-
-In the schools, the people of the rural districts have had no
-instruction which would lead them to carefully observe and compare
-buildings of any kind; and hence, with but rare exceptions, they are
-ill-qualified to make an intelligent study of them. They are totally
-unprepared to grasp the fundamental principles which should govern the
-erection of structures on the farm, and totally ignorant of the
-principles to be observed when large public buildings are planned and
-erected. Fortunately or unfortunately, some farmers will be called upon
-to judge of the plans for school and other public buildings. The plans
-for a president’s house and an expensive college building were submitted
-to a board of thirteen trustees of a flourishing agricultural college.
-Ten of these trustees were farmers of more than local reputation. I
-forbear giving illustrations of the results: suffice it to say, that
-happily the house fell down before it was roofed in.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 21. University building,--red brick and slate roof.]
-
-A school building for the higher education should be light and airy; but
-light does not enter a building freely through narrow windows placed in
-thick stone or brick walls. Fig. 22 shows the effect of narrow and wide
-windows in the lighting of a building. Observe the shadow cast by the
-wall between the two narrow windows. The sun is directly in front of the
-windows for but a small part of the day. Usually it enters at a more or
-less acute angle, in which case a window three feet wide may be more
-than twice as efficient in lighting a room as one two feet wide, and a
-four-foot window three or four times as efficient as one half its width.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 22. Showing the greater proportionate amount of
-light admitted by one broad window, as compared with two narrow ones of
-equal combined opening.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 23. University laboratories,--red brick and slate
-roof.]
-
-Figs. 20, 21, 23, and 24 serve to illustrate some of the fundamental
-principles which should be observed in constructing expensive public
-buildings, and they may also serve for comparison, and for educating
-the eye and the judgment. The knowledge acquired in a study of these
-buildings may be useful in the planning and erection of rural homes, for
-in some respects all buildings should be alike. The farmer seldom has
-opportunity to contrast and study large detached buildings in which
-beauty, dignity, durability, and, above all, utility, are combined, and
-he seldom plans and erects more than one homestead; therefore, many
-buildings should be observed, the desirable and undesirable features
-noted and discussed thoroughly before the erection of a new structure,
-however simple it may be, is begun. It requires no little knowledge to
-construct in the best manner even a modern chicken house.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 24. University building,--gray stone and slate
-roof.]
-
-The consideration of these four school buildings, so different in
-character, may not be dismissed at once. They are introduced for the
-purpose of arousing interest and for giving opportunity to study the
-principles of external construction. The true principles once mastered,
-their application to rural homes will not be difficult. If Fig. 20 be
-studied carefully, it will be noticed that the lines are dignified,
-restful and even beautiful, although the building is constructed on
-straight lines, with little attempt at ornamentation. This building is
-sometimes taken for an art gallery, and so it is, for in it is taught
-the fine art of butter making. Its strong tile roof, ample projection of
-eaves, and freedom from peaks and valleys give assurance that this
-building, barring accidents, will stand for centuries with slight
-repair, and be more beautiful as time tones down and softens the colors.
-
-The building shown in Fig. 21 satisfies neither eye nor judgment. It is
-a noble building as to size and material, but are not the twenty
-miniature peaks out of place? It does not have the appearance of a
-restful school building, but of a mammoth seaside hotel. The many little
-gables might have been combined into a few large, noble ones, which
-would have given abundant light and lent dignity and charm to this well
-built structure. If we now transfer our thought from the large buildings
-to the brick dwelling house (Fig. 25), we find the same strong lines,
-the same dignity, and the same durability of roof structure, with a
-little added ornamentation, as are found in some school buildings. It
-should have been two-story instead of a story and a half, and the
-veranda might well have been more ample. This house, too, like the large
-stone structure (Fig. 20) is restful and satisfying. One instinctively
-sees that the cost of maintenance of this durable structure will be
-comparatively little. If this house be compared with the one shown in
-Fig. 26, it will be easily seen how much more appropriate and beautiful
-it is. One is built of cream brick and roofed with soft-colored tile;
-the other is roofed with poor shingles, has a cheap hemlock frame, and
-is sided with wood, which is covered with gaudy, ready mixed earth
-paints, which may fade out before the bill for them is paid.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 25. A simple and attractive little dwelling house.]
-
-Some day a genius will set forth for the farmer, in simple language and
-illustrations, the fundamental principles which should be followed in
-the building of rural homes. When that time comes the present children
-will then be mature and will have been so energized by nature-study
-work, which is now being introduced so extensively in the schools, as to
-be able to appreciate and profit by such literature.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 26. Another type of dwelling house.]
-
-Some of the tree-embowered farm houses have such a restful look and
-often embody such true lines of beauty that it seems almost sacrilegious
-to change them. On the other hand, some of them are so ill adapted to
-farm life, so unhandy and uncomfortable, that radical changes should be
-made. After the farmer has prospered, he naturally has a desire to build
-a new house or to transform the old one, not only to secure needed
-conveniences, but that greater beauty and a more luxurious home may be
-secured. It is difficult for him to find adequate help to solve the
-problem if he keeps the cost within reasonable limits. He may know where
-to begin; he seldom knows where he will end. Usually the first thought
-should be to preserve the old home, or the greater part of it. The
-architect is almost certain to advise demolition and the erection of a
-new house, asserting that the new structure will be no more expensive
-than the remodeling of the old, which may or may not be true. But he
-does not always know what is best, as he is usually unfamiliar with the
-farmers’ needs and traditions. Sacred associations usually cluster round
-the old farm house; every room and door and window may be associated
-with some epoch in life’s history. Through yonder door came the happy
-bride a half century ago; in yonder room the children were born;--every
-nook and corner has some tale to tell, some happy association. We cross
-oceans and mountains to view the birthplaces and homes (which happily
-sometimes are preserved and held sacred) of a Burns and a Shakespeare.
-Then is it not well to preserve the farm houses, where possibly are the
-birthplaces of many “Cromwells guiltless of their country’s blood.”
-
-The first thought, then, should be to save and improve the old house,
-not to destroy it. But most of these farm houses are either too low or
-too high: that is, they are neither one- nor two-storied, but a story
-and a half. A two-story wing may often be placed either at the front or
-side, and may serve to give dignity to the house; or a lower room or
-two, a few comfortable chambers, and an entrance hall or vestibule may
-be added. Such addition would make it possible to remove the low,
-flat-roofed, leaky kitchen to more appropriate quarters. The formerly
-unused parlor might be transformed into a living-room, the former
-living-room into a dining-room, and the old dining-room into a kitchen.
-The details by which this evolution is made must, of necessity, be
-worked out by those who are to occupy the house. That home is enjoyed
-best which is planned by those who have to pay the bills; therefore, I
-shall not go into detail of arrangement. My object will have been
-accomplished if I succeed in creating a greater respect and love for the
-houses of our ancestors, and shall have stayed the hand of the
-iconoclast. Any one can destroy, but few can create.
-
-So reasoned the college graduate on his return to the old homestead. The
-old house (Fig. 27) was improved by making slight additions and some
-minor changes. Even the green window blinds and the white siding were
-not disturbed, only brightened by the use of old-fashioned,
-unadulterated paints. The major effort was along the line of improving
-the live stock and making the acres more productive, soon resulting in
-surplus funds, which were used to erect the large and commodious barn.
-Simultaneously with the barn came the icehouse, and the windmill for
-pumping water. The observant passer-by instinctively knows that here are
-all the outward indications of morality, intelligence, and a rational
-and progressive system of agriculture. If the family be judged by what
-is seen in this picture of the farm above ground, the conclusion must be
-reached that here is a true home.
-
-How different the impression is when we look through the open roadside
-gate in the next picture (Fig. 28)! Lack of intelligent purpose and of
-neatness and thrift is written upon every structure, and is especially
-shown by the want of any logical plan in the arrangement of the numerous
-small structures. The house, which stands just to the right of the
-beautiful tree, is modern in many respects, but the front is supported
-by numerous Grecian columns nearly twenty feet long, as inappropriate
-and as useless for a farm-house as is a coon’s tail on a lady’s hat.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 27. The old homestead.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 28. Lack of intelligent purpose.]
-
-Instinctively we judge people at first sight, and largely by the clothes
-they wear and the manner of wearing them. So we judge, and often very
-accurately, of families by the houses which shelter them and the objects
-which surround them. One can easily tell much of the character of a man
-by the style and tip of his hat. What noble deeds, what lofty
-aspirations in this day and age of plenty and opportunity, should we
-expect to have birth and fruition in the house shown in illustration
-Fig. 29! This building is not located in the country, but in the suburbs
-of a small, prosperous inland city. Unfortunately, this village is
-unlike many beautiful country villages and small cities in western New
-York in which there are no poor people. What a depressing effect this
-building must have on the well bred country lad who passes it weekly on
-his journey to and from the post office!
-
-But how easy to go from one extreme to the other! Too many farm houses
-stand alone, unrelieved by noble trees or by modest planting of
-appropriate shrubbery, looking in the distance at the setting sun like
-lofty, whitewashed sepulchres. On the other hand, the house may be made
-dark and damp by over-planting. The house shown in Fig. 30 is a
-comfortable, fairly attractive stone structure, but is made gloomy and
-damp by the superabundance of evergreen and deciduous trees which fill
-all the space, barely thirty feet, between the house and the highway.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 29. Environment often makes the man.]
-
-The church, as well as the farm house, is or should be the home of the
-farmer; but the church, like the individual, may become proud, in which
-case the old meeting-house is demolished and replaced by a modern new
-one, which may serve for a time to stimulate laggards and appear to
-take the place of changed purposes in life. But the debt saddled on the
-congregation tends to drive the church-goers to the rear seats and
-eventually out of doors. I have sometimes thought that a country church
-could not well be too small. Man is a gregarious animal, and does not
-enjoy church-going when the seats are but partially occupied.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 30. Buried in trees. The opposite extreme from Fig.
-26.]
-
-The plain, substantial stone church shown in Fig. 31 is located in a
-sparsely settled district on the windy prairies of Kansas. It is
-certainly most appropriate and fits its environment; all it lacks to
-make it beautiful is a suitable setting of trees and shrubbery. It would
-then serve as a reminder of “God’s first temple not made with hands,”
-and not of one made with a jig-saw.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 31. A plain, substantial stone church.]
-
-“It is a plain, rugged, austere structure, like the men who built it,
-and any proposal to modernize it would be received with disfavor; for it
-means more to the people than merely a church building--it is a sacred
-possession that is a part of their life,” and it is an appropriate
-monument to the sturdy religious character of the pioneers who stood in
-the forefront as a wall guarding human rights and liberties in those
-stormy days of the past. The country church should be as truly a part of
-the farm structure as are the house and barn, located on land held in
-fee simple.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 32. Where horses are kept.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 33. Where boys and girls are taught.]
-
-The school-house also, as well as the church, should form a part of the
-farm above ground. We sometimes build parlors for the pictures, and
-palaces for the horses and cattle, and neglect the school-house. A city
-of 12,000 inhabitants in central New York has many expensive stables,
-some of them works of art. The barn shown in Fig. 32 is not more than
-half a mile from the school-house shown in Fig. 33. The beautiful stable
-might serve as a well appointed dwelling house by making a few minor
-changes. While such buildings are being constructed, the country
-school-house, the pride of the American, is left to fall into decay; or,
-if rebuilt, it is located too often on a little scrap of land which may
-be almost worthless, as though land in America were the most precious of
-all our inheritance. This school-house is designed to provide
-accommodations for both farm and city children living in the suburbs.
-The school-house has not a tree for shade nor a shrub to admire,
-situated on the commons among weeds and rocks, provided with one
-dilapidated outhouse unscreened by fence or tree or vine or shrub, while
-the stable is surrounded with rare trees and shrubs artistically
-arranged and a smoothly shaven lawn. Are horses and cattle worth more
-than boys and girls?
-
-To leave the reader to infer that all school-houses are like the one
-shown would be misleading. A more pleasing illustration is presented in
-Fig. 34. Here the meeting-house, the school-house, and a bit of the farm
-are shown in juxtaposition, as they were found at the meeting of the
-roads in a shady grove. Since moral character should be the foundation
-upon which to symmetrically build intelligence and industry, the church
-may be treated first. While taking the photograph, I was struck by the
-inexpensive character of the meeting-house. The outside covering was of
-plain, matched, vertical boards, but they were kept well painted and
-therefore looked neat, and the seats were entirely comfortable. I judge
-that here true, practical religion finds a congenial home, for a long
-line of comfortable sheds were being built to house the horses during
-the hours of devotion. Then, too, the sheds will serve a doubly humane
-purpose, for where the pupils live long distances from the school the
-horse driven in the morning will have comfortable quarters until the
-school closes in the evening. A public water-trough near by, kept full
-from a spring, gave evidence that this little church and the
-school-house were potent factors in promoting civilization. To the right
-is seen a lad plowing. Here, then, in this picture is represented the
-three great corner-stones of civilization upon which to build a
-symmetrical, beautiful superstructure. To build on either one alone is
-to insure disappointment; when life is grounded on all three the result
-is practical religion and intelligence eventuating in a better
-understanding of the complex soil and the interrelations of nature’s
-modes of action. It means steady and effective employment, the
-abandonment of nomadic life, and in lieu thereof a permanent home and an
-abundant supply of the necessaries and comforts of life. The Bible, the
-school book, and the plow should all be engraven and intertwined in our
-modern civilization.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 34. School house and church at the corners.]
-
-So far the general characteristics, fitness, durability and beauty of
-the country farm house have been discussed and illustrated, together
-with such public buildings as are directly related to rural life. But
-having discussed the size, best proportions, and most suitable materials
-for the house, and having put them into visible form, the building may
-be made hideous and unnecessarily expensive by careless or ignorant
-treatment of external details.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 35. The sway-back house.]
-
-Most of the farmers who now occupy the country west of the Alleghanies
-came from the east and brought with them a varied assortment of styles
-of architecture inherited from the many European countries from which
-they or their ancestors came. These people, though of limited means, had
-pride and tenacity of purpose, and they could not easily change to the
-plain and appropriate exterior treatment of the farm house. This
-inheritance and persistence, as shown in the farm houses of the middle
-states, is fitly illustrated by the expensive and heavy return cornice,
-the massive columns, and the complicated and ornate entablatures which
-are supposed to adorn an otherwise plain house.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 36. The expensive box cornice.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 37.
-
-A plain and durable cornice.]
-
-I have said that there is no place for the story-and-a-half house. Here
-is shown (Fig. 35) the results of two serious mistakes; viz., an effort
-to build a cheap frame of such a form that it is almost impossible to
-tie the building together, with the result that the roof is in danger of
-collapsing; and the attempt to beautify this cheap structure by
-over-heavy, complicated cornices. An enlarged detailed drawing of a
-typical return cornice is shown in Fig. 36. On the right is shown a
-cross-section outline of the members of the cornice. There are ten of
-them. The mouldings are now “stuck” by machinery, but these were made by
-hand, and 10 and 8 were formed of two pieces each, making twelve
-members in all. The infinite pains and labor in preparing the material
-and placing it cannot be realized except by a carpenter who has spent
-weeks and months in sawing out, in planing and “sticking,” and mitering
-such an elaborate system of useless ornamentation. Compare this with the
-cornice, or rather projection, of a house (Fig. 19) which cost $6,000.
-Fig. 36 shows a projecting eave of scarcely one foot. The next
-illustration (Fig. 37) shows one of nearly two feet. The latter is far
-superior to the former in that it is quite as beautiful, is inexpensive,
-and protects the external paint and woodwork far more than does the
-former. The piece at the top of the rafter serves to cover the
-projecting cornice, and as a roof-board as well, and gives opportunity
-to place the eave trough well outside, which prevents damage to the
-house should it ever leak. The frieze board is simple and serves its
-purpose well. It has taken a long time to learn that a wooden roof which
-is at least one-third pitch is far more durable than the flat roof shown
-in Fig. 38. Here the return cornice is carried across the entire end of
-the house, and the gable is ceiled with plain matched boards, both
-likely to leak and to rapidly become paintless.
-
-Many veranda and porch floors and outside doors have no roof over them,
-or other protection. This is poor economy. It would be better to reduce
-the cornice to the fewest possible members, if it were necessary to do
-so, in order to secure means to roof the veranda, which, unprotected,
-decays rapidly. Or the money expended on the cornice, which results in
-neither use nor beauty, might well suffice for the building of an
-additional room, or to provide many conveniences, such as hot and cold
-water, storm sash, and window screens.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 38. The old-time gable end cornice.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 39. Framework of a ship.]
-
-When the farmer reached the fertile, treeless prairies he was compelled
-to economize in lumber. Some genius soon discovered that the best and
-most scientific method of constructing the frame of a house was along
-the lines of ship construction (Fig. 39): that is, ribs, joined to a
-sill or sills, encircling the entire structure and placed at equal
-distances apart. Two keels or sills joined together by joists, straight
-ribs--joists--instead of curved ones, a roof instead of a deck, and the
-balloon frame (Fig. 40)--the best of all frames when properly
-constructed,--was invented. Unwittingly the ship construction, slightly
-modified, was adopted. In this frame the westerner departed radically
-from the style of his ancestors, but he could not be satisfied with a
-plain oversail projection. He could not afford the heavy box cornice.
-Having succeeded so well on the frame, he set about inventing a new
-style of decoration for the projecting eaves, but the cornice was not a
-success. The decorations shown in Figs. 41 and 42 serve to make hideous
-many a cheap dry-goods-box house, which blisters and cracks in the hot
-prairie winds. These houses sometimes receive no paint or one coat, or
-at most two, and in a few years, what with storm and sun, mischievous
-boys and wind cracks, this ginger-bread, dog-eared cornice, made of inch
-lumber by the use of scroll saw, looks as dilapidated as a college boy
-after a cane-rush.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 40. The balloon frame.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 42. The jig-saw cornice.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 41.
-
-Too elaborate and short-lived.]
-
-The thought of permanent beauty, as well as economy and usefulness,
-should enter into the plans of a house. But what is beauty? I am well
-aware that many of my readers will not agree with me, for
-
- “The standard of beauty ofttimes it doth vary:
- Two pretty girls are Eliza and Mary.”
-
-They may be very unlike, yet both beautiful. From the farmer’s
-standpoint it may be said that the chief characteristics of beauty are
-fitness, naturalness and simplicity.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII
-
-_BUILDING THE HOUSE--GENERAL LAY-OUT_
-
-
-The reader will understand that no attempt is made to treat this subject
-in detail nor strictly from the architect’s viewpoint. A casual
-observation will make it self-evident that the structures on farms have
-received little attention as to beauty of form, economy of construction,
-or adaptation of means to ends. Like many others, I have noted all this
-and have made a somewhat careful study of the causes which usually have
-produced this want of harmony, durability, adaptability and economy in
-the construction of rural homesteads.
-
-The many illustrations of detail are designed to emphasize underlying
-principles. Principles are always the same: details may be varied to
-suit conditions. While the numerous illustrations are meant to explain
-the details, it is believed that they will also give help to a large
-part of the rural population who have had little opportunity to secure
-any adequate instruction in the art and science of home building.
-
-Usually the cellar would better be extended under the entire house,
-although it is neither wise nor healthy to store large quantities of
-material in it which, if not cared for, may decay and vitiate the air in
-the rooms above. If the cellar be properly constructed there is no
-objection to storing family supplies of fruit and vegetables for the
-winter in this partly underground room. Large quantities of vegetables
-held for future sale should not find storage in the house cellar. Now
-that the floors of houses are made tight, often double with paper
-between, and carpets or rugs to cover them, the cold no longer enters
-the cellar through the floor. The cellar wall may therefore extend
-upwards on three sides, well above ground, that opportunity may be given
-for the introduction of light and air. With only single-glazed cellar
-windows, no building paper, and floors and boarding of unseasoned
-lumber, the pioneer was compelled to place the cellar well under ground,
-or bank the walls with manure if the winter’s supply of vegetables was
-to be made secure.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 43. Cellar under the upright only.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 44. Cellar under the entire house.]
-
-A common form of the foundation for farm houses is shown in Fig. 43--a
-main structure, reinforced by a wing which, in most cases, has no cellar
-under it. Fig. 44 shows the cellar under the whole structure. If the
-walls of the unexcavated wing are placed 3¹⁄₂ feet below ground, as they
-should be in a cold climate, and extend 2 feet above ground, it will
-take more stone to construct the foundation walls of the house with a
-cellar under only a part than when it extends under the entire
-structure. The stone saved by leaving out the wall between the two
-sections of the house will more than suffice for building the walls of
-the wing to their full height. In the latter case, it would cost
-slightly more for excavation than in the former. Since cellars, when
-appropriately used, are in some respects the most useful and cheapest
-rooms in the structure, there is no economy in not placing them under
-the entire house. A cellar may be divided by 4-inch brick walls into
-various rooms, corresponding in shape to those above, thereby securing
-for the partitions in the superstructure, separate compartments, in
-order that the vegetables, fruit, milk, and furnace may be separate one
-from the other.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 45. A footing course under the cellar wall.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 46. Showing a layer of material to stop vermin.]
-
-To prevent rats from entering the cellar under the walls, either one of
-two methods may be adopted. A footing-course projecting beyond the
-outside of the wall arrests the rodents, for having dug down to it they
-have not sufficient intelligence to dig around the footing-course (Fig.
-45). Or the desired result may be accomplished by placing a thin layer
-of refuse broken glass against the outside of the wall two to three feet
-from the surface of the ground (Fig. 46). Cellars would be much improved
-if they had higher ceilings. At least 7 feet should be allowed between
-the cellar floor and the under side of the overhead joists. All cellars
-should have concrete floors and plastered ceilings, for both warmth and
-cleanliness. In an extremely rigorous climate, the upper angle of the
-wall should be lathed and plastered as shown in Fig. 47.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 47. Protecting the cellar from frost by plastering
-across the upper corners.]
-
-If the front cellar wall and the greater part of the side walls extend 2
-to 3 feet above the earth, a good sized window (which may be single- or
-double-glazed) can be secured. The rear walls should extend not more
-than one foot above ground. If the earth slopes rearward, then grade up
-to the wall until not more than two steps will be necessary to reach the
-kitchen floor; it is easier to climb a gentle ascent than steps. The
-front steps are used but a comparatively few times, while the rear ones
-are used many times, so it matters little if the front of the house is
-several steps above grade.
-
-It makes a visitor unhappy to know that the busy housewife must descend
-three steps, walk forty feet and ascend two steps to reach the well
-platform, then reverse the journey, to secure the drink of cold water
-desired (Fig. 48). The illustration in Fig. 49 shows how the farmer
-solved the difficulty by building an elevated plank walk from the
-kitchen to the well. Fig. 50 shows how he might have solved it in
-another way.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 48. The daily route to the well.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 49. A short-cut to the well.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 50. An elevated earth walk to the well.]
-
-The hillside wall may be kept dry and the cellar free from water by
-drainage or by backing the wall with loose rubble stone, or by both
-(Fig. 51).
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 51.
-
-A rubble stone backing and a drain at the bottom.]
-
-
-BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS
-
-The walls should be placed below the frost line and have fairly broad
-bases, standing on naturally or artificially drained earth. Perhaps no
-part of the house structure receives so little attention as do the
-foundation walls; therefore, I shall enter somewhat into the details of
-construction. Bricks which have been recently burned and those which do
-not contain considerable quantities of moisture should be thoroughly wet
-before they are placed in the wall. If the mortar sets too quickly by
-reason of the dryness of the bricks, a strong wall cannot be secured,
-however good the mortar may be in which they are laid.
-
-The foundation walls for most houses, however, are made of stones laid
-in mortar composed of lime or cement, or a mixture of the two, and sand.
-A large proportion of all the sand used for foundation work is markedly
-inferior, and the mortar is usually very imperfectly mixed. If water
-lime is used with the sand it is frequently old, and if old, inferior.
-Even the cements deteriorate somewhat with age, and the common stone
-lime is often used after it is partially or entirely air-slaked. If the
-binding material be inferior and the sand have quantities of fine earth
-or vegetable matter mixed with it, it will be seen how impossible it is
-to secure a strong and binding mortar. Even if fresh lime and sharp sand
-are used, in accordance with the usual specifications in building
-contracts, the mortar bond may still be weak by reason of careless or
-imperfect mixing. All mortar, even that used for laying stones and
-bricks, should be mixed until a lime film surrounds every particle of
-sand. Plastering the outside of the wall below the grade line and
-pointing the wall above cannot make a firm, good wall out of one which
-has been carelessly laid or one bedded in inferior mortar.
-
-Chimneys may provide for one or more flues. Better draft is likely to be
-secured when separate flues are provided for each stove or heater than
-when one flue serves for two or more stoves. The diagram, Fig. 52,
-shows three flues in one stack or chimney. One is for the furnace,
-another for the fireplace, and another for the laundry stove.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 52. Three flues in the chimney, one of them leading
-from a fire-place.]
-
-All chimneys should have broad footing courses, which should rest on
-solid earth to prevent settling. They should not be supported by means
-of brackets (Fig. 53) or on the tops of small cupboards attached to the
-wall. Chimney walls of only 4-inch thickness are not safe; if they be
-double, or 8 inches thick, the number of bricks required are increased
-by more than 100 per cent, and the cost of the foundation is also
-increased. The heavy walls are objectionable by reason of added weight
-and cost, and because of the room they occupy. The introduction of
-fire-clay chimney lining makes it possible to construct safe chimneys
-with 4-inch walls. Then, too, the lining costs rather less than the
-extra course of brick, and the completed flue is smooth and of uniform
-dimensions on the inside.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 53.
-
-Chimney standing on a bracket.]
-
-The openings made in the frame for the chimney are often too small, in
-which case the chimney is likely to be “hung” on either the joists or
-rafters. There should be a clear space between the woodwork and chimney.
-If the opening in the frame is too small, the mason will be tempted to
-clip the brick where the chimney passes by the wood and then restore the
-chimney to its full size when the obstruction is passed. This results in
-hanging the chimney on some member of the frame. Should the foundation
-settle, the wall may part and sparks may then easily reach the dry wood
-in the room or at the roof of the house.
-
-It is believed that the farmer, after reading these lines, may secure a
-good wall and one which fulfils the specifications, if he watches the
-work carefully as it progresses. If he does, he will have a much better
-wall than the average. Since the material and the kind of work desired
-vary so widely, it is not wise to lay down any fast rule for the
-proportions of the binding material and sand which may be used. It may
-be said, however, that the proportions vary from 1 of lime or cement to
-2 of sand, to 1 of the former and 6 of the latter.
-
-
-WOODEN HOUSES--THE FRAME
-
-Almost any variety of wood will suffice for the frame of the house,
-provided it does not twist and spring out of shape too much before or
-after it is put into the building. Since the sills are to be placed on
-solid, continuous walls, they need not be large. The only objection to
-box and small sills is that they may allow too easy access of air and
-rodents from the walls of the rooms to the cellar, and vice versa,
-unless the spaces above the sills and between the studding are bricked
-in as high as the top of the first tier of joists. A rough floor laid
-before the upright studding is placed is shown in Fig. 54. This first
-floor should be laid diagonally, for the one which is laid immediately
-upon it should not be placed either parallel or at right angles to the
-boards of the first floor, or parallel with the joists. A little
-reflection will reveal the reasons for all this.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 54. The rough floor laid before the studding is
-erected.]
-
-Joists should be bridged. Fig. 55 shows the more common method of
-bridging. The joists may be 2 × 8 in small, inexpensive houses, and 2 ×
-10 or 2 × 12 in large ones, bridged once in a 12-foot span, twice in a
-16-, and three times in an 18- or 20-foot span. The bridging is of the
-utmost importance and should never be omitted, as it serves to
-strengthen the floor joints and prevents the disagreeable trembling of
-the floors so annoying in many of the older houses.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 55. Bridging the joists.]
-
-The studding for a balloon frame is either 2 × 4, 2 × 5 or 2 × 6, and
-the length desired. The 2 × 4 studding are too light for an ample
-two-story house, and they do not give enough thickness of wall for the
-most desirable window- and door-jambs. The doors are not held firmly in
-place, and when they are closed quickly by the wind or by children, the
-plastering is injured. Studding 5 inches broad, fortified by outside
-diagonal boarding (Fig. 56), gives the ideal conditions unless the house
-is unusually large, in which case the studding should be 6 inches broad.
-The diagonal boarding costs a trifle more in material and labor than the
-horizontal, but it is so much superior that the extra expense may well
-be incurred. Every board forms a double brace, one where nailed to the
-studding and one where the siding or “clap boards” are nailed to the
-rough boards and the studs. Nothing has yet been discovered which is so
-satisfactory, and which gives such strength and protection to the frame
-as does this preliminary diagonal boarding, covered with paper. When
-completed it forms a wall open enough to prevent dry rot and tight
-enough to prevent the entrance of wind.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 56. A wall strengthened by diagonal sheathing.]
-
-The second-story joists rest on stringers or light girders 1 × 5 inches,
-as shown in Fig. 57. If the girder is set flush with the inside of the
-stud, A, the laths must lie directly upon the face of the girt. This
-gives no room for the mortar to form clinches behind the lath. This
-5-inch girder swells when the mortar is put on and shrinks when it
-dries, which may result in a crack in the wall in the angle near A.
-Since, by reason of faulty construction, there are no clinches behind
-the lath, the plastering becomes loosened, and this is likely to be the
-beginning of serious trouble. If the girder is let in so that its face
-is not flush with the inside of the stud and then furrowed out with
-small pieces of lath, the effects of the shrinking of the girder will be
-obviated and room will be left for clinches behind the lath.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 57. Second-story joist.]
-
-In windy, cold climates, where lumber is at all abundant, a second
-boarding may be placed inside, covered with paper and furrowed out with
-a single thickness of lath to allow, as in the former case, the
-formation of clinches. There is no objection to boarding horizontally on
-the inside, if the outside has been boarded diagonally. The term “rough
-boarding” has been used, but it should be said that the boarding which
-forms the first covering, sometimes called sheathing, should be brought
-to uniform thickness and matched or rabbeted.
-
-Wherever greater strength of wall is desired than can be formed by a
-single 2 × 5 studding, as at the corners, or by a single 2 × 10 joist,
-as where partitions are to be placed, it is better to spike two or more
-pieces together than to have pieces sawed of the dimensions desired.
-These made-up pieces or timbers are stronger than solid pieces of the
-same character and dimensions, since the continuity of the cross-grain
-of the wood is broken in the made-up pieces. In the construction of
-large bridges the timbers, where exposed to the weather, are made up of
-smaller timbers, since they are then not only stronger but more durable
-and less subject to dry rot than if they are solid (Fig. 58).
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 58. Construction of a large bridge.]
-
-Plates are made up of material 2 inches thick and as broad as the
-studding is wide, doubled, with joints mismatched. This most valuable
-principle of building up timbers of several thin pieces is a somewhat
-recent practice. Where very large timbers are required, as in trussed or
-self-supporting roofs, the timbers of which are not exposed to view,
-they are frequently made up of boards 1 inch thick and as broad as the
-vertical dimensions desired. This method is sometimes used in
-constructing timbers for both houses and barns (Fig. 59).
-
-Roofs of houses are, of necessity, extremely variable, as the house is
-not planned to suit the roof, but the roof to suit the house. Flat metal
-roofs of all kinds should be avoided, as far as possible, on the farm
-house, however well they may be adapted to buildings in the city. Metal
-roofs are not objectionable in themselves, but only when they are laid
-flat on farm houses.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 59. A made-up plate, constructed of boards.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 60. Showing the principle of construction of Fig.
-59.]
-
-The pitch of roofs, like their shape, is also variable. Nothing below
-one-third pitch should be used except for special conditions. In Fig.
-38, page 127, is an illustration of the common pitch of roofs in fashion
-fifty years ago. Some roofs were even flatter than the one shown. The
-fashion now is to construct house roofs with nearly or quite half pitch.
-While steep roofs are desirable if made of wood, there is some danger
-that the change from the nearly flat roof to the steep one will be
-carried too far (see Fig. 13, page 95). Various pitches of roofs are
-shown in Fig. 61. Steep roofs do not require as strong rafters, thrust
-less upon the plates, are more durable, and are less likely to leak than
-flat roofs.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 61. Pitches of roofs.--¹⁄₂, ¹⁄₃, ¹⁄₄, ¹⁄₈.]
-
-Since roofs are of various pitches, they require rafters of various
-lengths and bevels. Farmers and many carpenters have much difficulty in
-getting the length and bevels of both rafters and braces. Most
-carpenters’ squares have so-called brace rules stamped upon their
-tongues.[3] These give the length of the brace for the shorter and more
-common runs,[4] but they do not give the angles of the ends of the
-brace. Then, too, the length is given in inches and hundredths of
-inches, and carpenters’ squares are not divided into hundredths, so this
-complicated brace-rule is as useful as a steam whistle on an ox-cart.
-
- [3] The short end of the square.
-
- [4] The perpendicular and horizontal distances covered by the brace.
-
-The methods by which the length and bevels of any member of a frame
-which departs from any other member at an angle are so easily understood
-that the wonder is that all are not familiar with them. For a simple
-illustration, let it be supposed that rafters for a building 18 feet
-broad, with one-third pitch, are to be laid out (Fig. 62). The rafter,
-R, takes the form of a brace. The run is 9 feet horizontally or half the
-width of the building, and 6 feet perpendicularly. If the square be laid
-upon the stick designed for the rafter, as 6 is to 9, one side of the
-square will give the shorter and the other the longer angle or bevel
-(Fig. 63). If the square is laid on 12 times at 9 and 6 inches, it will
-give the length of the rafter, for 12 times 9 is 108, half the width of
-the building, and 12 times 6 is 72, the height of the peak above the
-plates. If the square is laid on 18 × 12 inches, the proportion is
-preserved, and hence the angles; the square would only have to be laid
-on six times.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 62. Laying out a roof.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 63. Laying out a rafter.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 64. Laying out a timber.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 65. A brace.]
-
-Consider a building 20 feet broad and 6 inches above one-third pitch.
-The half of 20 feet equals 10 feet, or 120 inches. Seven feet 2 inches
-(86 inches) is the height of the peak above the plate. It is quickly
-seen that this problem, like the other, can be solved in more than one
-way. If the long end of the square is laid on at 20 inches and the short
-end at 14¹⁄₃ inches, and this is repeated six times, both the bevels and
-the length will be secured (Fig. 64), for 6 multiplied by 20 equals 120
-inches, half the width of the building, and 6 multiplied by 14¹⁄₃ equals
-86 inches, the height of the peak. Or the long end of the square might
-be laid on at 24 and the short end at 15¹⁄₅ five times, but squares are
-not marked in fifths of inches, hence the previous method would be
-best.[5] The same results would be reached by laying the square on at 15
-and 10³⁄₄ inches; eight steps would then be required instead of six. The
-longer and fewer the steps within the limits of the square, the better.
-
- [5] Since the square is laid on, see Figs. 61, 62, in the same manner
- as for cutting a stair; each one of these spaces is called a “step.”
-
-If it is desired to cut a brace 3 × 4 feet run, 3 steps, using the
-lengths 12 and 16, will give both the length of the brace and the bevels
-(Fig. 65). Take a rafter which has a projection requiring a notch to be
-cut in the lower side, and the same rule will apply. The line A, Fig.
-66, is horizontal and the face of the plate is perpendicular; therefore,
-the line B must be at right angles to A. The only thing now to be
-determined is how deep the notch shall be, for it is evident that if the
-line A represents the long end of the square and B the short end of the
-square, the notch will fit the plate.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 66. Adjusting to the plate.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 67. The rafter.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 68. The rafter trimmed on the outer end.]
-
-That part of the rafter which extends over the building may be reduced
-in size, but usually it is well to leave it entire (as in Fig. 67) if
-the house is large. If the lower end of the rafter should appear too
-heavy, it may be treated as in Fig. 68. The bevels at the ends of the
-rafters are the same as at A and B (Fig. 66).
-
-The outlines of a story-and-a-half house, which form is most undesirable
-for various reasons, are shown in Fig. 69. The chambers cannot be well
-lighted or aired. The outlines of the room interfere with the placing
-of furniture, and such chambers are far more uncomfortable in warm
-weather than are those in two-story houses. It will be seen that the
-collar-beam, C, must be placed so far above the foot of the rafters in
-order to get a fair height of ceiling, that it has little binding power,
-and that the building cannot be tied together at the plates in the
-center, since the tie would interfere with the door in the cross wall.
-It will also be seen that the second-story joists are so far below the
-plates that their power to hold the building together is small. Many of
-the one-and-a-half-story houses have “sway-backed” peaks because of
-this faulty construction. (See Fig. 35, page 124, broken-back house.) If
-story-and-a-half houses must be built, then they should be covered by
-roofs having at least one-half pitch, in which case the collar-beams
-could be placed relatively lower and the thrust on the plates would be
-very much diminished by the steeper roof (Fig. 70). One-, two-, three-
-or more storied houses are easily and certainly prevented from spreading
-since one tier of joists always coincides with the foot of the rafters,
-to which they can be securely fastened. Fortunately, the
-story-and-a-half house is less constructed than formerly.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 69. Outline of a story-and-a-half house.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 70. Half pitch and an efficient collar-beam.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX
-
-_BUILDING THE HOUSE, CONCLUDED.--OUTSIDE COVERING, PAINTING_
-
-
-That part of the house which of necessity must be exposed to the
-buffetings of snow and rain, wind and sun, should be considered more
-carefully than any other part except the foundation. If economy demands,
-the doors, floors, bath rooms, and wardrobes may be of plain and
-inexpensive material, for later they may be replaced when means justify
-additional expenditure; but if the outside covering be faulty, the house
-is a partial failure from the beginning.
-
-The first principle to be observed is to place all projections intended
-to serve as water-tables at somewhat acute angles, for if placed at
-nearly right angles with the sides of the house, rains accompanied by
-heavy winds will certainly reach the framework. The water-tables which
-crown the top of the base-board are more exposed than those which are
-higher up, and therefore should be steep and rabbeted to prevent the
-water from reaching the sills. The too usual method is shown in Fig. 71.
-An enlarged view of a better style of water-table is shown in Fig. 72.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 71. A faulty water-table.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 72. A good water-table.]
-
-Outside window frame sills which have insufficient pitch tend to become
-water-soaked, and not infrequently the lower member of the window itself
-rots by reason of the water which drives in and remains under the sill
-of the window for considerable periods of time. Figs. 73 and 74 show
-perfect and faulty methods of construction.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 73. Perfect construction of window sill.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 74.
-
-Faulty construction.]
-
-The siding of a house for various reasons would better be put on
-horizontally, although material put on this way, unless it is kept well
-painted, is not so durable as when placed vertically. The horizontal
-covering is more beautiful, lends itself better to the numerous
-openings, and gives better protection from cold and wind than does the
-vertical covering. If the building is not to be painted, then the
-covering would better be placed vertically. Nearly all wooden houses are
-covered with either thin lap-siding or inch siding, prepared in various
-ways and known by various names. The inch or novelty siding was first
-introduced in the West, and costs but little more than the lap-siding,
-because, being thicker, it can be made of somewhat inferior lumber. The
-novelty or rabbeted covering gives greater strength to the building and
-is much more quickly and cheaply put on. It may be said that this style
-of covering is extremely faulty if placed on the building in the usual
-way, namely, before the doors and windows and corner boards are in
-position. If the same method of placing the material be practiced as in
-placing the lap-siding, then the objections to this class of siding
-disappear to a certain extent. The diagram, Fig. 75, shows the novelty,
-or drop, or O G siding (A), the rabbeted (B) and lap-siding (C). It will
-readily be seen that if a drop (A) or rabbeted (B) siding be put on
-before the window frames are placed, as is the usual custom, an opening
-(x) is left under the facing of the window frame which extends through
-to the studding. This permits the rain, in a driving storm, to pass
-horizontally along this opening to the studding and then downward along
-the framework of the building. Many instances could be cited in which
-these openings have had to be filled by triangular blocks of wood or
-putty, and even then the water was not entirely excluded.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 75.
-
-Forms of siding.]
-
-This method of covering houses or even barns with this new kind of
-siding is usually disappointing and wasteful of material. All that is
-gained is a little more facility and cheapness in placing the covering.
-If it is put on, as it should be, after the window and door frames are
-set, it is more difficult and more expensive to place than lap-siding.
-
-No way of covering a wooden house has been found superior to the
-one-half inch lap-siding with joints tight enough at the frames and
-corners, in conjunction with the paint, to make water-tight joints. The
-lap should not be less than one inch, and the nails should be so placed
-that in case of considerable shrinkage in the siding the inside will
-give or even check, instead of the outside (z). If made as at y, the
-outside will check. This implies that the nails are to be driven rather
-more than one-half inch above the edge of the siding. The nails which
-hold the outer covering should either be set and puttied, or the heads
-should be left even with or slightly above the surface of the wood, that
-the paint may cover all parts of the nail head. If the nails are driven
-too far in the heads are not fully covered and protected by the paint,
-in which case they will rust and present an unsightly appearance.
-
-Some one has said that if a woman’s feet, hands, and head are well and
-appropriately clothed, the balance of the dress may be plain and simple,
-and yet she will have an elegant appearance. So, if a house has a good
-foundation and a suitable and well-placed roof, the balance of the
-outside may be extremely plain and yet it will be beautiful. Some of our
-modern houses rest on unpointed, poorly constructed, and narrow
-foundations, are bedecked with peaks, pigeon lofts, and dog-eared
-cornices, and remind one of the suspenderless, barefooted darky crowned
-with a cast-off silk hat.
-
-If the foundation is too small and shabbily built, no amount of paint
-and cornice can relieve the house from a look of shabby gentility. A few
-brown or cream-colored stones or bricks, when placed on the outside of
-the foundation where it shows above ground, will give dignity, beauty
-and a substantial look to the whole house. It may do for it what a
-nickel does for one’s shoes.
-
-The roof of the farm house, and for that matter of all other houses,
-should, in the trying climate of America, have an ample projection. An
-abbreviated cornice may be admissible if the building is constructed of
-stone which is of sufficient density to resist the American tooth of
-time. Fig. 76 shows a section of an abbreviated and a well extended
-cornice. The house which has this short-cut cornice stands within a few
-hundred feet of the one with the wide projecting eaves. During the past
-twenty years it has been necessary to paint the former twice as often
-as the latter.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 76.
-
-Deep and narrow cornices.]
-
-The roof covering would better be of slate or tiles, for the time has
-passed for building temporary, make-shift houses, though they might have
-served their purpose well in a new and rapidly developing country. With
-rare exceptions, the houses to be built in the future should be
-permanently located, well built, and of durable material. The slates
-which compose a roof should be not more than 8 inches wide and should
-not be put on roofs of less than one-third pitch, since they are only
-double-lapped and do not lie as closely, one upon the other, as do
-shingles, which are laid triple-lapped. Slate and tile roofs are
-comparatively heavy, and hence require stronger roof structures than
-shingles.
-
-The roof boarding for slate roofs should be matched--tongued and
-grooved--and covered with paper to prevent cold and draughts of air from
-passing into the attic. Since slates, on account of their somewhat rough
-surfaces, do not lie closely together, the wind is likely to pass
-through the cracks in the roof, if there are any, and carry snow and
-rain into the upper part of the house; therefore the roof covering
-immediately under the slates should be virtually air-tight. The roof
-boards for a shingle roof should be narrow and laid with openings of
-from 1¹⁄₂ to 2 inches between the boards. Rain and snow seldom drive up
-and through the shingle roof, and since wooden roofs are more likely to
-rot out than to wear out, the more perfectly the shingles are dried out
-after a storm the better. The narrow roof boards and the spaces between
-them allow the shingles to dry quickly, and therefore are better than
-matched boards.
-
-The short, or common, shingle of commerce is 16 inches long, ³⁄₈- to
-¹⁄₂-inch thick at one end, and ¹⁄₈ of an inch at the other, and is
-computed at 4 inches wide. A bunch of shingles contains one fourth of a
-thousand. It should have 25 double courses and the band should be 20
-inches long. Not infrequently there is a course or two wanting, or the
-bands are an inch or so short. Having this data, one can easily
-determine if the bunch is of legal size. A little cheating is not
-uncommonly done by placing the shingles in the bunch loosely. This can
-be detected by examining the bunches at the thick ends of the shingles.
-
-Theoretically, 1,000 shingles should cover 10 feet square, or 100 square
-feet, known in carpentry as “a square,” if the shingles are laid 4
-inches to the weather. Since shingles are usually laid 4¹⁄₂ to 5 inches
-to the weather, 1,000 shingles should cover about 120 square feet.
-Two-thirds of the lower part of the roof may be laid 4¹⁄₂ inches, and
-the upper third 4³⁄₄ or 5 inches to the weather, if the roof is not
-flat.
-
-If shingles are treated with lime water or diluted gas tar, or be
-painted as they are laid, the life of the roof may be prolonged. The
-painting of roofs with tar or common earth or mineral paints, after they
-are laid, does little or no good in preserving them. Sometimes painting
-is resorted to to make the roof harmonize with the color of the sides of
-the building.
-
-Neither extremely narrow nor extremely wide shingles are desirable.
-Those from 3 to 6 inches wide, when carefully laid, are satisfactory.
-Each shingle should receive but two nails; one is usually enough, and
-these should be placed about ³⁄₄ of an inch from the edges, and about 1
-inch above the point where the butts of the next course will come. When
-the courses above are laid upon the shingle having but one nail, two or
-three other nails, which are driven in the courses above, will serve to
-help hold it in position. The joints of shingle roofs should be double
-broken: that is, the joints in the shingles of one course should not
-coincide with the joints of the first or second course below. Consult
-Fig. 77.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 77. The laying of shingles.]
-
-If two nails be driven in the sides of an unseasoned shingle, when it
-shrinks it is likely to split in the middle; and in laying a roof the
-joint immediately above the course under consideration is likely to come
-at or near the middle of the shingle, which splits by reason of the
-shrinking. The case is still worse when three nails are put in a
-shingle, for then it is almost certain to split in the middle and
-immediately in line with the joint in the course above.
-
-Unscientific placing of shingles and insufficient mixing of mortar
-results in an unsatisfactory house, both inside and outside, however
-good the materials may be.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 78. A veneered wall.]
-
-
-VENEERED HOUSES
-
-A most excellent way to secure a warm, durable house, and one that will
-require the minimum of care-taking, is to first construct a 4-inch wall
-after the balloon pattern, as has been previously described. To this
-frame, sheathing surfaced on one side is attached. The 4-inch brick wall
-is securely fastened to the wooden structure by means of 30-penny
-spikes, one at each studding, which are driven in at the top of every
-seven courses of brick. (See Fig. 78.) A wooden house may also be
-veneered with stone, the veneering being held in place by means of metal
-anchors attached to the boarding.
-
-The foundation needs to be a little stronger than for the wooden house,
-and must be provided with a stone water-table for receiving the
-veneering.
-
-In a veneered house, all the lightness and dryness of a wooden house are
-secured on the inside and on the outside all the durability and solidity
-of a brick or stone house. When the veneering is of hard-burned,
-cream-colored or neutrally tinted brick or brown stone, the effect is
-extremely pleasing. The first cost of such a house is somewhat more than
-an all-wood house, but its greater durability and freedom from constant
-repairs makes it no more expensive in the end. When one builds such a
-house and covers it with a steep slate roof, he feels that he has
-builded for many coming generations.
-
-It is not necessary to speak in detail of stone and brick houses, since
-such structures are quite expensive, and their construction should
-always be placed in the hands of experts. It may be well, however, to
-discuss them generally. The cost of building brick houses is nearly
-twice as great as those of wood; stone houses cost more than brick
-houses. The foundations of brick or stone structures must be broad and
-placed deep in the ground, to sustain the great weight placed upon them.
-However much pains has been taken, the walls of the superstructure often
-crack by reason of the unequal settling of the foundation or by unequal
-strain on the walls, due to the window and door openings. Once the walls
-are cracked they become unsightly, and cannot well be restored without
-being rebuilt. Unless the windows are extra large the house will not be
-well lighted because of the thick walls. (See Fig. 24, p. 108.) The
-walls do not heat and cool as quickly as do wooden walls, hence brick
-and especially stone houses are likely to be damp, since the warm air of
-the rooms tends to part with its moisture when it comes in contact with
-the relatively cool walls. This tendency of the walls to condense
-moisture may be obviated by studding and plastering them on the inside,
-but all this adds to the expense. Until building material becomes much
-less expensive than it now is, the farmer would better build either a
-wooden or veneered house.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 79. Re-siding an old wall.]
-
-
-OLD HOUSES
-
-Houses which were built some time ago and before building paper and
-better methods of construction were in vogue, are usually too cold and
-often extremely unsatisfactory. The outside covering may be warped and
-cracked and too often paintless. Where these conditions prevail the
-house may be re-sided without removing the old covering. The window
-frames, corner boards, and like members which receive the siding are
-built out by placing bands around the frames and on the corner boards of
-sufficient thickness to receive the new second siding. Strong building
-paper is then placed over the old siding, and strips one inch thick and
-two inches broad are nailed immediately upon it and over the several
-studs of the old frame. (Fig. 79.) The house is now ready to receive new
-siding. If paper be laid on the floors and a well seasoned second floor
-be laid upon it, they will be greatly improved at slight cost.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 80. Faulty gutter or eave trough.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 81. Well constructed gutter.]
-
-Eave troughs should be placed outside the perpendicular line of the
-walls to prevent water from entering the house should the troughs leak
-or overflow from being filled with ice. Eave troughs are frequently made
-of tin which is too narrow, in which case, especially on flat roofs, the
-water will back up under the shingles and run over that part of the
-gutter which lies hidden in the roof. The elevation of the front edge of
-the gutter should be at least 2 inches below the extreme upper edge of
-the tin of which the gutter is made. (Compare Figs. 80 and 81.) Gutters
-placed at the end of the rafters are usually not as durable as those
-placed on the roof, but if carefully put up so that they will keep their
-position they serve their purpose well and may be made to give
-additional beauty to the eaves of the roof. The conductors which lead
-the water from the gutters to the ground should be made large and of
-corrugated material, that expansion may be provided for should they
-become filled with ice.
-
-What has been said about using too narrow tin for gutters is doubly
-applicable to the valleys. Open valleys are better than closed. All tin
-used for gutters or valleys should be painted on both sides before it is
-placed upon the roof, and all used about the outside of the building
-should be kept well painted, as it is more economical to paint often
-than to mend leaks.
-
-
-PAINTING THE HOUSE
-
-After much solicitude and money have been expended on the construction
-of the house, it is poor economy to let it suffer for want of paint. Not
-infrequently the house is planned so large, or so much is spent on its
-erection that means are not at hand for fully protecting the outside
-with suitable paints.
-
-As to the colors of paints or their combinations, little can be said,
-since tastes and conditions are extremely variable. A farm house should
-have its own distinctive features, and its own personality, and while it
-may be similar to many other houses it should not be a duplicate of any
-other one.
-
-In manufacturing towns long rows of houses are built, each one the exact
-duplicate of all the others in shape, dimensions, and color. The effect
-is abominable. This illustration of exact imitation only goes to show
-how necessary it is to have diversity of style in the houses themselves
-and variation in the colors of the paints if the maximum beauty of the
-home and adaptation to landscape and site are secured. In painting the
-farm house beauty should not be ignored, but beauty may not be
-compatible with durability and necessary economy. The farm home may and
-should be placed in such beautiful environment that the paint which
-covers it sinks into comparative insignificance as compared to the
-painting of the city house; therefore the elements of economy and
-durability play as important parts in the painting of farm houses as
-does beauty. Even a great, plain, two-story white farm house with green
-window-blinds can be made to look beautiful and home-like if it has a
-suitable setting of noble trees.
-
-If the outside covering of the house is placed some time before it
-receives its first coat of paint, the wood tends to check and usually
-becomes too dry for applying it. If exposed for some days to the direct
-rays of the sun before painting, so much of the oil of the paint will
-be taken up by the wood that there will not be enough left to bind the
-mineral matter of the paint to the wood. This is especially the case
-where an attempt is made to complete the painting by the application of
-but two coats, in which case, the first or prime coat must contain
-relatively much mineral material and little oil, and must be spread
-thickly if the surfaces are to be well covered by the two coats. Not
-infrequently, the outside woodwork is swollen and somewhat displaced by
-rains before the roof is in place. Even after it has dried out the ideal
-conditions are not secured. The roof should be placed as soon as the
-siding is completed, or if possible before. The carpenter should put on
-the first, or prime, coat as fast as the house is sided; that is, the
-woodwork which has been placed from one scaffold or stage should be
-painted from the scaffold before the one above is constructed. The
-corner boards, window sash, and frame should receive one coat of paint
-before they leave the shop. The prime coat may be of yellow ochre mixed
-with some white lead, since the after painting with the desired color
-will cover the yellow if two coats be applied. Good yellow ochre is a
-most durable paint when properly mixed and spread, although it may be
-said that the more white lead used in the prime coat the better. Yellow
-ochre should contain a large per cent of iron; when ochres are composed
-largely of colored clay they are inferior. The paint for the first coat
-should, in any case, be thin, since the oil which it contains plays an
-important part. This first coat tends, or should tend, to fill the wood
-with oil so that the oil in the after coat will mostly remain with the
-paint, and not leave it and pass into the wood, thereby destroying its
-binding force. Too much stress can hardly be laid on the necessity of
-rubbing the first coat into the wood by vigorous use of the brush. To
-realize the value of this principle one has but to visit a first-class
-carriage manufactory and observe the methods which are in use to prepare
-a carriage body for its final coat of dark paint and varnish. In too
-many cases the first coat of paint is mixed too thickly and is not
-pressed into the pores of the wood as it should be, in which case the
-paint may either peel or rub off in a few years. The country boy dressed
-in his best black suit often has a reminder of this if he chances to
-lean against the outside of the old country church while “waiting for
-meeting to take up.”
-
-All outside painting, with the exception of the first coat, should be
-done, as far as possible, in cool weather. Early spring and late fall,
-when flies and dust are not present, are the best. If the house is
-built in the summer, the second coat may be put on in the fall and the
-third coat the following spring. The paint of the second coat may be a
-little thicker than that of the first, and that of the third a little
-thicker than the second. If the best job is desired the paint for all
-three coats should be mixed thinner than is customary, in which case a
-fourth coat will be required the following fall. The house will now have
-a polish similar to the well painted carriage body, and, like it, will
-resist moisture and remain good for a long time. If a building is to be
-painted at all it would better be painted at the beginning and be kept
-well painted, as it is the more economical in the end. Better curtail
-the size of the house than to build it so large that the outside
-covering must be neglected.
-
-The oil used in paints is usually derived from the vegetable oil found
-in flax or linseed. Although many other kinds of oils have been tried,
-nothing has been discovered which can take the place, in paints, of
-linseed oil. This is most remarkable, for there are many vegetable oils
-which are very similar to this one. Linseed oil is expensive as compared
-with several other kinds, hence many attempts have been made to find an
-oil equally as good for painting; so far as I am able to learn, none
-have been discovered. Linseed oil in paints, when dried, forms a hard,
-tough, gluey coating which serves to bind firmly the particles of paint
-together, and to the wood, and to exclude water as no other oil does;
-hence if any other oil is mixed with the linseed oil, it is said to be
-adulterated. At the present time linseed oil is adulterated in some
-cases, and it is believed that this adulteration is the chief cause of
-the lack of durability in many of the ready-mixed paints. If linseed oil
-be mixed with other oils which are wanting in its valuable
-characteristic, it is certain that such oils will not bind the particles
-of paint together as they should be bound.
-
-At present the only protection is to purchase guaranteed pure oil of
-dealers who are reliable beyond peradventure. Outside painting should be
-done with unboiled oil unless, on account of the weather, boiled oil
-must be used to hasten drying. In extreme cases a drier (litharge) is
-used. The drying process should not be rapid in outside painting, as
-slow drying promotes durability.
-
-The substances mixed with the oil to form paints are extremely variable
-in composition and color. Some are good, and are usually relatively high
-priced. Others are inferior and relatively low priced. Now that so many
-brands of ready-mixed paints of many tints are in common use, it is
-impracticable to analyze all of them and determine their quality so that
-the inferior may be distinguished from the superior. There appears to be
-but two ways out of this serious dilemma: use the best brands of the
-ready-mixed paints and await results, or purchase pure white lead and
-zinc paints and pure oil, and tint to suit tastes and conditions.
-Heretofore, to do this successfully has required much skill and
-patience, especially if the house was to be painted in many colors.
-
-Paints are now so universally adulterated that I deem it my duty to call
-attention to a company which virtually guarantees the material sold. The
-National Lead Company makes white paints of pure white lead and pure
-linseed oil. It also manufactures pure tinting colors, at least the
-company so advertise, and without doubt would be liable for damages
-should the paints prove to be adulterated. Sample tint cards are
-furnished and directions given as to the quantity and kind of tinting
-material to be mixed with the white paint to give the desired color. All
-this greatly simplifies painting, and if these paints are pure, as
-represented, the farmer will have no difficulty in securing pure paint
-of any tint desired.
-
-The farmer who desires a beautifully painted house, and simplicity, may
-well restrict the colors of the paints he uses to two, being careful
-that they are in harmony, one with the other, and with the character of
-the house and its surroundings.
-
-The following figures show the composition of some common paints (No. 1
-was analyzed at the Cornell Exp. Sta., the others at the Iowa Station):
-
-I. The paint known as white lead, when pure, is a basic carbonate of
-lead mixed in oil. A sample showed--
-
- White lead 93.62%
- Oil and undetermined 6.38%
-
- There was no evidence of adulteration.
-
-II. White lead--
-
- White lead 41.12%
- Barium sulfate 30.29%
- Zinc oxide 28.59%
-
- Adulterated with barium sulfate and zinc oxide. Barium sulfate is very
- heavy; in fact, in nature it is known as heavy spar.
-
-III. Venetian red, dry--
-
- Ferric oxide 24.12%
- Calcium carbonate } 66.36%
- Calcium sulfate }
- Undetermined 9.52%
-
- Adulterated with calcium carbonate and calcium sulfate. Venetian red
- is ferric oxide, or a natural red oxide of iron. Calcium carbonate is
- chalk or limestone, and calcium sulfate is plaster.
-
-IV. Venetian red in oil--
-
- Ferric oxide 12.82%
- Calcium sulfate 3.54%
- Barium sulfate 63.98%
- Oil and undetermined 19.66%
- --------
- 100.00%
-
- Adulterated with barium sulfate and calcium sulfate.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER X
-
-_INSIDE FINISH, HEATING, AND VENTILATION_
-
-
-As a rule, houses are built too quickly. The frame timbers are only
-partly seasoned when placed; the rains which fall before the house is
-roofed-in and the dampness caused by plastering all conspire to swell
-and make damp all portions of the wooden parts of the structure.
-Formerly, the casings of doors and windows and the floors were placed
-before the rooms were plastered; the better practice of plastering on
-“grounds”[6] and placing the woodwork after the mortar is dry is now
-observed by the builders of all good houses. In most cases even these
-improved methods of construction do not result in securing what is
-wanted--tight floors and doors and casings which will not shrink and
-warp out of shape. Nearly all of this trouble may be traced to two
-principal causes: the lumber which constitutes the inside finish may not
-be thoroughly seasoned, or the house may be so damp that the finish
-swells after it is placed. In either case, when the house becomes
-thoroughly dried out by artificial heat or otherwise, unsightly and
-dirt-holding cracks will appear. When expensive hard wood polished
-floors are laid, pains is taken to provide against shrinkage by
-kiln-drying the floor boards and by laying them where the air and sun
-unite to take up extraneous moisture in the rooms and in the floor
-boards used.
-
- [6] Narrow strips of sufficient thickness to receive the lath and
- plaster, placed on the frame and other places where needed.
-
-Comparatively few persons can afford hard wood floors, but this fact
-does not preclude having floors without wide cracks, which serve to
-retain dangerous and filthy material. There is no reason why tight
-floors may not be made of hard pine or other suitable material, provided
-a little extra pains be taken in their construction.
-
-The laying of the floors should be the last carpenter work done in the
-new house. All this implies that a rough, cheap floor has been laid when
-the frame was constructed. The rough, diagonally laid sub-floor will
-cost something extra, but it results in so many benefits that it should
-never be dispensed with.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 82.
-
-A plain base board.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 83.
-
-A complex base board.]
-
-Windows and door frames must have inside casings, and baseboards,
-kitchen wainscoting and picture moldings cannot well be dispensed with.
-All these should be of the simplest and plainest construction. Fig. 82
-shows a cross section of a plain baseboard, and Fig. 83 one of complex
-construction. Two styles of facings are shown in Fig. 84. The one style
-forms lodging places for dirt; the other reduces dust catching to the
-minimum. I notice that some of the newer passenger coaches, though most
-elegant, are built with smooth inside finish. With the exception of the
-window sills there are no lodging places for dust and cinders. The
-old-fashioned doors with thin panels, and numerous moldings have been
-discarded, and those as plain and uniform in thickness as a pane of
-window glass, substituted for them. The picture molding, as shown in
-Fig. 85, may serve to support the picture and catch dirt as well. The
-other illustration (Fig. 86) shows one which may serve quite as well for
-the purpose desired without forming a dust shelf. If the window sashes
-are made with plain bevels and not molded, and all other window
-fixtures, as stops and the like, are constructed in the same way, the
-labor of keeping the house clean will be greatly reduced.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 84.
-
-Two styles of facing.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 85.
-
-The common but faulty picture moulding.]
-
-The wainscoting and the ceilings, if they are made of wood, should be
-constructed of wide boards, the cracks being covered with beveled
-battens. The old-fashioned, beaded, narrow ceiling material is not only
-difficult to keep tinted or varnished, but almost forbids cleanliness.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 86.
-
-A sanitary picture molding.]
-
-Most stairs are too steep; some are little better than ladders and more
-dangerous. The risers in the main stairway should not exceed 6¹⁄₂
-inches, nor the steps be less than 12 inches wide. The back stair may
-have 7 to 7¹⁄₂ inches risers, and 10- to 11-inch steps. The best and
-most beautiful stair has one or more broad landings. The spiral or
-“corkscrew” stair is worst of all. The effort to economize space by
-cramping the stair is almost universal. The difference between a cramped
-stair and an ample one may not amount to more than 12 square feet of
-space, equivalent to the top of a small table. True, the children may go
-up an easy stair two steps at a time, but when their hair whitens they
-will bless the man who knew the difference between an easy, dignified
-stair and a step-ladder. Diminish the size of a room, add a foot to the
-width of the house, do anything rather than cramp the stairway.
-
-As far as possible paint should be kept off the inside woodwork. There
-are but few varieties of wood which may not be made smooth; and by the
-use of hard oil, which is really oil and varnish mixed together, all
-woodwork becomes beautiful and can be easily cleaned. It appears almost
-sacrilegious to cover the fine grain of our native woods with cheap,
-adulterated paint. If some of the woods, such as ash, oak and chestnut,
-be sawed “on the quarter” and properly finished, they become more
-elegant and are in better taste than any of the imported high-priced
-woods. The farm house should be plain, substantial, and durable, and in
-many cases there is sufficient wealth to make it elegant and even
-refined by decorating the walls with a few fine pictures and providing
-useful books. We judge people somewhat by the furnishings of the rooms
-in which they live, and by their appreciation of things which are really
-beautiful and useful.
-
-The comfort and elegance of the rooms depend quite as much on the
-plastered walls as on their wooden finish. Few things are more annoying
-than poor walls, which may fall at any time upon the furniture and rugs,
-and may even endanger the lives of the little ones. With quick-lime and
-sand and an honest and efficient workman, a good, durable wall may be
-secured; provided, however, that the joists and studding are strong
-enough to prevent vibration when the floors are walked upon or the doors
-are closed quickly.
-
-In plastering, the green-coat finish should not be adopted, since poorer
-walls will inevitably be the result than by the scratch-coat method. To
-the new settler on the prairies living in a covered wagon, the time
-consumed in building a house was important; therefore the second coat of
-plaster was put on a few hours after the first. The pressure required to
-spread, level, and smooth the second coat often disturbed the clinches
-formed by the first coat. The bond of these mortar clinches being broken
-or disturbed, the wall was made weak. It is well known that if the bond
-between the lath and mortar is once broken after the mortar sets, it
-never reunites. The only safe way to place a wall when the common mortar
-is used is by the scratch-coat method. This consists in allowing the
-first coat to become fully dry, having, however, scratched the surface
-of the plaster slightly soon after it is put on. When it is perfectly
-dry the second coat is placed, and when this is dry, a third (skim) coat
-may be added, which should be but little thicker than whitewash. This
-leaves the wall smooth and nearly white. However, many walls are now
-finished on the second coat which is left level but rough, and may be
-tinted by mixing coloring material with the mortar. The quality of the
-wall depends largely upon the mixing of the mortar and the amount of
-firm troweling which it receives. The fewer interstices between the
-particles of sand the better. Firm, persistent troweling tends to reduce
-interstices, and hence to make the wall firm and strong. Plastered walls
-are much strengthened by being painted, and wherever such painting is
-appropriate, as in the bathroom, wardrobe, and kitchen, they should
-receive two coats of light cream color or other warm-colored paint.
-
-A new mixture, cement and hair, or wood-fiber, has been put on the
-market, and is likely to be used extensively, for when properly used a
-stronger, harder, and more durable wall is secured than by using the
-ordinary stone lime and sand mortar. This cement is sold under a variety
-of names, and is usually known by the builders under the generic name,
-adamant or adamant plaster. It is put up in barrel packages, and sells
-in central New York from $2 to $2.50 per barrel, wholesale. It is mixed
-in small quantities immediately before using, in the proportion of one
-of cement to two of sharp sand. One barrel suffices for thirty square
-yards of two-coat work, three-fourth-inch grounds being used;
-seven-eighth-inch grounds are required for three-coat work. As mortar
-made of this material sets quickly, the laths should be thoroughly wet
-before the mortar is applied, and the rooms should be closed while the
-work is progressing, or the mortar will harden too rapidly. Not only
-plastering mortar, but that used for other purposes which depends on
-cement for its binding force, should not be allowed to dry out rapidly.
-
-One serious objection is urged against walls made of cement mortar,--it
-being said that they are so resonant as to be annoying. To overcome this
-objection the walls of one public building were covered with burlap and
-painted. Notwithstanding the objections raised against cement plastered
-walls, they are likely to come into common use, since they are so
-superior in hardness and durability to the old style wall.
-
-Ordinarily, a full year should be allotted for building the house, and
-it should not be occupied until it has become thoroughly dried out.
-Perhaps this hint of the unsanitary condition of a damp house may be
-sufficient for the American. In Germany the law requires that a new
-house must have been completed a full half year before it may be
-occupied.
-
-
-HEATING AND VENTILATION
-
-In the future as in the past, most farm houses, without doubt, will be
-heated by stoves. However, some farmers will desire either an air,
-water, or steam heater. Air heaters are dangerous, because if the valves
-are not properly managed, the pipes may become superheated and may set
-the building on fire. They carry fine dust into the rooms, and the heat
-cannot be evenly distributed when the house is exposed to the full force
-of the wind, as it usually is in the country. The system of heating by
-means of hot water has many objections when used in the farm house. The
-water in the pipes is likely to freeze at night in the unused rooms if
-it is cut off; if it is left on, all the rooms must be heated, which is
-frequently not desirable. Then, too, heat cannot be secured as quickly
-in the morning as desired, and in case of too much heat, the rooms cool
-slowly unless doors or windows are opened. The first cost of placing a
-steam heating plant is expensive, but once in place it is most
-satisfactory. Wherever steam power can be used to advantage in the
-dairy, the steam plant might well be placed in one end of the summer
-kitchen or in the wood house, where it may be separated from the balance
-of the room by a partition. There is no more danger of fire from a
-boiler than from a stove. The one plant which furnishes steam and hot
-water for various purposes, such as churning, sawing wood, and pumping
-water, need not be more expensive if it also is made to serve for
-heating the house.
-
-A simple contrivance now in common use,--when several buildings are
-heated from a central station,--serves to govern the amount and pressure
-of steam introduced into the building. The farm steam plant should be
-situated, when possible, below the level of the radiators on the first
-floor, that the warm water from the condensed steam may be used again in
-the boiler instead of cold water. In the long run, this system would
-heat the house more cheaply than stoves, require less care-taking, and
-be cleaner and more satisfactory in every way.
-
-Much has been written about ventilation; and too often the systems
-applicable to ventilating large, overcrowded rooms and public halls have
-been applied to dwellings. However complex and difficult the ventilation
-of large buildings may be, the ventilation of a room in a dwelling is
-simple. If there are two or more windows in a room, ideal ventilation
-can be secured by raising the lower and lowering the upper sash as much
-as desired. By this method three streams of air are allowed to enter or
-leave the room, as there will be openings at the top, bottom and middle
-of the windows. The impure air is largely found at the top of the room
-and at the bottom. If, then, the warmer and lighter air is allowed to
-escape at the top, the colder air will rush in at the bottom, which will
-result in keeping it moving as water moves when the inflow is at or near
-the bottom of a vessel and the outflow near the top. Whenever only one
-window can be secured in the sleeping room, large transoms should be
-placed over the doors into the hall. While this method does not
-ventilate as well as the other, it serves to keep the air pure in the
-chamber. When there are many rooms situated on one hall, the hall should
-be ventilated by means of windows at its end, or at the top of the
-house. Many farm houses are over-ventilated in winter, the cold air
-entering the loose casements until the wash water expands and breaks the
-pitcher. In such cases storm sashes are a necessity, and are more
-economical than feather beds or coal in preserving a living
-temperature.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XI
-
-_HOUSE FURNISHING AND DECORATION_
-
-
-House furnishings do not exist for themselves, but as a background for
-the people who live among them. Just as the trees, rocks, fields and
-animals have for their setting the green earth and the blue sky, and as
-pictures have a background, a middle distance and a foreground, so human
-beings have their setting. If the setting be more striking or more
-elegant than the people for whom it exists, they are made uncomfortable
-and overshadowed by it; if meaner and uglier than they, the people are
-belittled by it. How many houses there are whose furnishings are much
-more attractive than their inhabitants! A woman of superficial education
-and trivial character has the distinction of having the most beautiful
-library in her state; rows on rows of the best books, in beautiful
-bindings, in a room of the most artistic design, and nobody to read
-them. The contrast between the woman and her environment is pitiful.
-
-The house and its contents should be an outgrowth of the tastes, habits
-and occupation of its owners. Farm life in its best aspect is a synonym
-for breadth, generosity, simplicity, cleanliness, abundance of sunlight,
-fresh air and good food, the beauty of nature, freedom from stiff
-formality--these are the things which the city dweller envies the
-farmer. The equipment of the house should express this breadth, beauty,
-and freedom of life. It follows from this that many pieces of furniture
-and some kinds of decoration which are offered in the shops are quite
-out of place in a country house. Imitation is, therefore, a dangerous
-principle, for it is likely to lead to the choice and purchase of
-articles which, however suitable for some other family and pretty in
-themselves, are wholly inappropriate in the case of the purchaser.
-
-There are three main considerations which should always be taken into
-account in house-furnishing: health, suitability, and beauty. The order
-of these is often reversed to the permanent injury of the housewife. The
-first law of hygiene is that nothing can be suitable which is not
-wholesome for those who are to use it; the first law of decorative art
-is that nothing is beautiful which is not wholly suitable. If these
-principles should be applied to the furnishing of country houses, they
-would taboo dark, thick window draperies, nearly all bric-a-brac, heavy
-upholstered furniture, parlor tea-tables filled with delicate (and
-generally dusty) china, and many other things which have been copied
-from the unwholesome and perhaps necessary customs of city life.
-
-Taste is a matter of cultivation, as much as efficiency or honesty; the
-habitual application of its fundamental principles in one’s own
-household, and the seeing of beautiful things elsewhere, are the chief
-means of its development. Man obtained his first conception of beauty
-from the form and color which he saw in the world about him, and we have
-only to apply the principles which are there apparent, in order to
-develop good taste. Nature provides an immense and comparatively neutral
-background; Nature always makes curves, never angles; Nature blends the
-most sharply contrasting colors together in the butterfly’s wing, in the
-poppies in a meadow, and in the feathers of the robin’s breast. The
-greater part of the world is in soft colors, browns and grays, dull
-greens and dull blues; the brilliant yellows, reds, pinks, purples and
-blues are always in very small quantities against this very large,
-neutral background. Since the furnishings of a house are the setting of
-the people, none of them should be more conspicuous than the people.
-Whatever brilliant color there is must be in relatively small
-quantities against a soft background. Nothing either in form or color
-should “stick out.”
-
-If the general principles just laid down be applied to the details of
-house furnishing, we shall find that many matters must be changed. Since
-the housewife must usually do her own work with very little or, at most,
-inadequate help, everything should be planned to save her strength. If
-we remember, also, that the first effort of good housekeeping is to keep
-dirt out of the house, and the second to get it out at once, it will
-appear that carpets are unsanitary. It has already been shown that good
-floors are now to be had easily and cheaply. If properly painted or
-finished with oil and wax, they form the best foundation for tasteful
-and cleanly housekeeping. Carpets not only keep the dirt in the house,
-but they involve that annual bugbear, house-cleaning. Even when the
-floors are old and poor, the space around the edge of a rug may be
-puttied and painted so as to look very well when the rug is put down. By
-rugs, I do not mean several little rugs, like oases in the slippery
-surface, or at the doorways to trip the unwary, but a good,
-generous-sized rug which just escapes the edges of the heavier furniture
-around the sides of the room; which is substantial enough not to roll
-up, and which is yet small enough to be carried in and out by one
-person. If the woodwork and pictures be wiped with a damp cloth, the
-windows washed, the floor dusted, and the rug beaten out of doors, now
-and then, no such terrible upheaval as house-cleaning usually implies,
-is necessary. Rugs may be had ready-made of ingrain, Japanese cotton,
-and jute, Brussels, and more expensive materials, but should always be
-heavy enough to lie flat without fastening and large enough to cover the
-entire portion of the floor which is to be walked upon. The uncovered
-space should usually not be wider than one and one-half feet.
-
-All furniture that is not actually built into or fastened to the wall
-and floors should be easily movable and easily cleaned. This at once
-precludes the purchase of heavy, upholstered chairs and large sofas.
-Wicker and rattan furniture, though not so artistic and costly as
-antique wood, is very light, and with good removable hair cushions, may
-be made quite as comfortable and far more cleanly than upholstered plush
-and damask. The cushions may be beaten at the same time as the rugs, and
-the dust thus taken out of the house. White enameled bedsteads and
-washstands are rapidly superseding the heavy wooden ones. It is a
-curious fact that although the persons of a family are of various sizes
-and ages, chairs are still bought by the half dozen, without reference
-to the people who are to sit upon them. Even in such minor matters as
-chairs and tea-cups, some account should be taken of individuality.
-
-If all furniture be selected with these simple principles in mind, i.
-e., hygienic cleanliness, the minimum of labor for the housewife, and
-the comfort of those who are to use it, there remains only one other way
-in which to go astray: it may still be superlatively and positively
-ugly; or it may be comfortable, sanitary, easily moved, and yet be
-merely negatively ugly; or it may be made decorative by its graceful
-form, the color of its covering, or the carving upon it. The first
-principle of artistic decoration is that it must be wholly subordinated
-to the use of the object which it adorns. For instance, windows are for
-two purposes: to light the house and for seeing out. If a window opens
-on a barnyard or some unpleasant prospect, you may put up a sash curtain
-of light silk or muslin. Thus you obtain light but no view. But if you
-wish to see out of the window, sash curtains are absurd. In the ordinary
-private house, elaborate and heavy window curtains are out of place,
-both for sanitary and artistic reasons. Whenever cleanliness is a prime
-object, drapery should be movable and washable. Silk and velvet
-draperies are only to be tolerated where there is a retinue of maids to
-keep them clean.
-
-The facility and cheapness of mill-work and lathe-work in wood has
-vitiated the taste of Americans to a terrible degree. Nearly all
-ready-made furniture is grooved, machine-carved, and ornamented in a way
-to violate not only the principles of beauty, but of strength and
-cleanliness as well. Ornament that does not _mean anything_ is not
-merely commonplace but ugly. There are four chairs of different
-patterns, and costing from $1.50 to $15, in the room where I sit; all of
-them have legs. Now, legs are intended as a support, yet all these are
-grooved and beaded and hollowed out in spots, so that twice as much
-material as is necessary has been used to insure support. The
-ornamentation is not pretty, the hollows are inevitably full of dust,
-and they mean absolutely nothing to anybody who sees them. On the front
-crosspiece of one large chair is glued a design of leaves in oak, by way
-of ornament. If these had been carved out upon a beautiful strip of wood
-by the hand of a cunning workman, they would at least have meant a man’s
-thought and skill. As they are, they suggest merely a machine and a glue
-pot, and thousands of others as hideous as they. Contrast with this
-gingerbread furniture the plain, substantial colonial chairs and tables
-and sideboards, made of beautiful wood, almost without ornamentation,
-with shapely, slender, and strong legs and softly polished by hand.
-Cheapness and quantity have been secured by machinery at the expense of
-beauty and strength.
-
-If the principle thus illustrated be true, then it follows that patterns
-of any sort, whether in carpets, wall paper, china, or drapery, must be
-very carefully used that they may not be more conspicuous than that
-which they decorate. The floor and the wall are the basis both of
-color-scheme and decoration. They are the background of the people who
-are to live there; they should, therefore, be rather inconspicuous, soft
-and indefinite in effect, and as becoming as possible to the human
-figures. If the climate be sunny and the room well lighted, the walls
-and floor may be dark and rich in effect; if the climate be uncertain
-and often cloudy, or the room badly lighted, the effect should be light
-and gay. Color is the chief means of producing this result: the walls
-and floors of living rooms should be of soft, neutral brown, yellow,
-red, green, or warm gray tints. Blue, though very lovely when carefully
-used, is cold in effect, and seldom satisfactory for living rooms, while
-the blue grays are positively chilling. Yellow in paler or richer
-shades, depending on the lighting of the room, is uniformly cheerful
-and satisfying; next to it rank the various terra cotta shades. Neither
-rug nor wall-covering should have large, striking designs; if having
-pattern at all, it should rather be of an indefinite, wandering design
-like the Japanese jute rugs, or of small inconspicuous conventional
-design, such as may be found in the best Brussels carpet.
-
-If the floors, however, be poor and old they may be covered very
-inexpensively with thick, strong building paper which comes in beautiful
-tints and the rug may be laid on top of this; or with denim on top of
-newspapers, which is only a little more expensive, and which may be had
-in a variety of beautiful shades; or, best of all, with matting on top
-of paper. Matting is especially desirable because the dust sifts through
-below, and does not rise easily when swept. But the money spent to cover
-up a poor floor would often serve to lay a good new one, and this should
-be done whenever possible. For kitchen and, in some cases, for a dining
-room floor as well, nothing is so satisfactory as linoleum. It is
-impervious, warm, soft to the foot, easily kept in order by an
-occasional coat of oil, and to be had in agreeable patterns. It may also
-be used like denim, building paper, and matting, to cover up bad floors,
-and as a basis for the rug; while more expensive, it is also much more
-satisfactory than anything except a good hardwood floor. There is often
-far too great contrast between the furnishings of the living room and
-the parlor; between the “spare room” and the family bedrooms. The money
-spent in elegance which is shut up in a room rarely used would serve to
-add much to the comfort of the whole family. The guest will enjoy the
-hospitality offered all the more if not treated too ceremoniously.
-
-The furnishing of the living room should always include several easy
-chairs, a good lounge, a place for books and magazines, and a thoroughly
-good reading lamp. If it can be afforded, a small room off the sitting
-room for writing and study is very desirable. It should contain book
-shelves, a large writing table or desk, and a good lamp. But if the
-extra room cannot be had, the desk and book shelves may be placed in the
-parlor. There should certainly be some place where the children may
-study or any member of the family may read and write uninterrupted. It
-is as irksome to write without proper appliances as to bathe without
-proper facilities.
-
-The furniture and decorations of bedrooms can scarcely be too simple;
-the walls may be lighter and gayer than those of living rooms. Blue and
-white or pale green and white may be used as color-schemes for very
-sunny bedrooms, yellow or pink and white for less sunny ones. One or two
-single, white, enamelled iron bedsteads, a washstand, a bureau or a
-chest of drawers with glass above, two or three low, light chairs, and a
-table or desk at which one may write, is an ample furnishing, if there
-be a good closet or wardrobe. The rug need be only large enough to cover
-the space in front of the bed, bureau, and stand, if the floor be well
-matched and painted or oiled. A bedroom should give the impression of
-spotlessness and comfort; everything should be washable or cleanable;
-unless used also as a sitting room, it should not have a superfluous
-article in it. Mats, bric-a-brac, even many pictures, are quite out of
-place.
-
-Since cost, styles and tastes differ so widely in different localities,
-no detailed directions can or should be given that will be generally
-applicable. If the principles illustrated in this chapter be correct,
-they will serve to guide and to develop the taste of many different
-kinds of persons.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XII
-
-_CLEANLINESS AND SANITATION--WATER SUPPLY AND SEWAGE_
-
-
-Filth and disease have gone hand in hand from the beginning of the
-world; but only during the last quarter-century have we known the true
-cause of infection, and why it is so closely associated with dirt. The
-danger of uncleanliness lies in the existence of certain microscopic
-organisms belonging to the vegetable kingdom, known popularly as
-microbes or germs, but more properly as bacteria. Bacteria, like the
-plants with which we are more familiar, thrive in moisture and moderate
-heat, but differ from them in many respects. Some of the more striking
-differences are structure and method of reproduction, many of them
-possessing the faculty of growing without sunlight. Bacteria are
-composed of minute masses of vegetable matter which vary from one
-ten-thousandth to one-thirty thousandth of an inch in length, and they
-reproduce by simple division. This process of multiplication may occur
-as often as once in half an hour; thus immense numbers may develop in a
-very short time. Under conditions unfavorable for growth, some species
-may form within their interior dense masses which are called spores.
-These resemble the seeds of higher plants in their function of
-distributing the species and in preserving life through intervals of
-time unfavorable for continuous multiplication.
-
-Bacteria may be classified in several ways, but for the discussion of
-cleanliness and sanitation, the simplest division is into the harmless
-and the injurious. The harmless forms live mostly on dead organic
-matter, causing nitrification, fermentation, and putrefaction; they
-break down the more complex organic compounds into simpler ones, so that
-they can be used again as food for plants. Familiar examples of this are
-seen in the decay of meat and vegetables. This class is more numerous,
-much hardier than the other, and comprises an overwhelmingly large
-proportion of the bacteria in nature.
-
-Bacteria are found almost constantly in water, in soil, and in air.
-Consequently they are present in all our food, except that which has
-been heated to kill them. Certain bacteria are normal inhabitants of the
-mouth, throat and intestines, while others find suitable conditions for
-growth on the skin and in the accumulation of substances excreted in the
-perspiration.
-
-Owing to the short time which has been devoted to the study of bacteria
-and their functions, closer attention has been paid to the harmful or
-pathogenic bacteria because of their relation to human health. This
-one-sided study of bacteriology has blinded us to the beneficent action
-of many bacteria, and has caused us much unnecessary fear of their
-presence in food.
-
-The harmful bacteria cause disease either indirectly through poisons
-which they excrete in food products, or directly by poisons or toxins
-which they form when living within the body. Although harmless bacteria
-are everywhere present, the pathogenic or harmful varieties are
-ordinarily much less numerous. It should be understood, however, that
-many of the so-called harmless bacteria are the cause of certain
-decompositions of vegetable and animal matter with the formation of
-substances which are detrimental to health. This is illustrated by the
-occasional cases of meat, fish, and oyster poisoning. The pathogenic
-bacteria, such as those of tuberculosis, typhoid fever, diphtheria, and
-the like, constitute, as has been already stated, a small number of
-species. These are disseminated through various channels, such as the
-milk and the water supply, and by persons directly. When they are
-introduced into dirty and unwholesome homes, they find in the filth
-suitable conditions for their multiplication, with the usual
-consequence of causing more or less disease in the family. The human
-body possesses more or less power of resistance to bacteria, but if
-these natural forces cannot overcome their invasion, they in turn will
-be successful and produce disease.
-
-Once infected with disease-producing bacteria, a house should be
-renovated from attic to cellar, and subjected to the action of agents
-possessing the power of destroying the pathogenic organisms. Numerous
-means are employed to kill bacteria, among them being the use of
-disinfectants in the form of liquids or gases, and the application of
-heat. The list of chemical disinfectants is long, but owing to their
-cost, a relatively small number are available for the disinfection of
-houses. The use of carbolic acid, copperas, whitewash, and the fumes of
-burning sulfur are familiar disinfectants used for this purpose. Among
-the disinfectants which can be applied directly to wounds, to prevent
-suppuration, are weak solutions of corrosive sublimate and of carbolic
-acid.
-
-The greater number of bacteria, pathogenic or harmless, which do not
-form spores, are destroyed by a temperature of 155 degrees Fahrenheit
-for twenty minutes. Very few resist the boiling point; thus water may be
-made safe by boiling, and milk by Pasteurizing at 155 degrees for
-twenty minutes. Cold merely checks the growth of bacteria, but,
-ordinarily, does not destroy them. Sunlight and fresh air are especially
-unfavorable to them; therefore the house should be sunny, and beds,
-bedrooms and living rooms thoroughly aired. If there be no organic
-matter to serve as nutriment for them, they cannot multiply; therefore
-the body, the clothing, and the dwelling should be kept as clean as
-possible. For this reason the first test of good sanitation is the
-immediate removal of all waste matter from the house, and the first
-preventive of disease is personal cleanliness.
-
-In Chapter VI suggestions have been made concerning the site, location,
-and drainage of the farm house. The kind, number, and convenience of the
-sanitary appliances, such as hot water boilers, closets, lavatories, and
-baths, are chiefly dependent upon the water-supply. If there be an
-abundance from a town water-main, or from a windmill or house-tank which
-will give some pressure, the problem of plumbing is comparatively easy;
-but if there be no such supply, it becomes far more difficult. A good
-water supply _in the house_ is of the first importance; therefore, for
-several reasons, plumbing conveniences lessen the work of the housewife
-by half, they encourage the practice of that virtue which is “next to
-godliness,” and if properly arranged they do away with many sanitary
-dangers. Personal cleanliness is irksome enough with every convenience
-for washing and bathing. When there is no convenience except a wash
-basin and a quart or two of hot water, habitual cleanliness is
-practically impossible. In this respect town and city life have an
-immense advantage over rural life. A woman who had moved from town to
-country for the sake of her husband’s health, was asked how she liked
-it: she said, “It is delightful, but I sometimes think I cannot endure
-it on account of this nasty privy and no bath-room.” Cleanliness of the
-skin is hygienically far more important than cleanliness of clothing. In
-athletics and gymnastics, the bath following the exercise is considered
-an essential part of their hygienic value; how much more necessary,
-then, is opportunity for frequent bathing, where the family, both in and
-out of doors, do daily manual labor which causes much perspiration, and
-which is often very dirty! The recent movement in cities to provide
-public bath-houses for the poor in tenements should not outstrip the
-farmer’s effort to obtain equally good facilities.
-
-If there be a sufficient water supply available, there should be in
-every house a hot water boiler of at least twenty gallons capacity,
-attached to the kitchen range, to supply hot water for laundry work and
-bathing; a kitchen sink and a bath-tub, each with hot and cold water
-faucets and waste pipe to sewer or cesspool; and a water-closet. These
-are the essentials; but, if possible, a stationary wash stand and two
-laundry tubs, with hot and cold water pipes, should also be provided. In
-the farm house it will save expense and many steps for the housewife,
-and will encourage frequent use, if all these be located on the first
-floor; the boiler in a cupboard in the wall of the kitchen, which may be
-shut in summer and opened in winter; the sink in the kitchen, or if
-preferred, in a pantry between the dining room and kitchen; the
-bath-room and stationary washstand in a room either opening out of the
-kitchen or out of the family bedroom, or out of a rear passage; the
-water-closet should be in some well ventilated space, on an outside
-wall, where the noise of the fixture will be as little heard as
-possible. It should have an outside as well as an inside entrance. It is
-customary to place the closet in the bath-room, but this often
-interferes with the general use of the washstand and bath-tub by the
-family, and should be avoided. The nearer all plumbing fixtures are to
-each other, the less expensive they are to put in; therefore in
-planning the first floor, this point should receive special
-consideration.
-
-Certain general principles apply to all plumbing, and may serve to test
-the various kinds of fixtures offered for sale. All foul and effete
-matter should be immediately and completely removed from the house; any
-back current of foul air into the house should be prevented, and any
-communication between the sewer or the cesspool and the water supply
-should be made impossible. Fixtures should be as simple in construction
-as possible and easily accessible. Pipes were formerly enclosed in the
-walls, but in the finest new buildings in cities, are now placed
-altogether in sight, and painted the color of the walls, or of the
-woodwork. The sewer pipe, on reaching the level of the ground, should
-pass directly out of the house, and should never be carried along under
-the first floor of the house. In the southern states and on the Pacific
-coast, pipes may run on the outside of the house, thus fulfilling
-ideally the principle that waste matter should be removed from the house
-as soon as possible. A few years ago there was much controversy over the
-placing of vent pipes in traps and in branches. Gerhard and the older
-sanitarians advise a complicated and elaborate use of them, but Putnam
-and the more recent authorities consider thorough ventilation of the
-soil pipe at top and bottom quite sufficient. The material of fixtures
-should be good (not extravagant), and the workmanship should be of the
-very best. The efficiency of any sanitary convenience depends almost as
-much upon the care with which it is put in as upon its material and
-style. But of all the principles of sanitary plumbing, probably the most
-important is frequent and thorough flushing, if possible with hot water.
-Any fixture will become foul and dangerous if there is not water enough
-and under sufficient force to scour it out thoroughly.
-
-Having laid down certain principles which apply to plumbing fixtures
-generally, we may now consider these fixtures more in detail. Pipes
-should be rather heavy. Waste pipes are generally too large, and
-therefore do not scour well; they need be only three to four inches in
-diameter for one or more closets in an ordinary house, and from one to
-one and a-half inches for washbowls, sinks, and tubs; they should always
-be of uniform size, i. e., “full-bore” throughout. Soil pipes should
-never run level, but as nearly as possible at a uniform slope of not
-less than one foot in fifty.
-
-The kitchen sink may be of white porcelain, enameled iron, painted iron,
-or granite ware, any of which materials are serviceable and desirable;
-or of wood, lined with lead, zinc, copper or slate, all of which are
-more or less undesirable, because after some use, the water and filth is
-apt to get in between the wood and its covering, or because they are not
-durable. The sink should have as little woodwork about it as possible,
-since wood is porous and, therefore, collects filth. It should be set
-open on brackets, and not over a dark, moist, dirt-collecting,
-back-breaking closet. Flushing is especially important in the case of
-the kitchen sink because of the grease. The best plumbing provides a
-grease-trap outside the house, which may be easily cleaned; but whether
-outside or immediately beneath the sink, the trap should have a
-screw-plug, so that it may be frequently cleaned. It follows that the
-kitchen waste pipe should not be too large, should have a good incline,
-and if possible no abrupt curves, so that cooling grease in the water
-may not harden on the sides of the pipe and finally fill it up. The use
-of a cheap wire screen garbage basket in the sink will prevent the small
-particles of waste from passing down the pipe.
-
-Bath-tubs of white earthenware or “porcelain” are the most expensive,
-the most durable and very heavy; of white enameled iron, are less
-expensive and heavy, durable if carefully used, impervious and cleanly;
-those of copper, tinned and planished, dent easily and the tinning
-wears off, but are fairly durable and still less expensive; those of
-wood-fiber are not very common, but are impervious, light and cleanly.
-
-The stationary washstand bowl and top are usually of marble; the outlet
-of the bowl should not be smaller than the wastepipe; the trap should be
-near the bowl, and have a screw plug, so that obstructions may be easily
-removed.
-
-There is an immense variety of water-closets; those should be especially
-avoided which have moveable machinery in connection with the bowl, such
-as the pan, valve, and plunger closets. Some of these are very
-inexpensive, but they are objectionable, either because they rust and
-accumulate filth, or because they get out of order easily. The forms of
-closets without movable machinery in connection with the bowl, that is,
-in which the machinery is connected with the flushing cistern, such as
-the hopper, the siphon-jet, and the washout closets, are to be
-preferred. Any washout or hopper closet bought from a responsible firm
-is likely to give satisfaction, if thoroughly flushed and kept in order.
-
-Stationary laundry tubs are of less importance than these other plumbing
-fixtures, since there are several excellent washing machines the use of
-which does away with the necessity for them. If one must choose between
-the two, the washing machine will be most useful; but if one wishes to
-have laundry tubs also, they come in porcelain, soapstone, granite, and
-wood, the latter being the least desirable.
-
-If the water supply be limited, as when a tank is supplied by pumping
-from a cistern, the hot water boiler, the bath-tub, and the stationary
-washstand may be arranged almost as easily as when there is an abundance
-of water; but it may be necessary to substitute the dry-closet for the
-water-closet.
-
-When no tank supply is available, and all water must be carried from a
-cistern or from the well in the yard, the cost of plumbing is very small
-and the discomfort very great. Warm water must be supplied chiefly from
-a reservoir at the back of the range, thus making frequent bathing very
-inconvenient, even if a regular bath-tub be provided. If, however, a
-cesspool be built in the yard, the kitchen sink, the slop-hopper, the
-bath-tub, and the laundry tub may have waste pipes to it. Such waste
-pipes save just half the work, for the water has to be carried only to
-the fixture, not away from it again. It thus seems worth while to have
-the fixtures, even though they serve only half their purpose. A
-slop-hopper with pipe to the cesspool, on the same level and near the
-kitchen, for waste wash water, etc., from the chambers, saves many
-steps, and is far more sanitary than throwing slops on the ground
-outside the house or carrying them to the outhouse.
-
-The chief problem is the outhouse, or privy vault. There is no more
-disgusting or unsanitary feature of rural life than this ill-smelling,
-dirty hole in the ground, from which the filth permeates the surrounding
-soil, and may contaminate the water supply. Much discomfort and some
-digestive ills arise from the necessity--especially for women--of going
-a considerable distance in cold weather and at night, to such places.
-The closet should, therefore, be as near the house as is compatible with
-decency, and should be reached by a covered walkway. If properly built
-and regularly disinfected and cleaned, it need be neither disgusting nor
-unsanitary. The wooden house should never be papered nor carpeted, but
-should be painted or whitewashed yearly and kept scrupulously clean. The
-habitual use of ashes or dry earth in the receptacle and an occasional
-application of some disinfectant, such as copperas or chloride of lime,
-is necessary. If drawers are used in the privy, they may be hauled out
-frequently by horse; and with the liberal use of road dust, no offense
-arises. The writer knows a country house in which dry-earth closets are
-under the house-roof, and yet there is no unpleasantness. Since the well
-is so easily contaminated by the seeping through the soil of manure and
-human waste matter, it is of the utmost importance that the privy vault
-should be below the source of water supply and as far as possible from
-it. In the following pages the details of construction of the privy
-vault are given, the relative location of it, and the water supply.
-
-Plumbing fixtures, like all other mechanical contrivances, to be
-efficient, require to be kept in perfect order. Frequent, thorough
-flushing with hot water whenever possible, and disinfection of the
-closet and the sink, are especially desirable. If all fixtures be set
-“open” and all pipes in sight, any leakage may be easily detected and
-remedied. If the pipes be painted with white lead, the defect will be
-discovered by the discoloration of the paint.
-
-
-WATER SUPPLY AND SEWAGE
-
-Water in abundance for the domestic animals should be provided by means
-of artificial pools or lakes, situated on land higher than the barns,
-but if they must be placed below the level of the buildings, aermotors
-or windmills may be easily made to elevate it to any reasonable height.
-It is difficult to explain why more miniature lakes, in which to store
-water for all except culinary purposes, are not constructed. In Fig. 7
-it is shown how easily these pools may be made without expensive stone
-dams, and after the fashion of those constructed in many of the southern
-states.
-
-Wells, in many places, must be deep, and then often furnish but a meager
-supply of water, while cisterns large enough to supply all wants are
-expensive. In addition to artificial lakes, wells, and cisterns, there
-are often streams, or best of all, springs, to be drawn upon. In any
-case, a full and continuous supply of water should be provided before
-buildings are constructed if annoyance, loss, and unnecessary labor are
-to be obviated and the best sanitary conditions secured in the house.
-Unless the water is brought into the house under a constant pressure,
-one or more storage tanks should be provided. They should be placed at
-such elevations as will secure at least some pressure on the first floor
-above the cellar. The storage tank may have a capacity of from one to
-five barrels, and may be constructed of rough or planed two-inch planks
-and lined with galvanized iron, if the water is to be used for culinary
-purposes; if not, it may be lined with lead. The tank, which may be of
-any shape desired, may be placed on supports near the ceiling of the
-bath-room, or the room which contains the commode, or at one end in the
-upper part of the clothes-press; provided, however, that the discharge
-pipe is made so large that under no contingencies will the tank
-overflow. If the house is fairly large and the cistern capacious,
-sufficient water may be pumped into the tank from the cistern in a few
-minutes to supply all wants for the day. From the tank it will flow by
-gravity into the hot water boiler and to all other points desired which
-are not above the tank. If water be raised by means of an aermotor, a
-storage tank will still be necessary, as the wind may fail to operate
-the motor for an entire day. By whatever means water is secured, the
-supply should be ample at all times. Springs and wells in the middle and
-northern states, and cisterns in the southern states will, in most
-cases, serve to supply the potable water needed, but these are too often
-inadequate to supply the large demand for water made by the animals, and
-the extra demand for water in the house made by cleaner and more
-sanitary methods of living.
-
-In using water in the household, it becomes mixed with a great variety
-of organic substances which pollute it, and which tend to putrefaction
-and decay. As these various organic substances break down, numerous
-compounds are produced, many of which endanger not only health but life
-itself; it is therefore evident that all soiled water should be removed
-from the house immediately and by the shortest practical route. But what
-to do with the polluted water after it has been removed from the rooms,
-becomes one of the most difficult problems of modern civilization. The
-first thought is to empty this sewage into streams and lakes; but those
-living on the streams and in the cities must secure their water-supply
-from these sources. It is evident, then, that the streams should not be
-polluted. The next thought is to distribute the sewage over the land,
-but this method is usually an expensive one, and seldom can enough sandy
-land be secured to absorb and filter the vast quantities of sewage which
-modern conditions make necessary.
-
-On the farm the same difficulties are presented, and the problem to be
-solved differs in degree rather than in kind. If dry-earth closets are
-used on the farm, there is still the kitchen and laundry sewage to be
-provided for. While disposing of this, provision may also be made for
-the night-soil, thus obviating two systems of removing waste from the
-house. However, the earth-closet will reduce the amount of liquid sewage
-and increase the temptation to discharge it into the streams which,
-above all things, should be avoided. If porous or sandy lands can be
-found within reasonable distance of the dwelling, and yet not too near
-to it to endanger health or pollute the water supply, a cesspool may be
-constructed. A hole some ten feet in circumference and ten to twelve
-feet deep, dug in the earth, walled with stone without mortar, may serve
-for catching and filtering the sewage. On top of the wall, which should
-not reach the surface of the ground by about two feet, lay two pieces of
-railroad iron, and on these place large flat stones, covering all with
-dirt, providing, however, for ventilation by means of a 4-inch iron
-pipe, which should be long enough to reach a little above the surface of
-the ground when all is completed.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 87. Plan of a cesspool.]
-
-If the soil is not as porous as is desired, lay several tile or stone
-drains at a depth of three to five feet, and extend them from the
-cesspool some distance out into the field or grounds beyond. (Fig. 87.)
-These drains should have free outlets, and the longer they are the
-better. At the outlet of the drains plant willows or some other
-water-loving, fast-growing trees. These will take up and utilize vast
-quantities of liquid and decomposed solids, and if the household is of
-only ordinary size no nuisance will result.
-
-If water is limited and the dry-earth closet must be adopted, then the
-cesspool for the kitchen and laundry liquids need not be made so large
-as described, but may be built in the same manner. The dry-earth closet
-may be built as follows: Construct a privy of suitable size, 5 to 20
-feet from the most convenient rear door, and connect it by a covered
-walk to the house. The small building should be placed not less than two
-feet above the ground, on a good, tight wall, which should extend under
-three sides of the building, the other side to be furnished with a
-hinged door. Secure a large, iron-top, dump wheelbarrow, which may serve
-to hold all fœcal matter. This may be emptied weekly or monthly into a
-nearby trench, previously prepared. A few shovelfuls of earth thrown
-upon the excreta will effectually arrest any offensive odors which might
-otherwise arise. Before the ground freezes in the fall dig a trench of
-sufficient length to contain the fœcal matter during the winter. In cold
-weather the barrow may be inverted over the trench, and by the
-application of a few quarts of hot water to the iron bottom the frozen
-material will be released. When the ground thaws, the accumulated
-matter may be covered. While the material is frozen there will be no
-danger from it. It should be said that this trench would better be dug
-near a row of trees or other strong-growing perennial plants. These will
-quickly take up the products of the night-soil which might, in rare
-cases, tend to contaminate the soil-water. If but little of the
-night-soil be deposited in one place, the earth and plants--two most
-efficient disinfectants--may be trusted to preserve good sanitary
-conditions. However, pains should be taken to discover if, by any
-possible means, the sewage may find its way into the well. An
-intelligent inspection of the soil, the stratification of it and the
-rocks, will reveal the direction which the soil-water takes; but if the
-cesspool and the drains are placed some distance from the dwelling, no
-contamination will take place under any circumstances, since the amount
-of sewage is so small and the power of plants and soil to take up the
-dangerous products of sewage is so great.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIII
-
-_HOUSEHOLD ADMINISTRATION, ECONOMY, AND COMFORT_
-
-
-In colonial times, before so many of the household operations were
-transferred to shops and manufactories, women were producers almost as
-much as men; but in modern times women are more and more concerned with
-how money shall be spent. The woman is still a producer when she cooks
-an egg, mends a garment, or sweeps a room; but the question of how much
-or how little can be had out of the family income has become relatively
-more and more her concern. In Europe, far more than in the United
-States, attention is given by the women to the economical expenditure of
-the family resources. A provincial French girl is trained from her
-childhood for household duties. She assists her mother not only in order
-to learn the finer arts of housewifery, but especially the judicious
-expenditure of money. The French husband leaves the apportionment of the
-family income almost wholly to his wife’s discretion.
-
-There can be no doubt that the prosperity of the family depends quite as
-much on the wise use of the income as upon the size of that income. The
-first essential of good household management is that the housewife
-should know definitely how much there is to spend. Nothing is more
-productive of marital discontent than the habit which many husbands have
-of doling out money to the wife at irregular times and in indefinite
-amounts. It destroys the wife’s self-respect, it places her in a
-degraded position before her children, and it removes all incentive to
-thrift. It not infrequently supplies a powerful motive for deceit. If
-the wife is inexperienced, unwise, or extravagant in the use of money,
-so much the more reason why the husband should patiently and firmly
-teach her how to spend, both for her own sake and that of the family
-welfare. An arrangement by which the wife controls the expenditure of a
-certain portion of the income is very easy whenever the man receives a
-salary or regular daily wages. A regular income tends to develop thrift
-and to teach people to avoid debt; but there is always a tendency to
-live up to the limit of it, and the margin for saving and for extra
-pleasures is always small. Salaried people seldom get deeply in debt,
-but they as seldom become very rich.
-
-On the other hand, whenever the family income is irregular, as from
-farming and most other kinds of business, the problem of household
-financiering is much more difficult and requires both greater
-self-control and better judgment. It is usually possible for such
-families to determine upon a definite minimum amount which may be
-counted upon for ordinary living expenses. The margin above this may
-vary widely, but if the scale of living be habitually adjusted to come
-within the minimum income, there will be no terror of debt. The
-expenditure of the surplus, when it comes, becomes a unique and
-unexpected pleasure. Whatever the plan adopted for distributing the
-family income, the wife should have at her command and should be
-expected to live within, a definite share of the income.
-
-After the minimum expenses of the family have been determined, the next
-most important question is how and when they shall be paid out. Cash
-payments are much to be preferred. They have two advantages: whoever
-pays cash asks no favor of the tradesman, and commands the best quality
-at a given price. The tradesman who lends money by allowing the payment
-of bills to be postponed, must pay for his goods and must have interest
-on the money necessary to carry on a credit business. He must
-necessarily, therefore, reimburse himself by charging a higher price,
-or by giving a poorer article. It should never be forgotten that credit
-costs something. The cash customer is always considered a good customer,
-and can always have the first choice of the market, and favors if any
-are desired. Whenever monthly or quarterly bills are run, the debtor is
-apt to acquire a most dangerous habit--the habit of spending now, to pay
-at some future time. The more remote the time, the more dangerous the
-habit. It is evident that the oftener bills are paid, the less
-likelihood there is of mistakes and deceit. If bills must be run, it
-should never be for longer than a month, and prompt payment of them is a
-solemn obligation. The article should be done without rather than the
-seller asked to wait for his money. Whatever plan the housewife adopts
-will be conditioned by the customs of the locality in which she lives
-and by the habits of the local tradesman.
-
-Women waste much time and energy in buying things one by one; they spend
-in this way, too, much more than they realize, and then they wonder
-where the money has gone. China, linen, and the stock of clothing
-necessary for changes of season, should be bought by the set, or
-quantity, marked and prepared for use at regular intervals. Women buy a
-collar or two, a pair of stockings, a bit of ribbon, a bread plate, a
-few glasses, etc., and then are surprised that they seem to have very
-little for the money. Unless the housewife be really poor, or unless the
-money be doled out to her irregularly, it will invariably pay to buy in
-quantity things which are not perishable, and which the household wears
-out and, therefore, habitually needs. Handkerchiefs, stockings,
-underclothing, china, drinking glasses, cost less by the dozen and
-half-dozen than by the piece. Lamp chimneys are continually broken,
-toilet paper and soap used up, yet very few housekeepers realize that
-they waste both time and energy, beside suffering inconvenience, when
-they buy these one at a time. Buying piecemeal is demoralizing, as well
-as wasteful, because it is unsystematic. Successful housekeeping
-involves attention to numberless details; if by periodic instead of
-incessant attention some of these can be disposed of in the mass, there
-will be immense saving of energy.
-
-Many housekeepers will object to this, either because it involves the
-immediate expenditure of a larger sum of money for one class of
-articles, or because, not having more wholesome social and intellectual
-interests, they find recreation in wandering from store to store, or
-counter to counter, pricing much and buying little; or because they love
-to find “a bargain.” The instinct to get something “cheap,” that is, to
-get something for nothing, or, more properly, to get more than we pay
-for, lies very deep in human nature. Because women have usually lived
-from hand to mouth, without foresight, it has perhaps been exaggerated
-in them. There are the bargain-hunters, and there are the
-bargain-scorners; both are doubtless equally illogical. When an article
-is phenomenally cheap, it is so, usually, either because too many of its
-kind are on the market, or because the seller is sacrificing a normal
-profit to draw general custom, or because the people who have produced
-it have done so at less than a decent living wage, or because it is
-going or gone out of fashion. Good buyers are rightfully suspicious of
-bargains. No one should be willing to buy or use articles which have
-been produced at starvation wages under wretched sanitary conditions. It
-is never good economy to buy things which are gone out of fashion unless
-one is quite _satisfied to be out of fashion_. If the article offered on
-the bargain counter be of good quality, and in staple use in the
-household, it is often well worth buying. Flannels, linens, sometimes
-woolen dress goods of inconspicuous patterns, may be bought at the end
-of the season much cheaper than at the beginning, and are a good
-investment if one has money to spare and is sure what is going to be
-needed by the family. Over against the money saved in securing a
-bargain, must always be reckoned the time and energy used in finding it,
-and the risks that its quality may prove inferior, or that it may be
-unsuitable when finally used. If a woman has nothing better to do with
-her time and strength than to hunt bargains, there is nothing further to
-be said; but if she has, it is usually more economical and more
-satisfactory to buy the articles needed for definite use at a reliable
-place and at a fair price.
-
-All the suggestions that have been made imply accurate knowledge on the
-part of the housekeeper. A thoroughly trained housekeeper of long
-experience may possibly keep all the household detail in hand without
-keeping books of account, but it is absolutely impossible for the
-inexperienced or unsystematic housekeeper to do so. The mental training
-involved in keeping an accurate account of family income and expenditure
-is as valuable as a course in mathematics. For her own self-discipline,
-as well as for the better distribution of the family income, every
-housekeeper should keep an itemized account. Until she can balance her
-account accurately at the end of every month she has not learned the a b
-c of thorough housekeeping. After having learned to do this easily, she
-may, perhaps, allow herself a very small margin for those “sundries”
-which have not been put down, and which would waste valuable time to
-hunt out. Every housewife knows by experience that it is not the regular
-meat and grocery bills that eat up the income; if adequate care is taken
-of them, they can be reduced to a definite scale and kept there; but it
-is the incidentals. A system of accurate accounts will speedily show how
-many of these are extravagant or unnecessary. Book-keeping is a bugbear
-to most women, chiefly because the system which they undertake is too
-complicated. The simplest form is the best. Any blank book may be used;
-put down on the right hand side everything bought; on the left side all
-money received; at the end of the week or month the total sum of the
-right-hand column plus the money still on hand should equal the total of
-the left-hand column. If it does not, some item has been omitted or not
-accurately entered. It is better in the beginning to balance the account
-at least once a week, for then inaccuracies can be more easily traced.
-The secret of success is to put down at the time of the transaction what
-has been received and spent. When the account has been balanced, a
-second step is much more interesting. In another book or in the back of
-the day-book, if it be large enough, open several accounts on separate
-pages, as follows: groceries, meats, fuel, clothing, subscriptions and
-charities, incidentals, etc. Copy each item from the day-book into its
-proper account; at the end of a month or year, by adding up these
-separate accounts, the housewife can tell exactly what proportion of the
-income has been spent for each class. Mr. Lawes, the famous English
-agriculturist, when traveling in America, was able to quote accurately
-the cost of the various items of expenditure in his own house.
-
-Economy is a relative, not an absolute thing. Economy of money is often
-wastefulness of life, yet extravagance, on the other hand, is a serious
-cause of human degeneration. With the exception of poor management, poor
-service is probably the most wasteful factor of all in the household,
-yet there are conditions in which poor service is certainly less
-wasteful of the family resources, than none at all. The end of
-housekeeping is the health, comfort, and serenity of the family. The two
-main factors in producing this result are the family income and the
-mother’s strength and energy. Saving, however desirable, is merely an
-incidental end. The mother’s intelligence, therefore, if she be in
-command of her fair share of the income, must be used to save not only
-money but her own resources. The lack of nutritious, palatable food and
-of nursing in illness, the lack of service when the mother is weakened
-by labor and child-bearing, is sometimes economy with most disastrous
-results. Health and serenity are worth more to the family than houses
-and a bank account. A good education given to an intelligent child is
-worth ten times its cost saved up for him to inherit in middle life.
-
-Every device, therefore, which saves the housewife’s energy is a true
-economy. A clothes-washing machine, a cabinet table, a slop-hopper for
-kitchen and chamber waste-liquids, are all obtainable and of special
-value in saving labor. In planning the kitchen, economy of steps in
-reaching water and fuel should be considered. China should be kept
-either in wall cupboards opening on one side into the dining-room, on
-the other into the kitchen, or in a pantry between dining-room and
-kitchen. Kitchen utensils need no longer be of black, heavy, ugly iron,
-but of granite ware, nickel plate, and aluminum; they may be placed in
-shelves close to the range, or hung along the wall beside it. A dumb
-waiter or hand elevator, from kitchen to cellar, saves much going up and
-down stairs. The height of sinks and work-tables should be adapted to
-that of the woman who works over them. A tall stool--a clerk’s stool--in
-the kitchen allows the housewife to sit while doing some kinds of work.
-Distances between sink, range, dishes, and store-room, should be as
-short as possible, while the ventilation and lighting of the kitchen
-should be particularly good. Every step up and down from kitchen to
-shed, or kitchen to cellar, is an extra drain on the overtaxed woman.
-Small, cheap contrivances, such as dish-mops, iron dish-cloths,
-pan-scrapers, small scrubbing-brushes, wire screen garbage-pans, and
-many others, lighten the work and make it possible for the housewife to
-be more dainty in her personal appearance.
-
-In no respect does farm life differ more from city life than in the kind
-of food provided and the method of serving it. The farmer’s table is
-loaded down with a great abundance and variety of food, all placed on
-the table at once, and often rich and indigestible. The city table has
-half as much, both in variety and quantity, served daintily in courses.
-The city housewife provides variety from meal to meal, seldom repeating
-any dish, except the staple ones, more than once or twice a week; the
-rural housewife puts a large variety of the same things on the table at
-every meal. Abundance of well cooked, appetizing food there should be,
-but variety from meal to meal, and from day to day, is far preferable to
-excessive variety at any one meal. Not only is it better for the
-digestion to eat of a very few kinds of food at one meal; but, since
-novelty stimulates appetite, any particular dish will be more appetizing
-if not served too frequently. The farmer’s family, while very economical
-in the expenditure of money, is often very wasteful of food. Vegetables,
-fruit, chickens, pork raised on the farm, seem to cost no money, but
-they cost much vital energy, which is quite as valuable. The value of
-milk, butter, and eggs is recognized, because it is customary to sell
-them in town; but the cost in the labor of those who raise and those who
-prepare food, is often overlooked. The farmer’s table is thus not only
-overloaded, but really extravagant. Here, again, quality is more
-desirable than variety; simplicity should accompany abundance.
-
-Since rural life involves a certain degree of isolation, the family must
-keep in touch with the world chiefly through literature. Even at the
-sacrifice of some of the rich variety of food on the table or of new
-clothes, books and papers should be provided. The local newspaper is apt
-to contain little beside local gossip; it should be supplemented with an
-agricultural paper and a family journal, a housekeeping magazine, a
-children’s magazine, if there be children, and other general magazines
-if they can be afforded. But better than the general magazines, would be
-the gradual purchase of the standard works of history, travel, poetry,
-and fiction. A musical instrument, a small library, and interesting
-games will do more than admonition to keep young people at home.
-Children naturally want a good time; if it is not provided for them at
-home they will go to other and perhaps less desirable places to get it.
-
-With the increase of appliances, and with the added social and
-intellectual demands, country as well as city life is becoming more
-complicated and exacting. The housewife, whose physical strength is
-scarcely equal to the demands of housekeeping and child-bearing, must
-develop her intelligence and whet her judgment. She must find easier and
-wiser ways of doing the necessary drudgery, and make brains do an
-increasing part of the labor formerly accomplished by muscle.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV
-
-_THE HOME YARD_
-
-
-The yard, as well as the house, should be planned. It should be
-convenient, neat, handsome, restful. It will need planting with trees,
-shrubs, herbs and grass; but these things should not be scattered
-promiscuously over the place, for then they mean nothing. Every plant
-should have some relation to the general plan or design of the place.
-
-The first thing to consider in the making of a fit setting for the house
-is to lay out the plan or design; the last thing is to select the
-particular kinds of plants to be used. The place should be a picture. It
-should be one thing, not many things. If the design is correct and the
-planting is well done, all parts will be in harmony and the place will
-appeal to one as a whole. If the bushes and trees are scattered
-promiscuously over the yard, then there is no central idea and the
-attention is fixed upon the details rather than upon the place. Figs. 88
-and 89 illustrate these contrasts.
-
-The one central thought or idea in home grounds is the house.
-Therefore, make the house emphatic. Let it stand out boldly, as in Fig.
-89. Keep the center of the place open. Do not clutter it with trees,
-flower beds and other distracting things.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 88. The common or nursery type of planting.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 89. The proper or pictorial type of planting.]
-
-If the house is to be made emphatic, give it a flanking. Plant trees or
-bushes, or both, on the sides. Back it up, also, with trees. If it sets
-in front of a natural wood or an orchard, the effect is better. If the
-country is bare and bald behind it, plant tall trees there.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 90. A modest and direct driveway.]
-
-Make as few walks and drives as possible. They are always unsightly and
-expensive. Let them lead to their destination by the most direct curves.
-Do not make them crooked; for crooked walks and drives are expensive.
-Gentle curves are more retired and modest than awkward and laborious
-ones. Fig. 90 shows a good, easy curve. If possible, place the walk or
-drive at the side, rather than in the center: avoid cutting up the lawn.
-
-Most of the planting should be in masses. Plants present a bolder front
-when standing together. A group is one thing; scattered shrubs are many
-things, and they divert and distract the attention. By massing, one
-secures endless combinations of light and shade, of color, and of form.
-Against the mass-planting, flowers show off best; they have a
-background, as a picture has when it hangs on a wall. One canna or
-geranium standing just in front of heavy foliage makes more show than do
-a dozen plants when standing in the middle of the lawn; it is more
-easily cared for, and it does not spoil the lawn. A flower bed in the
-middle of the sward spoils a lawn, as a spot soils the table-cloth.
-Flowers at the side, or joined to the other planting, are a part of the
-picture; in the middle of the lawn they are only a spot of color and
-mean nothing except that the grower did not know where to put them.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 91. A good house; but the home is only half built.]
-
-Take these suggestions to heart. Consider which you like the better,
-Fig. 91 or 92. Consider, also, how Fig. 92 would look if plants were
-scattered all over the yard.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 92. A house and a home.]
-
-Plants are difficult to grow in little holes in the sod. The grass
-takes the moisture. They are always in the way. The yard in Fig. 92 can
-be mown with a field mower. The bushes take care of themselves. If one
-dies, it matters little: others fill the gaps. If pigweeds come up
-amongst them, little or no harm is done. They add to the variety of
-foliage effect. One does not feel that he must stop his cultivating or
-sheep-shearing to dig them out. In the fall, the leaves blow off the
-open lawn and are held in the bushes; there they make an ideal mulch,
-and they need not be removed in the spring. In front of this shrubbery
-a space two or three feet wide may be left for flowers. Here sow and
-plant with a free hand. Have sufficient poppies and hollyhocks and pinks
-and lilies and petunias to supply every member of the family and every
-neighbor. Against the background they glow like coals or lie as soft as
-the snow.
-
-Fill in the corners of the place. Round off the angularities. Throw a
-mass of herbage into the corner by the steps (Fig. 93): then you will
-not need to saw off the grass with a butcher knife. Plant a vine and
-some low plants along the foundations.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 93. The corner by the steps.]
-
-When these main or fundamental things are considered, then some of the
-incidental things may be considered. If you are fond of some particular
-plant, as the hydrangea, plant it in some prominent place in front of
-the shrub border. You may want a tree to shade a window or a porch:
-plant it. You may want a pile of odd stones and relics: put them in the
-back yard, or at the side, where you may enjoy them unmolested. You may
-have any kind of plant you want, only put it in the right place.
-
-Have an eye to the views. Build your house with reference to them, if
-you can. Do not plant so as to hide the good ones. Plant heavily in the
-direction of offensive views. Plant so as to obscure the barnyard; or
-else move the barnyard back of the barn, or clean it up. Leave the front
-of the barn open: you want to see it from the house.
-
-
-HOW TO DO THE WORK
-
-The lawn, then, is the first consideration. It is the canvas on which we
-are to paint a picture of home and comfort. In many cases the yard is
-already level or well graded and has a good sod, and it is not necessary
-to plow and re-seed. It should be said that the sod on old lawns can be
-renewed without plowing it up. In the bare or thin places, scratch up
-the ground with an iron-toothed rake, apply a little fertilizer, and sow
-more seed. Weedy lawns are those in which the sod is poor. It may be
-necessary to pull out the weeds; but after they are out the land should
-be quickly covered with sod or they will come in again. Annual weeds,
-as pigweeds and ragweed, can usually be crowded out by merely securing a
-heavier sod. A little clover seed will often be a good addition, for it
-supplies nitrogen and has an excellent mechanical effect on the soil.
-
-The ideal time to prepare the land is in the fall, before the heavy
-rains come. Then sow in the fall, and again in early spring on a late
-snow. However, the work may be done in the spring, but the danger is
-that it will be put off so long that the young grass will not become
-established before the dry, hot weather comes.
-
-The best lawn grass for New York is June-grass, or blue-grass. Seedsmen
-know it as _Poa pratensis_. It weighs but 14 pounds to the bushel. Not
-less than three bushels should be sown to the acre. We want many very
-small stems of grass, not a few large ones; for we are making a lawn,
-not a meadow.
-
-Do not sow grain with the grass seed. The June-grass grows slowly at
-first, however, and therefore it is a good plan to sow timothy with it,
-at the rate of two or three quarts to the acre. The timothy comes up
-quickly and makes a green; and the June-grass will crowd it out in a
-year or two. If the land is hard and inclined to be too dry, some kind
-of clover will greatly assist the June-grass. Red clover is too large
-and coarse for the lawn. Crimson clover is excellent, for it is an
-annual, and it does not become unsightly in the lawn. White clover is
-perhaps best, since it not only helps the grass but looks well in the
-sod. One or two pounds of seed is generally sufficient for an acre.
-
-At first the weeds will come up. Do not pull them. Mow the lawn as soon
-as there is any growth large enough to mow. Of course, the lawn-mower is
-best, but one can have a good place without it. Perhaps a hand
-lawn-mower (one with large wheels and not less than 16-inch cut) can be
-used to keep the sward close just about the house; then the field-mower
-may be used now and then for the remainder. Here is another advantage,
-as I have said, of the open-centered yard which I have recommended; it
-is easily mown. It would be a fussy matter to mow a yard planted after
-the fashion of Fig. 88; but one like Fig. 89 is easily managed.
-
-The borders should be planted thickly. Plow up the strip. Never plant
-these trees and bushes in holes cut in the sod. Scatter the bushes and
-trees promiscuously in the narrow border. In home grounds, it is easy to
-run through these borders occasionally with a cultivator, for the first
-year or two. Make the edges of the border irregular. Plant the lowest
-bushes on the inner edge toward the house.
-
-For all such things as lilacs, mock oranges, Japan quinces, and bushes
-that are found along the roadsides, two or three feet apart is about
-right. Some will die anyway. Cut them back one-half when they are
-planted. They will look thin and stiff for two or three years; but after
-that they will crowd the spaces full, lop over on the sod, and make a
-billow of green. Prepare the land well, plant carefully, and let the
-bushes alone.
-
-We now come to the details,--the particular kinds of plants to use. One
-great principle will simplify the matter: the main planting should be
-for foliage effects. That is, think first of giving the place a heavy
-border-mass. Flowers are mere decorations.
-
-Select those trees and shrubs which are the commonest, because they are
-cheapest, hardiest and most likely to grow. There is no farm so poor
-that enough plants cannot be secured, without money, for the home yard.
-You will find the plants in the woods, in old yards, along the fences.
-It is little matter if no one knows their names. What is handsomer than
-a tangled fence-row?
-
-Scatter in a few trees along the fence and about the buildings,
-particularly if the place is large and bare. Maples, basswood, elms,
-ashes, buttonwood, pepperidge, oaks, beeches, birches, hickories,
-poplars, a few trees of pine or spruce or hemlock,--any of these are
-excellent. If the country is bleak, a rather heavy planting of
-evergreens about the border, in the place of so much shrubbery, is
-excellent.
-
-For shrubs, use the common things to be found in the woods and swales,
-together with roots, which can be had in every old yard. Willows,
-osiers, witch-hazel, dogwood, wild roses, thorn apples, haws, elders,
-sumac, wild honeysuckles,--these and others can be found in abundance.
-From old yards can be secured snowballs, spireas, lilacs, forsythias,
-mock oranges, roses, snowberries, barberries, flowering currants,
-honeysuckles, and the like.
-
-Vines can be used to excellent purpose on the outbuildings or on the
-porches. The common wild Virginia creeper is the most serviceable. On
-brick or stone houses the Boston ivy or Japanese ampelopsis may be used,
-unless the location is very bleak. This is not hardy in the northern
-parts of the country. Honeysuckles, clematis and bitter-sweet are also
-attractive. Bowers are always interesting to children; and actinidia and
-akebia (to be had at nurseries) are best for this purpose.
-
-If a regular flower garden is wanted, place at the side or rear of the
-place, where a liberal piece of land can be devoted to it.
-
-Into these native shrub borders, throw some color from nursery-grown
-bushes if you choose. Mix in spireas, weigelas, roses--anything you
-like. A rare or strange plant may be introduced now and then, if there
-is any money with which to buy such things. Plant it at some conspicuous
-point just in front of the border, where it will show off well, be out
-of the way, and have some relation to the rest of the planting. Two or
-three purple-leaved or variegated-leaved bushes will add much spirit and
-verve to the place; but too many of them make the place look fussy and
-overdone. You can have a botanic garden of your own, even though you do
-not know the name of a single plant; and your home will be a picture at
-the same time.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XV
-
-_A DISCUSSION OF BARNS_
-
-
-Modern agriculture requires large and commodious barns and other
-structures to house the crops, the animals, tools, and implements.
-Especially is this true when mixed farming is conducted in an
-intensified and economical way. In early days one or, at most, two low
-barns of 30 by 40 feet were supposed to supply all shelter
-accommodations required for a farm of one hundred acres. At the present
-time, on the same farms, may often be seen a barn 60 by 80 feet and
-double the height of the old structures, with a wing one-half of the
-capacity of the main barn to which it is attached, this single structure
-providing more than six times the cubic space of two of the old barns.
-One sizable farm in Tompkins county, New York, had, for many years, a
-single barn 30 by 40 feet with 14-foot posts. It now has a barn which
-provides more than fifteen times the room of the old one, and yet it is
-scarcely large enough to house the animals and crops of this modest
-farm.
-
-Naturally, the questions arise, are these large structures necessary,
-and what changes in agriculture have taken place to create a need for
-such mammoth structures? They are necessarily expensive, and too often
-dwarf and belittle the house when placed near it.
-
-Modern advanced farmers secure nearly or quite double the average yield
-of crops of their grandfathers. This is an indisputable fact,
-notwithstanding the hue and cry about the decadence of the rural
-population. The facts are that some are farming much better than the
-older generations and some much worse. Much of the good land is
-producing more bountifully than ever before, and some of the poorer
-lands have been so badly managed, and have become so depleted in their
-productive power as to be nearly worthless, and should be thrown out of
-cultivation and left to recuperate until unborn generations require
-them. More live stock is kept now than formerly. The number of milch
-cows, horses, and mules in the United States increased more than 50 per
-cent between 1870 and 1890, and other cattle increased during the same
-period 150 per cent. Notwithstanding this fact, the live stock on many
-farms has been greatly diminished.
-
-Then, too, progressive farmers believe it to be economy to provide
-shelter for animals and crops, manures and implements. The old custom
-of stacking the hay and grain, of allowing the farm animals to toughen
-in the winter’s blast in field and barnyard, and the manures to leach
-and bleach under the eaves of the building has, in part, been abandoned
-and better methods substituted. These new methods require better,
-larger, and more commodious farm barns. The modern and humane thought
-is, to make all of the animals as comfortable, according to their needs
-and conditions, as is their owner in his well appointed house, and to
-protect everything that is worth protecting from the storms.
-
-There are two fairly distinct methods of constructing farm buildings:
-the concentrated and the distributive. The one aims to provide the room
-needed by one or two large structures; the other by means of many
-detached small buildings, each, where practicable, devoted to a special
-purpose. The last method was the outgrowth of the conditions which
-usually prevailed in a new country. First came the rude house and the
-log stable. The stable was followed by the modest barn, usually of the
-regulation size, 30 by 40 feet, with 12-, 14-, or, in rare cases,
-16-foot posts. As the arable land increased another barn was built, then
-a shed, then a wagon-house; followed by a corn-crib, a chicken-house, a
-pig-pen, and later a sheep-barn, cow-barn, a hay-barn, all the room in
-the first and second barns being by this time required for grain.
-Outside the grain districts the buildings were modified to suit
-conditions, but the practice of constructing many small structures was
-not changed.
-
-The buildings were erected without any comprehensive plan as to the
-farmstead as a whole. This necessitated many fences, gates, yards, and a
-maze of muddy byways in which the dock and other weeds, discarded
-implements, and the flotsam and jetsam of the farm found opportunity to
-grow or to rot. Do what one might, the farmstead could never be made to
-look neat and tidy. Not infrequently, twelve to fifteen separate
-structures may be seen on a farm of eighty acres. The farmers who own
-these structures are not to be criticised too severely. They inherited
-the method of building and often the buildings, and no one, so far, has
-deigned to give them help by treating such plebeian subjects as the
-improvement of unsightly stys, stables, sheds, and barns.
-
-If the concentrated method be adopted, in case of fire all is swept
-away; if the distributive, some of the buildings may be saved. There are
-so many things to be gained, however, by adopting the concentrated
-method that construction would better be along this line and then trust
-to the insurance company to make good the losses by fire, should any
-occur. Compare Figs. 114, 119.
-
-Farm laborers receive fully double the wages, except in harvest time,
-which they did fifty years ago; therefore, the barns should be planned
-with the view of economizing labor. This can best be secured by rearing
-a single structure, rather than several, for it is evident that if the
-live stock, tools, implements and provender be placed in juxtaposition,
-economy in performing the work about the buildings will be secured.
-However, it is often convenient to have a separate building open on one
-side for storing farm wagons and heavy implements and tools.
-
-Grain, hay and stover are all unloaded most economically by means of
-slings and hay fork, operated by horse-power, but the unloading by
-horse-power implies high barns, with mows measurably unobstructed by
-timbers. Economy of space also implies deep mows, since a mow twenty
-feet deep holds more than two mows ten feet deep. High, large buildings
-require far less outside boarding and roof than small, low, detached
-buildings which contain, together, the same storage capacity. Economy in
-construction and maintenance, convenience of temporarily sheltering and
-removing manures, ease of carrying on work in the building, and beauty,
-all indicate the wisdom of adopting the concentrated method in the
-construction of farm barns.
-
-Efforts have been made to economize in barn construction by adopting the
-octagon form. This form secures a greater enclosed area for a given
-surface covering than the square or rectangular form. But all of the
-angles in the frame are more expensive to make than are right angles. It
-requires more labor and time to saw off a timber at an angle of 35
-degrees than at right angles. True, this form lends itself to a roof
-structure free from obstructing timbers, but, on the other hand, it does
-not give opportunity for the placing of convenient tracks for elevating
-the provender. So far the pros and cons may be said to balance. It is
-only when the attempt is made to divide the octagon structure into
-stables and rooms, compartments and mows, that its inconvenient shape is
-fully realized. Everything is out of square. The divisions form obtuse
-and acute angles, or arcs of a circle, almost without number. All this
-implies extra expense in the internal construction and usually a great
-waste of space. The illustrations of these barns have a certain charm
-difficult to resist, but some of the most intelligent farmers who have
-made a study of the octagon barn and have used it, decide that
-rectangular barns are much to be preferred. Some who have built octagon
-barns speak well of them, but this might naturally be expected. A woman
-generally speaks well of her husband after she has secured him, however
-faulty he may be.
-
-
-LOCATION
-
-The location of the proposed structure should be considered with the
-most painstaking care before entering upon the construction of a new
-building or the remodeling of an old one. Too often a single idea
-dominates the location. Some thirty years since I decided to erect a
-large basement barn. The house, a modest, comfortable structure, was
-located at a suitable distance from the highway, on a gentle slope. To
-utilize the highway for driving the animals to and from pasture, and to
-save the use of the fourth of an acre of land and the building of some
-twenty rods of fence, the barn was located nearer the highway than the
-house. This necessitated locating the barnyard between the highway and
-the barn. I never discovered this foolish mistake till years afterwards,
-when age and study had improved my judgment and opportunity had been
-given for wide observation and comparison. Now when I revisit the farm
-it is all too plain as to where the barn should have been located.
-This large barn made the house appear much smaller than before, and from
-one approach the farm had the appearance of being untenanted, as the
-barn hid the house. It is humiliating, but how could I have known better
-at that time of life, with ideas of barn building inherited and with
-neither book nor teacher to guide me?
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 94. Too many barn roofs, and too near the house.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 95. How these barns may be moved and concentrated.]
-
-The barn should be located far enough from the house to prevent the
-aromas of the stables and kitchen from mingling, and at such a distance
-as not to seriously endanger either one, if the other should be
-destroyed by fire. If possible, the barn should be on lower ground than
-the house, that no wash or seepage from it may tend toward the house,
-and for other sanitary reasons. The lower level will assist to make the
-barns inconspicuous. One hundred feet is the minimum distance which
-should intervene between these inflammable and expensive structures,
-except in a very cold climate, where the house and the barn may be
-connected by a covered way. See Figs. 94 and 95. This way need not be
-expensive, and should be so constructed that it can be pulled down in a
-few minutes in case of fire. It need not be high, and the roof might
-pitch but one way and be composed, in part at least, of glass. If the
-entire roof was of glass one side of the covered walk might well be
-used in the spring for growing early vegetables. If the manure be
-properly cared for at the far end of the barn, good sanitary conditions
-would be preserved.
-
-The refuse of the stables, if left exposed at the barns in the summer,
-forms breeding ground for flies, which reach the house if it be near.
-The substitution of electric street cars, for horse cars which
-necessitated numerous stables, has noticeably diminished flies in the
-cities. There should be room between the house and barn for a score or
-more of large trees, which may serve, in part, to screen each building
-from the other in case of fire, to shade the walk between the two
-buildings, and, in part, the barn itself. No tree is better adapted for
-this purpose than the white elm. The open barnyard should, wherever
-possible, be discarded, for it tends to increase the wasting of manures
-and the cost of getting them to the field; to the multiplication of
-fences and flies, and to unnecessary exposure of animals. Why not
-substitute paddocks or small fields of a few acres for the wasteful,
-expensive barnyard? If the animals need exercise they should take it at
-suitable times in closely-sodded fields, or covered yards, rather than
-in confined barnyards filled with a mixture of straw, mud and manure. A
-few acres near the barn might be surrounded with a woven wire fence,
-which would serve admirably for an exercising yard. The sod on this
-small area might become seriously injured in a year or two, but the
-field would be enriched by the droppings of the animals. The field in
-such case could be plowed and the wire used to enclose another paddock.
-But it will be many years before the open barnyard can be, or will be,
-entirely abandoned. What may, and should be done immediately, is to
-place it at the rear, instead of at the front of the barn, and to cease
-using it for baptizing manures, and as a storage area for miscellaneous
-odds and ends. If some change is not made, the farm boy may find a
-chamber window from which a more restful and inspiring view may be
-secured than from the one through which he now views daily the evidences
-of thriftlessness and waste.
-
-
-PLANNING THE BARN
-
-Make a good study of many barns at short range; note what features are
-good, what faulty, what useless; by this means much will have been
-learned and many mistakes will be avoided. Decide approximately the
-capacity which will be required. First, draw a rectangular diagram of
-the barn, then proceed to the proposed location and take a seat; make a
-most careful study of the approach, the incline of the land, note where
-fences and gates will be necessary, where and how the water is to be
-introduced--in fact, take in the whole problem of the environment of the
-proposed structure. Then imagine that you see the barn, and that you
-have just arrived from town some stormy night with your wife and baby;
-in imagination help them out of the carriage. Imagine you have a span of
-young, restless horses which you have driven to get them used to city
-ways before selling them. That will make you think of a platform onto
-which the family may step from the carriage while you are holding the
-colts. Consider how many big doors you will have to open before the
-colts are made comfortable for the night. Are the democrat wagon and the
-colts to be kept on the same floor, or one up-stairs and the other down?
-Or is the carriage in one building situated four rods from the horses?
-How many gates and doors have you opened and closed since you arrived?
-Think it all over, and then go to the house and talk it over with your
-wife, for some day she may drive to town, and on her return find that
-both you and the farm hands are in the field, and that there is no one
-to help her put the team away. After imagination has pictured the
-conditions which are likely to prevail, then begin to cautiously modify
-the rectangular diagram; surround it with dotted lines, which may
-represent roads, fences, gates, lanes, and adjunct buildings. Then take
-a rest; lay the sketch away for a time; study barns in the neighborhood;
-council with the wife again, for she may have to go to the barn often.
-After a year of faithful and intelligent planning you may be able to
-place a well digested rough sketch of the proposed structure in the
-hands of a draughtsman.
-
-
-WATER SUPPLY
-
-It would seem to be unnecessary to repeat the axiom, “No water, no plant
-or animal life,” but so many buildings, both public and private, are
-located and constructed before the problem of supplying an ample,
-perennial supply of potable water is solved, that it seems necessary to
-briefly treat this subject.
-
-Several public institutions with which I have been familiar have erected
-expensive structures before supplying water for them. Three and
-sometimes five separate attempts were made to furnish water for the use
-of the plant, none of which were entirely successful.
-
-The amount of water needed and the conditions under which it must be
-secured are so variable that few specific directions can be given. One
-simple, certain and cheap way of securing water for the barn is usually
-neglected. In some sections of the South, by reason of peculiar
-geological formations, the practice of constructing pools or storage
-reservoirs has become common. A slight depression or draw or swale is
-selected and dammed by using the earth from the bottom of the proposed
-pool and from the higher land adjoining. No stone or wood is necessary
-to support the dam. The only precaution necessary is to have a broad
-base (see Fig. 7), and to provide sufficiently large outflows or
-spillways, one on either end of the dam, that the pool may never rise
-higher than within two feet from the top of the dam. The surface soil,
-if it contains much vegetable matter, should be scraped off a strip
-three to four feet wide and as long as the dam, and the depression
-filled with earth--clay is best--that contains little or no organic
-matter. If the bottom of the dam where it meets the normal earth is
-constructed with sods, or other material which will decay, in time the
-water will find its way through the porous earth.
-
-The pools of the South, to which reference has been made, sometimes have
-an extreme depth of 12 to 15 feet, and may cover a fraction of an acre
-or several acres. I have known one of these pools to furnish water for
-a hundred head of cattle during a long continued drought. It is
-difficult to explain why more pools, lakes and fish ponds are not
-constructed. Possibly the reasons are that there is a prejudice against
-them, and well there may be, since they are usually so shallow that the
-water becomes impure, and since it is not generally realized that a
-substantial dam can be erected by the use of earth alone. If it is
-thought advisable not to allow the animals to go to the pool, it may be
-fenced, since it is not expensive to lay a pipe in the dam, when it is
-being constructed, on a level with the bottom of the pool, the outer end
-of the pipe being furnished with a ball and cock to regulate the flow of
-water into the trough.
-
-Usually it is not advisable to build cisterns for storing water for barn
-use, since they are too expensive if built as large as needed. A cow
-requires from forty to eighty pounds of water daily in the summer. If
-sixty pounds be taken as the average, it will be seen that it would
-require a cistern of three hundred and fifty barrels capacity to supply
-a herd of fifty animals for one month. In some cases the water of a
-stream or well may be so highly charged with the products of magnesian
-limestone as to produce goitre, in which case soft water should be
-supplied for the horses.
-
-Streams or springs are often available for summer, but they seldom
-supply ideal water conditions in winter. Young animals, and especially
-cows in milk, should not be required to drink water at a low temperature
-or be forced to travel long distances for it in cold weather. The only
-really satisfactory method of supplying the domestic animals with water
-is to bring it into the barn, and if the water in the pipes is not under
-pressure, a small storage tank may be placed in a mow and surrounded by
-straw. Such storage tank may be built, if small, out of rough 2-inch
-plank, spiked together, or, if large, of 2- by 4-inch scantling, spiked
-flatwise one upon the other; in both cases the tank is lined with
-galvanized iron. All barns provided with steam boilers should also be
-provided with a few small steam pipes leading to the water boxes, that
-the drinking water of the animals may be raised in winter to 98° Fahr.
-
-Animals do not relish lukewarm water in the winter, but they really
-enjoy hot water. The economy and safety of using hot drinking water will
-justify the expense of providing it. This is especially true in the
-winter dairy and when horses have severe winter work. An overheated,
-tired horse may drink all the hot water he desires without danger. Water
-taken into the stomach at 40° Fahr. must absorb heat enough from the
-system to raise it to about 99°. To do this food must be burned, as
-literally as coal is burned in the boiler to heat water. It requires
-more units of heat to raise a pound of water one degree in temperature
-than any other substance except two or three of the gases.
-
-There are now so many styles of really good air motors or wind mills,
-that water from wells may be pumped at a minimum cost into storage
-tanks. There is no longer any excuse for pumping water by hand for any
-considerable number of animals, nor for compelling them to seek water in
-cold weather at some distant stream. As has been said, there are many
-ways of securing a supply of water for the barn. The details of
-accomplishing the results desired are many, but the result should always
-be the same: an abundant supply of water within the barn under more or
-less pressure. If this is not secured the plans of a barn, as a whole,
-are unsatisfactory.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVI
-
-_BUILDING THE BARN--THE BASEMENT_
-
-
-Squaring the foundation site is a simple operation, yet few are able to
-perform it, and it is seldom that a surveyor is at hand. Buildings are
-so generally placed with their fronts parallel to the highway or the
-private way, that the road may be assumed to be the base line. Four
-stakes set in the middle of the road, as shown in Fig. 96, establish the
-base line, from which is measured the distance from the road at which it
-is desired to place the building. The stakes A and B should be placed
-farther apart than the width of the front of the building; they are
-connected by a line which is parallel to the road and forms the
-permanent base line. Next the stakes C and D are placed, and also
-connected by a line. With a 10-foot pole, six feet are measured off on
-either line, beginning at the intersection of the lines, and eight feet
-on the other line. If the line C to D is at right angles to the line AB,
-the 10-foot measure will just reach from 6 to 8, since 6 multiplied by
-6, plus 8 multiplied by 8, equals 100, and the square root of 100 is
-10. Should the 10-foot measure be longer than from 6 to 8, the stake D
-is moved to the left until the pole reaches from 6 to 8; if the measure
-is too short to reach from 6 to 8, the stake is moved to the right. All
-of these measurements should be gone over two or three times, as in
-moving the stake the lines may stretch or shrink. Either a pin or a
-pencil mark may be used to indicate the measurements on the lines at 6
-and 8.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 96. Locating the barn.]
-
-If the building is to be 26 feet deep, that distance is measured on the
-line CD and the same distance from the line AB. Stakes are then driven
-and a line drawn from E to F, and in like manner a line is drawn from G
-to H. The work is verified by squaring the last angle as in the first
-case. The eight dots represent stakes driven in even with the surface
-of the ground, at just 10 feet from the corners. Since it will be
-necessary to remove the lines before the horse scraper can be used in
-excavating, and as the construction stakes at the corners will be
-disturbed, the short stakes become necessary that the lines may be
-restored as the work proceeds and the excavation kept square and true.
-It will be seen that a line drawn from A to B will restore the base
-line, and in like manner the other lines may be quickly reproduced. It
-will be necessary, too, to restore these lines before the foundation
-wall is begun. By “plumbing” downward from the restored lines, other
-lines may be placed in the bottom of the excavation, which will be
-duplicates of those first drawn.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 97. The original incline or slope is too steep.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 98. The original slope is not steep enough.]
-
-
-EXCAVATION
-
-Barns are now usually built with a basement story. This implies that the
-building is to be placed on more or less sloping ground, in which case
-the removal of some earth will be necessary. The basement story should
-extend well above ground, to economize construction and to secure dry
-walls and floors. It is a great mistake to place animals in cellars. The
-dotted line in Fig. 97 shows an incline rather too steep; and in Fig.
-98 one that is not steep enough. It is better to place the barn where
-wanted, even if the incline has to be changed, than to place it in an
-unhandy position that the best slope may be secured. It is not difficult
-to construct a basement barn on level or nearly level land. In the
-latter case, all of the basement walls may be of wood, since provision
-can be made for a driveway to the second floor by means of a retaining
-wall built some ten or twelve feet from the barn; the space between the
-wall and the barn may be bridged (Fig. 99). Cast-off steel or iron rails
-form durable and excellent sleepers for such a bridge, the plank being
-kept in place by spiking two-inch pieces, one on either end on top of
-the bridge plank. In case no retaining wall is built, and the earth lies
-immediately against the basement wall (Fig. 100), dampness may be
-largely prevented from reaching the stable and the animals by building a
-second wall across the side or end of the barn, inclosing a space or
-room for roots immediately under the driveway. The floor over this
-root-cellar should be deafened to prevent frost entering from above
-(Fig. 101). The second wall will remain comparatively dry, since no
-damp earth rests against it. This location of the root-cellar makes it
-convenient for unloading the roots through trap doors in the floor,
-which are kept partly open for a time after the roots have been put in,
-to prevent them from heating.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 99. Bridge into the barn.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 100. An embankment entrance, with retaining walls
-holding the corners.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 101. Deafening or packing the floor, to keep out
-cold.]
-
-
-WALLS
-
-The foundation walls for barns need not necessarily extend below frost,
-if the earth is as dry as it should be; for a slight settling of the
-building does not result in injury, as in the plastered house. All that
-is necessary is to make the walls broad and strong and to have them well
-drained.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 102. Good and faulty construction in a wall.]
-
-Masons understand the necessity of bonding stone walls, and know how to
-perform the work; but too often they are careless, and therefore need to
-be supervised. In Fig. 102, a well bonded wall is shown at the left end,
-and one imperfectly bonded at the other. If the wall should chance to
-pull endwise a crack would appear to the right of the dotted line, since
-in the seven layers shown there is but one stone, A, that has sufficient
-contact to bond the two stones upon which it rests. The wall should also
-have its face and back side tied together or bonded, or it may split
-apart near the middle. Two walls, one of which is properly bonded, the
-other is not, are shown in Fig. 103. One layer only of stone can be
-shown in the diagram, but it will readily be seen that if the course
-which is placed on the one shown is laid like it,--that is, if the
-faulty bonding near the back side be continued for several courses--the
-wall will pull apart. The small, narrow stones have been placed at the
-back side of the wall, and the good stones in the front of the wall;
-this is all very well, but some long stones should reach from the back
-side of the wall to near the face, if the bond is made good. No stone
-should reach entirely through the wall, since in cold weather the frost
-will follow through such stones from face to rear.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 103. Poorly and properly bonded.]
-
-There is no economy in using mortar which is poorly mixed or that which
-contains too much sand and too little lime or cement. If the lime or
-cement, that is, the binding material, does not come into immediate
-contact with every particle of sand, then the mortar will be weak. If
-not enough of the cement or lime is used, the bond will also be weak.
-For stone walls _not more_ than four parts of sand to one of cement or
-lime should be used. If the sand be sharp and clean a much stronger
-mortar is secured than when it is composed in part of rotten sand mixed
-with vegetable matter. If the materials are good and they are mixed in
-the right proportion, still good mortar will not be secured unless they
-be _thoroughly mixed_. The best masons use the least mortar, while poor
-masons are wasteful of it.
-
-The prices given below are not applicable to the whole United States,
-but they may serve to decide the relative proportions of sand and lime
-which should be used, and the kind of lime which can be used most
-economically. Water lime retails at about eighty cents per barrel, and
-three parts of sand and one of lime, if the latter is fresh, should make
-a strong mortar. Water lime deteriorates rapidly with age, while the
-higher priced cements deteriorate quite slowly. Stone lime should be
-fresh and in no case air-slaked. It costs about one dollar a barrel and
-may be mixed three of sand to one of lime. Rosendale cement costs about
-$1.25 per barrel, and may be mixed four to one. Portland cement costs
-about $3 per barrel, and if used instead of the cheaper materials named
-above, may be mixed five to one. It should always be used for pointing
-walls and in the construction of cemented floors, in which case it
-should be mixed two or three to one. All this presupposes that the
-mortar is so thoroughly mixed that a lime film will surround every
-particle of sand.
-
-The cement and water lime is mixed with the sand before it is wet, and
-this dry mixing should be most thorough, as the strength of the mortar
-is largely dependent on the uniform incorporation of the cement with the
-sand. This mixing can be much more perfectly done when the material is
-dry than after it is wet. Other precautions are necessary. The mortar
-should contain the minimum of water which will permit it to work freely,
-and when the mortar is used it should be solidified, that is, pushed
-together by means of a trowel or by the material which is laid upon it.
-In case of cement or grout floors, the material should be pounded
-thoroughly. The object of all this is to compel each particle of sand to
-firmly touch other particles. The tendency to “water-log” mortar, to
-save labor in spreading it, is too common.
-
-If, from any cause, the basement walls must be largely of stone, the
-tendency for them to gather moisture may be somewhat overcome by
-plastering them with cement mortar, or studding may be placed against
-the walls upon which unmatched boards may be nailed (Fig. 104). The warm
-air of the stable cannot then reach the relatively cold walls, and
-little condensation will appear on the boards, since they are always
-more nearly the temperature of the stable than are the stone.
-
-Wooden basement walls are preferable in all ways to those constructed of
-stone, grout or brick, wherever the earth does not rest against them.
-An excellent method of constructing the walls of the basement story is
-shown in a section of the first story, Fig. 104. The studding should be
-2 × 6 inches, with short pieces of 2 × 4 placed edgewise between them to
-serve as outside nailing girts.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 104. Lining the basement wall.]
-
-A broad, steep water-table is placed just above the upper end of the
-studding to receive the boarding above the basement and to improve the
-outside appearance of the building. After the outside boarding of the
-basement and the window frames are placed, the inside of the wall is
-boarded horizontally with unmatched seasoned lumber, and as the boards
-are being put on, the hollow wall space is filled with short straw or
-straw and chaff. This construction has proved to be the most
-satisfactory of any tried. The wall is cheap, durable, dry, excludes
-the cold, and still allows a little fresh air to enter the stables
-gradually. Objection has been made to this construction on the ground
-that it harbors mice and rats. After having used buildings with walls of
-this character for a quarter of a century, I must say that the objection
-is not well taken.
-
-
-FLOORS
-
-The floor of the first story should be partly of wood and partly of
-cement or of brick.
-
-All voidings of the animals should be removed from the stable at least
-once a day. Allowing the manure to drop through gratings, with the view
-of letting it remain there more than one day, is decidedly wrong, and
-any arrangement which does not admit of the thorough cleaning and airing
-of the stable daily is objectionable. Nor is the practice of washing out
-the stables economical, since it necessitates great waste of manure or
-too great expense in caring for and removing the diluted excreta. If the
-floors and stable be well cleaned with shovel and broom, and dusted with
-gypsum, dry earth, sawdust, or chaffy material, good sanitary conditions
-will be secured easily and cheaply. While the stables are being cleaned
-and treated they should also be aired. The animals meantime should be
-allowed to stretch their limbs, by which it is not meant that they
-should be hooking one another around a muddy barnyard, or running foot
-races up and down the lane. On the one hand, it may be all well enough
-for those who sell animals at fabulous prices and have long bank
-accounts, to procure water-proof blankets for them, and to accompany
-them on their regular daily “constitutional.” The other extreme is where
-the animals are fastened by the head or neck by contrivances not always
-comfortable, and left standing for six months without being removed from
-their stall. Is there not a happy medium between these two extremes?
-
-[Illustration:
-
- Top left rooms: 4′ × 10′ and 10′ × 11′.
- Midway width: 10′.
- Over-all width: 32′.
- Bottom left room: 10′ × 11′.
- Width of stalls: 3′ 6″.
- Over-all length: 80′.
- Room central bottom: 3′ × 6′.
-
-Fig. 105. Basement cattle stable. At the right is a
-cross-section of the stable, showing the convex cement midway.]
-
-Animals are more comfortable on a wooden floor than on one built of
-either brick, cement, or asphalt. Notwithstanding this, most of the
-floor of the basement should be constructed of more durable material
-than wood. If the animals are kept fully bedded, as they usually are
-not, then it would be best to discard wooden floors entirely. Fig. 105
-shows a basement floor designed for cattle. The part where the animals
-stand is of wood, the balance of hard or pavement brick set edgewise on
-a bed of sand. The cement or grout floor may be substituted for the
-brick if desired. If the cracks between the bricks in the floor are
-filled with thin cement mortar, the floor becomes water-tight, though
-this is not necessary except in the gutters. The ground underneath the
-wooden floor should be leveled and pounded, and covered with a thin
-layer of salt to preserve the wood. The plank which forms the side of
-the drip should be of oak or some other durable wood. The 2 × 4 pieces
-to which the floor is nailed when first built, need not be replaced when
-they rot, since the dirt underneath will be smooth and hard. The large
-nails which fasten the floor to the oak piece at the rear and the
-mangers combined will suffice to keep the floor plank in place; the only
-object in placing the nailing pieces at first is to facilitate
-construction. The plank of the floor should be of some uniform standard
-width, as 8, 10, or 12 inches wide, that repairs may be made quickly
-when the floor gives way.
-
-
-STALLS
-
-When a dairy of some size is kept, the cows may be arranged in double
-rows. Fifty cows could be crowded into a barn 80 × 32 feet. But fifty
-cows of 800 pounds each weigh 40,000 pounds; and if the stable is ten
-feet from the top of the lower floor to the bottom of the upper floor,
-it would contain only 25,600 cubic feet of air space. This is
-manifestly too little, as 1 cubic foot of air space should be allowed
-for each pound of live animal. Many stables, in fact most stables,
-provide but one-half of a cubic foot of air space for each pound of live
-animal kept in them; in such case it is impossible to keep the air
-approximately pure or the stable decently sweet. To realize what this
-means, suppose a bedchamber be constructed for a man weighing 160
-pounds. If one foot of air space be provided for each pound of live
-weight, the chamber might be built 4 feet wide, 7 feet long and 6 feet
-high. This would give 168 cubic feet of air space. If the bedchamber be
-made proportionally as large as are most cow stables, its dimensions
-would be 3 feet wide, 6¹⁄₂ feet long and 4¹⁄₂ feet high. To insure good
-air in such a sleeping room one side of it would have to be knocked out.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 106. A swing window for stable.]
-
-If one or two box-stalls and one feed-bin are provided in an 80 ×
-32-foot barn, with 12-foot ceilings (Fig. 105), and room for a hallway,
-3 feet wide, be left at one end of the building, it will then
-accommodate thirty-nine animals. Each one would have 800 cubic feet of
-air space, the required amount. The first story of most cow stables is
-about seven feet. It is seen how easily the stable may be overcrowded. A
-high story gives opportunity for long windows and for placing them well
-up from the floor, and for good ventilation. If the ceiling is to be
-reduced in height, which it well may be, the building should be
-proportionately longer.
-
-A section of a part of the inside of the wall with swing windows is
-shown in Fig. 106. The windows should be of one sash and hung near the
-middle, as shown, by means of a piece of iron ³⁄₈ of an inch in diameter
-and 4 inches long. A hole for the reception of the iron, and of the same
-size, is made through the window sash and extends into the jambs of the
-frame about one inch. A button on the side of the jamb is used to hold
-the window partly open when required. This allows cool air to pass in at
-the bottom and the warm, vitiated air to pass out at the top in small,
-broken streams. It will be noticed that in case of a storm no rain or
-strong current of air can reach the stable. Usually too few and too
-small windows are provided, through which the manure from the stables is
-not unfrequently thrown.
-
-Some additional ventilators should be provided; these may consist of
-wooden tubes extending from the ceiling through the roof, so constructed
-that the foul air may enter them. They need not be numerous or large, as
-the windows when slightly open form excellent ventilators. Two things
-should be kept prominently in view in ventilation: first, no strong
-draughts of air, or, as a distinguished professor puts it, “great gobs
-of raw air,” should be introduced; second, ventilators should ventilate
-both at the ceiling and the floor, as in these two places will be found
-the most impure air. Ample air space is most economically secured by
-high ceilings, rather than by horizontal enlargement. The air can be
-kept reasonably pure by the introduction, at several points near the
-lower floor, of small volumes of slowly moving fresh air.
-
-Two stairs should lead from the basement to the second floor in all
-large barns to economize time; the openings in the upper floor had best
-be provided with flap doors, which can be left open in muggy, warm
-weather to assist ventilation, or closed in cold weather to economize
-warmth.
-
-Many varieties of stanchion for confining cattle in stalls are in use,
-some really good, but mostly defective in one or more respects. It would
-take too much space to describe all of the various contrivances and to
-illustrate them and to call attention to their good and objectionable
-points. Some confine the animals too closely, others give too much
-freedom and allow them to become soiled; some are too expensive, and
-some are not durable. I shall describe but one kind of fastening and
-manger which, after trying numerous patent arrangements, has been found
-to be excellent. It is quite possible that there are better ones. The
-one thing which has been learned about stanchions by experimentation and
-observation is that they may be so complicated and handy as to be
-unhandy.
-
-The size and character of the “drip,” the comfort and cleanliness of the
-animals, the ease of fastening and unfastening, the noise or quiet of
-the stable, and the effect on the animals, should all be considered.
-While using one stanchion, the animals became wild and made frantic
-efforts to pull their heads out when the attendant approached to
-unfasten them. As soon as another fastening was introduced they became
-docile. With one stanchion they would lie down more frequently than with
-another. With one kind of manger the animals are tempted to hook one
-another, and in reaching for food would fall upon their knees and
-injure themselves. Most of the contrivances were not easily adjustable,
-so that when the size, or rather length, of the animals varied the
-standing room was either too short or too long. Some had posts to
-sustain the stanchions; these intercepted the light and prevented an
-unobstructed survey of the animal. They gave the stables a forbidding,
-dark, prison-like appearance.
-
-The individual stalls should be, for smallish animals, 3 feet 6 inches
-from center to center, and 3 feet 8 inches for larger animals. The
-partitions between the animals need extend only far enough backward and
-upward to prevent them from reaching each other with their horns. When
-dishorning is practiced the partitions may be lower than when it is not.
-
-
-MANGERS AND TIES
-
-The cross section of a floor and the skeleton of a bracket upon which
-the mangers are built are shown in Fig. 107. The mangers of cattle
-stables should be easily movable. This can be accomplished in the
-following way: Construct one more bracket than the number of stalls
-required in the line of mangers. Place one of the brackets at the end
-and one intermediate between every pair of stalls; fasten them lightly
-to the floor with nails, which should be removed when the mangers are
-completed. Fig. 107 also shows the cross section of the brackets, with
-bottom, front, and back side of the manger placed.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 107. The building of a manger.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 108. Newton cattle tie.]
-
-The Newton cattle tie (Fig. 108), though rather expensive, has proved
-most satisfactory. It is made of one piece of round, durable wood, as
-ash, about 1¹⁄₄ inches in diameter and bent at the corners, and is
-furnished with a flat ring which encircles the bow at the middle, to
-which is attached a swivel; to this is fastened a rope to encircle the
-animal’s neck, the rope being furnished with suitable fastenings at the
-ends. The bows are attached to the divisions on a level or a little
-above the animal’s throat when standing; when lying down the bow rests
-on top of the manger, which is about 1¹⁄₂ feet lower than the ends of
-the bow. It will be seen that since the bow describes an arc of a circle
-in passing downward, it tends to pull the animal towards the manger when
-it lies down, and hence away from the soiled drip.
-
-In midsummer window curtains, drawn during milking time, serve to quiet
-the flies and the cows, as does also a light spraying of the animals
-with kerosene before they are turned out in the morning. A blanket
-tacked over the entrance door to the cow stable will brush most of the
-flies off the cattle as they enter.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVII
-
-_BUILDING THE BARN--THE SUPERSTRUCTURE_
-
-
-The kind of superstructure best to be adopted for the barn depends on
-many conditions. The balloon construction may be used for small barns,
-but large ones naturally require large timbers or many small ones, hence
-the old style of frame-work, with some modification, is usually adopted.
-In modern barn buildings the main timbers are reduced in size, more and
-lighter braces are used in lieu of the large mortised and pinned braces.
-They are cut with smooth, angled ends and spiked to posts and beams. A
-brace of 2 × 4 inches is inexpensive, and allows of following the old
-rule of placing a brace in every angle made by the principal timbers.
-
-Another modification should be adopted: the joists, so far as possible,
-should rest on sills and beams and not be gained into them. It is unwise
-and unscientific to cut gains for the reception of the ends of the
-joists at considerable expense, since such gains weaken both joists and
-sills. In most cases the joists may be placed on top of the sills,
-thereby obviating the necessity of framing, while preserving the
-strength of sill and joist entire. When it is desirable, as it often is
-in small structures, to have the top of the sill or beam coincide with
-the tops of the joists, it is cheaper and better to use a rather light
-timber and fortify it by nailing upon it 2 × 4-inch studding (Fig. 109),
-thereby avoiding the necessity of cutting gains, while giving additional
-strength to the timber which supports the joists.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 109. Laying the joist.]
-
-The joists in barns should be bridged as in houses. That part of the
-barn floor which is above the root-cellar should be deafened, as shown
-in Fig. 101. Cleats nailed on the sides of the joists serve to support
-the short boards which carry the deafening material. The 2-inch space
-between the false and the true floor is filled with mortar composed of
-about five or six parts of sand to one of lime or cement. If all of the
-floor driven upon above the basement is deafened, it will deaden sound
-and promote warmth in the lower story.
-
-While the balloon frame has been almost universally adopted in the
-construction of houses, it is only recently that large barn frames have
-been successfully constructed on the same general principles. The plank
-frame has now been so modified and improved that it serves well for the
-largest farm building. All of the frame timbers are sawed two inches
-thick and of variable widths, as required. Instead of uniting the
-timbers by means of mortise and tenon, they are fastened with wire
-spikes. This new method secures as strong a frame as the old, and saves
-from 30 to 40 per cent of material, while the plank frame is more easily
-and cheaply erected than the large timbered frame is. The 2-inch frame
-material can be so placed as to direction and position that it will
-secure the maximum of strength with the minimum of lumber.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 110. Barn frame.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 111. Cross-section of the frame.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 112. Built-up post.]
-
-The illustration (Fig. 110) shows one end of a 67 × 97-ft. barn, posts
-18 ft. long, recently erected at the Pennsylvania Agricultural College.
-A cross-section at one side of the driving floor is also shown (Fig.
-111). A cross-section of a built-up post is seen in Fig. 112. It will be
-seen that the building is firmly tied together, the roof fully
-supported, and that no timbers obstruct the unloading of provender by
-horse power. This new method of constructing large frames is so little
-known and the principles involved are so valuable that I append a foot
-note at the risk of being misunderstood.[7] Since long, large timbers
-have become expensive, it is probable that the plank frame will become
-as common in the near future, in barn building, as the balloon frame is
-in house building.
-
- [7] Shawver Bros., Bellefontaine, Ohio, furnish models and bills of
- material for plank barns at a low cost.
-
-It is frequently convenient to place horses or other animals on the
-second floor above other animals, or above a covered yard, in which case
-a tight floor may be made as follows (Fig. 113): Lay an unmatched, rough
-inch floor; upon this place strong, tarred building-paper, with joints
-well lapped. Saw and prepare the 2-inch planks which are to form the
-floors. For every four hundred square feet of floor, procure one barrel
-of hard Trinidad asphalt and three gallons of gas tar. A large iron
-kettle may be used for heating and mixing the material, which should be
-in the proportion of about one to ten. With an ax remove the barrel, and
-chop off and place in the kettle pieces of asphalt until it is not much
-more than one-half full, then add the due proportion of gas tar. The
-kettle should be placed in a rude arch and at a little distance from the
-building. By means of a slow fire heat the material. When all is ready,
-dip the hot mixture into a galvanized iron pail and pour it in a small
-stream on the paper, spreading to the width of the plank intended to be
-laid, by means of a shingle or paddle. Lay the plank in the hot
-material, being careful that when it is spiked down the hot asphalt does
-not fly up into the face. Then proceed to lay other planks in like
-manner. Finally pour some of the material into the cracks if there
-should be any.[8]
-
- [8] A floor laid, as described, seventeen years ago, is still in good
- repair.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 113. Making a barn floor.]
-
-Should the floor become worn in time and need repairing, even up the
-surface by spreading thin cement mortar upon it, and upon this lay a
-second plank floor. The cement mortar will assist in making the floor
-water-tight and in preventing dry rot. Barn floors which have become
-much worn from driving over them may be treated in like manner. Where it
-seems advisable to place cows on the second floor, and over a manure
-cellar, the following plan may be adopted: A tight floor, as in the
-former case, is built with drips as shown; a small hole is placed
-between each pair of stalls, through which the voidings of the animals
-may be dropped into the story below, the floor of which is concreted.
-The objection might be raised that the manure underneath the animals
-would be objectionable; but since the floor of the stable described is
-tight when the openings in the drip are closed, and the story below is
-well lighted and ventilated, the objection does not hold good.
-
-As far as possible, horses should stand with their heads away from the
-windows, as draughts of air and glaring sunlight are trying to their
-eyes. A few box stalls are convenient, and assist in providing the two
-cubic feet of air space which should be allowed for each pound of live
-weight in the horse barn. The stable should be so situated that the
-fumes of ammonia arising from it cannot reach the harness and carriages,
-if they are highly polished and expensive. The horse stable may often be
-placed on the second floor of the wing, as it brings it on a level with
-the main driving floor and near to where the wagons are likely to be
-kept. The story beneath the horses makes an acceptable covered yard. An
-office, which may be warmed, and a repair room should be provided in one
-corner of the barn or in a small detached building near to it.
-
-If the farm is ample, and large amounts of hay and grain are to be
-stored, instead of building a wagon house, the main barn might be
-extended twenty feet, more or less, in length. This additional room may
-be used for carriages and light harness in part, and in part for the
-storage of grain, meal, and the like. The space underneath this room
-would serve to enlarge the cow stable. The place for washing carriages
-might also be located on the lower floor, where it would serve for
-storing the milk wagon as well, and the space above it could be devoted
-to storing hay and the like. Barn windows should have small panes of
-glass, as the cross bars of the windows serve not only to hold the glass
-but as fenders also. Since the glass in barn windows is likely to be
-broken, the cost of repairs is reduced to a minimum if the panes are
-small.
-
-A cupola, if it is large and well proportioned, may add beauty to the
-barn and serve to ventilate the mows, thereby making them cooler for the
-workmen than they otherwise would be. It may also give opportunity for
-lighting the mows and the floors, thereby avoiding the necessity of
-windows at the side of the mows, where they are likely to be broken and
-where they are covered as soon as the barn is partly filled.
-
-Hay and grain contain 20 to 25 per cent of moisture when stored, and
-hence tend to become warm. The hot, moist air, due to this heating,
-ascends to the roof or cupola and forms an easier passage to the earth
-for electrical discharges than the normal air of the building does.
-Thunder storms prevail largely about the time barns are filled, hence
-they should be provided with good lightning rods, that an easier and
-safer way may be provided for the discharges than by the ascending warm,
-moist air of the building. (See lightning rods, Chap. XX.)
-
-Barns not more than sixty feet wide may be covered by self-supporting
-roofs. The curb or gambrel form is the best. If the gables are clipped,
-the cost will not be materially increased, while the structure will be
-much improved in looks. Barns should have strong, wide, projecting
-roofs; a few extra rows of shingles at the eaves will serve to protect
-the outside covering and the framework, and will improve the looks of
-the structure. Should it be decided to paint the barn, an ample
-projection will greatly reduce the expense of keeping the paint
-presentable. Financially speaking, it does not pay to paint the barn
-unless the boarding is placed horizontally. The boarding of many
-unpainted barns is still in a good state of preservation, although they
-were built more than three-fourths of a century ago, and had roofs
-projecting but a few inches over sides and ends. Protected by a roof
-projection of one to two feet, rough, vertical barn boards may last for
-one to two hundred years without paint. It may be said, then, that
-properly constructed barns are painted to improve their looks and not to
-preserve them. When the barns are well removed from the house and
-virtually hidden by trees, they may be left unpainted, but where they
-are conspicuous they should be painted, that the barn may not mar the
-beauty of the home. The oxide of iron, which usually has a red or
-reddish tinge, mixed with pure oil, forms a most desirable and
-satisfactory barn paint. (See Painting the House, Chap. IX.)
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVIII
-
-_REMODELING OLD BARNS_
-
-
-It is more difficult to remodel old barns than to build new ones. If the
-attempt be made to unite several of the detached buildings with the view
-of making them into one symmetrical structure, much study will be
-required. The frames of the old buildings are so strong and durable that
-they should not be thrown aside as useless until it is certain that to
-utilize them would be more expensive than to tear them down and erect
-others of new material. Those massive oak sills and posts and poplar
-swing-beams have for me a meaning and charm which is lacking in the
-light plank and balloon frame constructed of knotty, wind-shaken hemlock
-or some other cheap wood. It needs no argument to prove that the
-numerous detached rural buildings so often seen on the farm should be
-remodeled; but how? To illustrate, let the buildings shown in Fig. 114,
-which is from a photograph, be taken. Move the four largest buildings to
-some suitable site without taking the frames down, and out of the
-timbers of the other structures build a basement story. It will take
-just one-half as much material to board the new structure as the four
-old ones, plus that required to fill the gaps where the old structures
-do not join (see plan, Fig. 115). These openings, eight and twelve feet,
-are all so short that the frames may be made continuous by means of
-light pieces of material, which will serve for nailing girts. When the
-old buildings have been united, some of the inside posts may be in
-inconvenient positions. If so, trusses appropriately placed in the mow
-story will permit the removal of the obstructing post, as shown in Figs.
-116 and 117.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 114. The scattered buildings on a farm. The profit
-of the farm is absorbed in doing the chores.]
-
-If a steep curb roof, which may be self-supporting (Fig. 118), be
-adopted, the remodeled structure (Fig. 119) will have more than three
-times the available space that the four old structures had. It is
-probable that there would be nearly enough dimension stuff in the seven
-other small structures to construct the basement story.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 115. Plan for condensing the buildings shown in Fig.
-114.]
-
-But it may chance that no basement story is wanted. If so, the building
-might be arranged as before, or two more of the small structures might
-be united to the four larger ones which it was proposed to use in the
-former case. The barn would then present a rather low appearance; but if
-the peaks of the curb roof were properly treated, that is, clipped (Fig.
-120), the structure would not be void of beauty. The rebuilt structure,
-in any case, should be placed on continuous walls, not on stone piers.
-If the posts of the old structures are of unequal length, the wall which
-supports those having the shorter posts may be built higher than for
-those having the longer posts, provided, however, there is not too great
-a difference in the length of the posts of the several small structures.
-If there are four or more feet difference, it would then be best to
-splice the short posts.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 116. Trussing where a post is removed.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 117. A trussed frame, where a post is removed.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 118. Old style of roof below, and new style curb
-roof above.]
-
-The first story in most of the old barns is entirely too low. This may
-be remedied by building the outside supporting walls of the proposed
-remodeled building two to three feet above the level of the ground. This
-will add as much to the lower story as the wall is above the ground,
-less the room required for placing the basement floor. If treated in
-this manner the old inside sills, sleepers, and joists should be removed
-and the inside post supported on stone or brick piers. All this will
-give opportunity to construct the basement floors on the ground, or near
-to it, and of such shape and material as the new plans call for. In
-this case the floor might well be made of grout, since lumber is
-expensive, and an effort should be made to build permanent and durable
-structures. If stable floors are placed well up from the ground and have
-numerous cracks between the planks, they are extremely uncomfortable for
-the animals. They are, perhaps, the most uncomfortable of all floors, as
-the air finds access to the stable through the floor, and it is nearly
-impossible to keep such stables comfortable in cold weather. Such
-construction of floors is also wasteful of manures, tends to produce
-“scratches” and other foot and leg diseases in horses, and is unsanitary
-and altogether undesirable.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 119. This shows the farmstead in Fig. 114, after the
-barns are gathered in.]
-
-Finally, it may be said that when these separate structures are treated
-in this inexpensive manner without added basement, the available
-capacity of the building would be double that of the old ones, the time
-of performing the work in the barns would be greatly diminished, and
-the discomfort of both man and beast would be ameliorated. For the sake
-of the farm boy and for the animal which he cares for, to say nothing of
-economy, beauty and neatness, may I not ask those who have these
-scattered, unhandy, uncomfortable barns, to study well the illustrations
-given, which show the old and the new arrangement?
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 120. Treatment of the gable.]
-
-The accompanying illustration (Fig. 121) of English farm buildings may
-be of interest, though this style of barn and the arrangement would not
-be suitable in America, with its rigorous climate and expensive farm
-labor.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 121. English farmsteading plan.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIX
-
-_OUTBUILDINGS AND ACCESSORIES_
-
-
-There are various farm buildings which are better when more or less
-detached from the main barn; and some of these may now be mentioned.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 122. A poultry establishment sufficient for 150
-hens.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 123. A moveable coop.]
-
-
-POULTRY HOUSES
-
-Until recently comparatively few persons have been financially
-successful in the poultry business when large numbers of fowls were kept
-in close quarters, as the many abandoned dilapidated yard fences and
-buildings testify. The reason for such failures was due, usually, to
-allowing too many fowls to run in one flock. It takes a genius to see
-and note the conditions of each individual animal once daily in a flock
-of several hundred birds. Break the flock up into several small ones,
-each of uniform size and character, and the individual fowl may then be
-more easily noted. A single diseased bird, if not removed, may serve to
-inoculate a whole flock with some contagious disease. If the flock
-contains but twenty to thirty individuals, the chance of discovering a
-drooping bird is greatly increased. This indicates that the poultry
-house or houses should be easily divided into rather small compartments.
-Poultry houses usually are about 12 feet wide and not more than 30 to 40
-feet long. If more room is wanted than one house furnishes, another
-structure should be erected some little distance from any other one.
-This will give better opportunity to arrange for large runs or yards
-than does one long, continuous building. I have yet to see a large
-poultry establishment furnished with yards as large as they should be,
-and I have seen but few yards which were properly or fully shaded. The
-runs should be large and relatively narrow, and set to fruit trees. The
-plum is best, and may be set the usual distance apart. The trees should
-be sprayed and cared for as in well kept orchards, since the fruit may
-chance to be more profitable than the poultry. For the health of the
-fowls and the welfare of the trees, clean culture of the runs should be
-adopted. In the case of poultry buildings, the distributive method of
-construction should be adopted rather than the concentrated one. If the
-undertaking is begun with a well matured plan, these several small
-structures may not be unsightly when viewed as a whole. An illustration
-is given of a modest poultry plant large enough for 150 hens and 500
-chicks, provided, however, that most of the chicks are sold when from
-three to six months old (Fig. 122). These structures are built on grout
-foundation walls to exclude vermin and moisture. The floors are of wood,
-the sills and plates 2 × 4 inches. The boarding is vertical and double,
-with paper between the two boardings. The outside boards are planed and
-battened; the roof boards, which are laid close together, are covered
-with paper and then shingled. The windows provide for light and, in
-part, for ventilation. These structures are dry on the inside, and the
-temperature, though not always above the freezing point in cold
-weather, is comfortable. The buildings might be reduced in number or in
-size, except the brooder house, and yet provide for the same number of
-birds, if movable coops for the smaller chickens were provided. The
-illustration (Fig. 123) shows a durable, light, movable coop large
-enough for twenty half pound chicks. The coop was designed for use on
-the lawn. It is inexpensive, and protects the chicks from all their
-ordinary enemies, both day and night. It weighs but 75 pounds, and can
-be moved easily by a child by means of a strap attached to one end. When
-used on the lawn, the coop should be moved and cleaned at least once
-daily, as fresh pasture for the chicks is thereby provided, injury to
-the grass prevented, the lawn being benefited by the excrements. The
-coop shown is 4 × 8 feet and 20 inches high, unfloored except the
-covered section, which has a tight floor, and roosts and suitable
-wooden and screen doors. A brood of chicks in such a coop would form
-superior facilities for nature-study work.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 124. A large portable coop.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 125. Bracing the corners of the frame.]
-
-When poultry-raising is carried on on a large scale, the movable coops
-might be built 12 × 6 or 16 × 8 feet (Fig. 124), the latter the largest
-size which is easily movable without the aid of a horse. The corners of
-the sills should be mitered and held together by triangular pieces (Fig.
-125). These coops will be found to be entirely satisfactory when used in
-a pasture or grass paddock near the chicken house. While experimenting
-with them, it was found that the birds did better when as many as thirty
-or more chicks were assigned to each large coop than when kept in the
-large, grassless runs.
-
-The following bill of particulars may be of assistance in the
-construction of a lawn chicken-coop:
-
- Sills 1 × 4 inches.
- Posts 2 × 2 inches, 20 inches long.
- Braces 1 × 1 inch.
- Plates 1 × 2 inches.
-
-The covered part of the coop is made of ³⁄₈-inch matched and beaded
-hard pine; the floor of any light wood ¹⁄₂-inch or ³⁄₄-inch, matched,
-but not beaded.
-
-
-PIGGERIES
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 126. Temporary shelter for a brood sow.]
-
-A piggery of any considerable size is the most difficult to plan of all
-farm structures. One of two methods may be adopted in the East with
-fairly satisfactory results. If there are woods and some pasture land
-adjoining or near to the barns, cheap separate pens (Fig. 126), one for
-each brood animal, may be built near the border of the wood or on the
-edge of it. There need be little more than a slanting roof, with the
-triangular corners at the ends boarded to keep out the wind. The earth
-forms a most comfortable bed if kept dry and covered thinly with leaves
-or straw. Of course, these pens are not suitable for brood animals
-farrowing during the winter months. Where but one litter of pigs is
-raised annually, there is little difficulty; if two litters a year be
-desired, the first one should be farrowed in April or May, and the other
-in September or October. In either case these cheap detached pens may be
-not only satisfactory, but they will serve to fit into a system of
-pig-raising which may be carried on at the minimum of labor and expense
-and supplementary foods. By means of a tank or barrel mounted on wheels
-the animals may be fed, either once or twice daily, in large troughs
-placed in the pasture. This system presupposes ample areas of grass and
-woodland, which should furnish not only a healthful run for the animals
-but much food for them.
-
-Usually the mistake is made of confining pigs in small pens, which may
-or may not have attached to them small yards or runs. These are always
-devoid of grass, and offensively dusty and filthy a part of the year,
-and an impassable mud hole at other times. Wherever circumstances will
-permit, there should be allotted to each brood animal and her offspring
-one-fourth acre of land. Two small fields might be provided, one of
-which would serve for pasture ground for all the animals, while the
-other would be used for raising crops for soiling the pigs or for other
-purposes. When the lot became fertilized from the droppings of the
-animals and the grass injured, it should be plowed, cropped and seeded,
-the animals being pastured meantime in the other field.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 127. Pig pens. At the left is shown a vertical
-section, with the roof over the rear. Yard on the right.]
-
-Cheap but somewhat more elaborate pens are shown in Fig. 127. These may
-be built in detached pairs, or several pens may be placed in
-juxtaposition. Each pen, including the small outside yard and feeding
-floor, both unroofed, is 16 × 16 feet. The part roofed is 8 × 8 feet.
-After the pigs have attained some size, all doors are opened and the
-entire herd may be grazed in one field.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 128. A more elaborate piggery.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 129. Elevation of the house shown in Fig. 128.]
-
-A better but more expensive piggery, Figs. 128 and 129, shows five pens,
-though the plan lends itself to a greater or lesser number. The area
-devoted to each bed is 8 × 8 feet. The driveway, which also serves for
-temporary storage of manures, is 8 feet wide and extends lengthwise
-through the building. The floor of the driveway should be about one foot
-lower than the feeding and sleeping floors at the middle, and should be
-paved or asphalted. (See cross section, Fig. 129.) The feeding floor
-upon which the troughs rest may be 4 or 5 feet long, and should descend
-towards the driving floor. Ordinary gates are hung to the posts which
-serve, with the boarding, to separate the pens. These gates are fastened
-at the other end of the posts which separate the feeding compartments.
-When so fastened each brood animal has a bedroom 8 × 8, a receptacle for
-manure 8 × 8, and a feeding floor 4 × 8 feet. This arrangement
-presupposes that most of the foods will be fed in the troughs. If, when
-the animals are first placed in the pens, the paved portion of the
-floor be soiled with dirt and water, the excreta thereafter will be
-deposited by the animals on this floor and not in the bedroom. The pig
-is really a cleanly animal if it is given a few timely sensible hints.
-When it is desired to remove the manure the gates are all swung to the
-right or left, as most convenient, and they then serve to fasten all of
-the animals in the bed compartments, and the driveway is left
-unobstructed. One of the outside openings to the driveway should also be
-provided with a gate to swing in, as well as an ordinary door to swing
-out. These pens may all be thrown open in the summer when it is desired
-to pasture the herd.
-
-The illustration shows a small wing attached which may serve many useful
-purposes. A matched upper floor and abundant light and ventilation
-should be provided. The roof story may be used for housing some corn in
-the ear and straw for bedding. In cold weather the upper floor should
-have some straw left on it to promote warmth in the pens below.
-
-The object in discussing these three styles of piggeries has been to
-emphasize cleanliness, economy of labor in caring for the animals, the
-comfort of the animals, prevention of wanton waste of manure, and
-economy in the production of healthy swine in piggeries so arranged that
-the animals may be conveniently grazed during the summer, and kept
-reasonably clean and comfortable in winter.
-
-
-THE SILO
-
-The Egyptians, the Romans, and the American Indians all stored grain in
-pits or silos which were air-tight, or as nearly so as large rude
-structures could be made. The custom of using silos for storing grain in
-Spain and France never became common, though several attempts were made
-to preserve large quantities of grain for several years, that the
-overproduction of one year might be kept until there were deficient
-harvests.
-
-The subject of ensilaging green “roughage” material attracted attention
-in the United States soon after 1870. As early as 1875, Doctor Manly
-Miles, then connected with the Illinois Industrial University, was
-fairly successful in preserving the green tops of broom corn in an
-earthen silo. Interest in the subject of preserving green material in
-silos was widely aroused in America by the appearance of a book on
-ensilage, translated in 1878-9. The book was published in France in
-1877, by M. Auguste Goffart.
-
-When the practice of ensilaging green material for feeding animals was
-first introduced into the United States there was much discussion as to
-the construction of silos. Many advocated building them of stones,
-brick, or grout, though some were built of wood. As a rule, they were
-built either square or in the form of a parallelogram, in a few cases
-octagonal. Experience soon showed that the silage was preserved better
-in the wooden silo than in those constructed of other material. For this
-reason, and because the wooden silo is most cheaply constructed, wood is
-now in universal use for building them.
-
-At first heavy frames were erected which were covered with two, three,
-and even four thicknesses of boards. Sometimes building paper was placed
-between the inner and outer boards. The octagon and the round silo soon
-supplanted those having square corners. As built, too often the walls
-could not be or were not fully ventilated. The thick walls remained more
-or less damp throughout the entire year or, if dried out when empty,
-lack of ventilation superinduced dry rot. Cases were not infrequent
-where silos were found to be practically useless without rebuilding in
-four or five years. Where everything was at its best, the frequent
-shrinking and swelling of the wood resulted finally in so destroying its
-elasticity that it did not return to its normal size when the silo was
-refilled. Since there was no means of tightening these silos the air
-soon entered them freely, which resulted in serious loss of fodder. By
-reason of the costliness and defects of stone and grout silos, and the
-failure in many cases of square-cornered wooden ones to preserve the
-material satisfactorily, and because of their perishable nature, much
-attention has been given to the shape and material of silos.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 130. The stave silo.]
-
-From all the evidence attainable, the conclusion is reached that the
-round, tall, stave silo is best. It is simple in construction,
-inexpensive as compared with most other kinds, and reasonably durable.
-The fact that it dries out fully during the summer, thereby destroying
-all germs of decay, coupled with the other fact that at any time it can
-be made tight by means of the hoops which serve to hold the staves in
-place, makes the round, stave silo par excellent. The staves should be
-two inches thick and from four to six inches wide, bevelled to suit the
-size of the structure. The hoops are usually of round galvanized iron
-one-half inch in diameter. They are placed about three feet apart, the
-spaces between the hoops being wider near the top than they are near the
-bottom. The hoops are made in sections of variable lengths; the ends of
-each section are furnished with lugs, that the hoop may be shortened and
-the silo tightened with ease. The illustration (Fig. 130) shows an
-emergency silo built of rough green hemlock plank unbevelled, hooped
-with “American woven wire fence.” It is 24 feet high, 12 feet in
-diameter, cost $35, and has a nominal capacity of 50 tons. A flat board
-roof serves to keep out the snow and most of the rain. It is placed in
-the open to test its durability. It has been in use one year, and so far
-it is entirely satisfactory, though the staves would be better if they
-had been beveled.
-
-How long will this inexpensive silo last? That remains to be determined.
-Judging from other silos of similar construction which were erected
-several years ago, I judge it will last 15 or 20 years with slight
-repairs. When left thus exposed, will the silage freeze during the
-winter? In extremely cold weather in central New York, when the
-thermometer drops to 10° or 15° below zero, the material at the top will
-freeze. If straw be spread over the silage to the depth of a few inches,
-it will prevent the escape of heat and freezing. A portion of the straw
-covering is thrown back out of the way, the silage wanted removed, and
-the covering returned. Such precaution is only necessary during a few of
-the coldest days.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XX
-
-_PROTECTION FROM LIGHTNING_
-
-
-A flash of lightning is one of the most feared of nature’s
-manifestations of power; and yet by the use of proper precautions its
-ability to injure persons and property can be lessened greatly.
-Speculations as to the nature of lightning were vague until Benjamin
-Franklin boldly sent a kite into the teeth of a storm and tapped the
-accumulated electricity in the cloud to charge one of his storage jars.
-He connected the cloud with his jar by a wire made of a material which
-he knew would conduct the electrical charge, and at the same time he
-took the precaution not to hold the end of this wire himself. He
-introduced between the end of the wire and his hand a piece of silk
-cord, which is a non-conductor of electricity. Had he taken hold of the
-end of the wire, the charge would have passed through him with probably
-fatal results.
-
-What is lightning? One naturally inquires for the reason of this storage
-of electrical energy in the clouds. The explanation is not
-forthcoming--at least there is none which is entirely satisfactory--but
-the facts are well known. The mass of water-vapor which forms the clouds
-becomes electrically charged just as a rubber comb does when rubbed on
-the hair on a dry day, or as an ebonite ruler does when rubbed on a
-cat-skin. Perhaps by contact with the air, which is in motion, the
-particles of water become charged, and by the union of multitudes of
-these the clouds are charged to a tremendous pressure. Lightning can be
-produced artificially on a small scale by means of electric machines,
-and the results of study of these artificial discharges have been to
-show the following facts: The air is not a conductor of electricity, but
-when the electrical pressure between two points becomes sufficiently
-great the electric charge jumps suddenly between the two points at which
-the pressure exists. It punctures a hole for itself through the air.
-Lightning is the result. This discharge is very violent, and it is
-accompanied by a strong smell of ozone, which is only very strong
-oxygen. If one were to examine the points of the electric machine
-between which the discharge took place, they might be found either hot
-or cold, depending upon their size and the material of which they were
-made. Some materials offer more resistance to the passage of the
-electric charge than others, and when a considerable resistance is
-offered, heat is produced in appreciable amounts at the places at which
-the resistance is met. The application of this principle will be seen
-when the effects of real lightning are considered.
-
-In Figs. 131, 132, and 133 are shown lightning flashes taken by Mr. W.
-N. Jennings.[9] These flashes are so soon over that without the aid of
-the sensitive photographic plate it would be impossible to study them.
-It will be noticed that the path of the charge is not straight, but
-quite irregular; this path being that in which there is the least
-resistance to the passage of the electricity. One strange phenomenon
-which is brought out clearly in the pictures is that the discharge very
-frequently divides into several branches. This is because it finds easy
-paths in several directions and divides into smaller discharges, thus
-finally disappearing.
-
- [9] These three pictures are drawn, by permission, from photographic
- illustrations by Mr. Jennings in Journal of the Franklin Institute,
- vol. 133 (1892).
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 131. Horizontal discharge of lightning.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 132.
-
-Meandering discharge.]
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 133. Tree-form discharge.]
-
-_Protection from lightning._--Having noticed briefly something of the
-nature of lightning, the next point to be considered is its control, so
-that the dangerous effects of a sudden discharge may be avoided. It has
-long been known that by repeating Franklin’s experiment and connecting
-the clouds with the earth, dangerous flashes of lightning can be avoided
-to some extent; and this fact has given rise to much swindling on the
-part of the “lightning-rod man,” who has frequently imposed on the
-people through their fear of the results of lightning bolts. Any person
-of average intelligence, with the knowledge of a few simple principles,
-can put up a rod himself for the protection of his barn or dwelling at a
-very reasonable expense.
-
-
-METAL ROOFS
-
-It has been noticed that metal roofs protect buildings even when no
-lightning rods are used, especially if there are tin or iron water
-pipes running to the ground. Even steam and gas pipes are good if
-connected with the roof. Tin and copper roofs are not so common in the
-country as in the city, and this is one of the many reasons why city
-houses are less frequently struck by lightning than country ones. Copper
-roofs are not used now as they once were on account of the great
-expense; but from the electrical standpoint they are an excellent
-protection to a house in a thunder storm. The writer has noticed in a
-room in a city house, in which steam heat is used, that the lightning
-will come in and down on the steam pipes without doing any harm. If one
-will go into a telegraph station during a storm he will frequently
-notice the discharges of lightning which take place through devices
-provided for the purpose, and this without the least fire risk. This is
-an illustration of the fact that, if properly provided for, the
-dangerous element can be largely eliminated from a lightning discharge.
-
-
-PROTECTING WOODEN ROOFS
-
-If a metal roof is out of the question, the protection of the wooden
-roof must be provided for. Very little attention has been paid in this
-country to the proper erection and maintenance of lightning rods. It is
-not sufficient to put up a point in an out-of-the-way place, and with a
-careless ground connection, and then expect immunity from lightning. The
-lightning rod will protect a wooden-roofed building if it is properly
-installed; and in order that this simple but important piece of
-apparatus be thoroughly understood it will now be considered in detail.
-
-In the first place, it should be noted that there are two forms of
-electric discharge or lightning which are provided for in equipping a
-building with lightning protection: the brush discharge and the
-disruptive discharge. The brush-form is so named because the fine
-streamers of sparks which are emitted have somewhat the appearance of a
-brush. This discharge is harmless, and one of the important functions of
-the bunch of points on the upper end of the lightning rod is to quietly
-take from the surrounding atmosphere the electricity there generated,
-and thus prevent its accumulation to a dangerous extent. Very high
-towers, such as steel windmills, high trees, and steeples do the
-community a good service in this respect. But sometimes the discharges
-cannot be dissipated through the brush form, but reach a high pressure,
-and exhibit themselves with great violence, producing the booming and
-crackling noise of thunder. This is the second form; and although the
-points may be useful in this case too, yet if they are too far apart the
-discharge may not seek them, but may take a shorter path through the
-moist hay from which the hot, damp air is rising to the roof and forming
-another lightning conductor. Protection from this can be partly provided
-by the use of several points, not over forty feet apart; but in cases in
-which lightning is very violent and frequent, the conductor should be
-run all around the edges of the roof, and in several places to the
-ground.
-
-An experiment made by a noted electrician some years ago will illustrate
-this point: A frame was made of iron wire in the shape of a barn, the
-wire representing the edges of the walls and roof. The frame was
-connected to the ground, or “grounded,” as the electricians say, and
-then artificial lightning was allowed to play upon it from a distance of
-a foot or more above. This gave a model about in proportion to the real
-barn and actual lightning. All the discharge followed the wire frame,
-and did not ignite a dummy of gun-cotton which was placed inside. The
-instant that the metal barn frame was removed the dummy was struck and
-burned violently. One can draw his own conclusions from an experiment of
-this sort.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 134. Proper adjustment of lightning rods on a barn.]
-
-A barn properly fitted with lightning rods is shown in Fig. 134. The
-location of the points is such that there is not more than forty feet
-between two adjacent ones. The rod projects about six feet above the
-roof, and these projections are all connected by means of rod of the
-same form as the vertical conductors. Sharp turns are avoided in
-erecting the conductor, for an electric discharge would prefer to go
-straight through the air rather than turn a corner.
-
-It will now be necessary to go into some practical details of the
-construction of lightning rods, and the suggestions that will be made
-have been included here because good points or rods may not always be
-readily obtainable. Their manufacture is easy and can be performed with
-the limited facilities of a small village. If the raw materials have to
-be bought at a distance, this can be easily done by correspondence.
-
-Parts of the system: The equipment will consist of three parts--the
-conductor and its support, the points, and the ground connection.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 135.
-
-Supporting a rod.]
-
-The conductor, or so-called “rod,” first demands attention. All metals
-conduct electricity to some extent, but certain ones are very much
-better than others. For example, lead, platinum, brass, and iron are
-poor conductors, which is equivalent to saying that they heat up readily
-on the passage of an electric current. On the other hand, silver,
-copper, and aluminum are good conductors. In making a lightning rod, the
-best all-round conductor should be used, when cost and conductivity are
-the basis for the selection. As an example, take the metals iron,
-copper, and aluminum for comparison. Iron is cheapest in price per
-pound, but its electrical conductivity is small, while copper, though
-more expensive, has so much more conductivity that to get rid of a
-certain charge of electricity requires much less of it. So with
-aluminum, which has slightly less conductivity and which costs more than
-copper, but which is so light that a rod having the same conducting
-ability when made of this metal actually costs less than one made of
-copper, and the price of aluminum is constantly lessening, while that of
-copper cannot fall much on account of the limited supply. To compare
-actual figures, call the conductivity of copper 100, then that of steel
-or iron will be about 18, and that of aluminum about 60. As to relative
-weights, copper weighs about 550 pounds per cubic foot, iron or steel
-480, and aluminum 160. As the prices of these materials are constantly
-varying, it would be impossible to say at this time what the relative
-costs would be at any other time; but it can be said that on the score
-of cost there is little choice among them. For a number of reasons aside
-from cost, copper is at present the best material, and these reasons
-are: That it is smaller than the others for a given conducting ability,
-and thus is more sightly; that it is easier to support on account of
-this small size, and that it can be readily soldered to the ground
-plate, which will be considered later.
-
-In addition to the material of the lightning rod, its form is a matter
-of considerable importance. The cable forms have been used extensively
-and successfully, but the ribbon or flat form is better on account of
-the smaller cost, and because there is a greater area exposed for the
-dissipation of the heat generated by the lightning in passing from the
-points to the ground. A rectangular section of three-quarters by
-one-eighth of an inch is recommended.
-
-In supporting the conductor from the wall or roof, it should be
-separated or “insulated” from these surfaces. There is a slight chance
-that the lightning might leave the conductor if the building were wet. A
-more important reason for the use of the insulator is that the heat
-which is generated on the surface of the rod when a heavy discharge
-occurs will not be able, if supported away from the wall, to heat up any
-inflammable material near it. Fig. 135 shows a method of support in
-which one of the standard insulators used in running electric light and
-other wires is employed. These insulators, which are made of porcelain
-and iron, can be screwed into the wood or into a plug driven into the
-joints between the stones very readily. The insulator shown is
-manufactured by the General Electric Company, of Schenectady, New York,
-and similar ones are made by other manufacturers of electrical
-materials.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 136. Efficient points for a lightning rod.]
-
-In order to attract the discharge, the rods must project some distance
-above the roof, about 6 feet being the proper height. This projection
-must be supported, and there are two ways to do this. The first is to
-screw or nail a piece of timber to the side of the building, projecting
-about 5 feet above the roof. Two insulators on this will provide the
-necessary support for the rod. As this might be considered unsightly in
-some places, a neater but more expensive method is to use a piece of
-³⁄₄-inch copper, brass or iron rod for the upper 9 or 10 feet of the
-rod. This can be easily joined and soldered to the copper ribbon and is
-strong enough to support itself in any wind. A brace from the vertical
-to the horizontal rod will provide additional support if desired, and
-will give a more substantial appearance. At the point at which the
-horizontal rod passes through a timber support, in case such plan is
-used, a hole 1¹⁄₂ inches should be bored in the timber to avoid any risk
-of its being burned. In joining the horizontal to the vertical rod, the
-former should be bent up at right angles for an inch, and the surfaces
-should then be well cleaned and soldered.
-
-The points for attracting the discharge should be made very carefully,
-and with a view to accommodating the brush discharge particularly. As a
-rule, the more points in the bunch at the head of the rod the better
-will the brush discharge be attracted; and for the same reason these
-points should be sharp and bright. These facts have been determined by
-experiment, from which it has been learned that the discharge is quieter
-and at a lower pressure from sharp, bright terminals than from others.
-Aluminum wire fulfils the requirements for the points better than any
-other metal of reasonable cost. Unfortunately this metal is difficult to
-solder, but if the directions here given are carefully followed there
-will be no difficulty in producing a good bunch.
-
-The sketch (Fig. 136) shows the general construction. In the end of a
-block of copper of the dimensions shown, drill a hole ⁵⁄₈ of an inch in
-diameter and 1 inch deep. Cut off a number of pieces of aluminum wire,
-of about ¹⁄₁₆ of an inch in diameter, about 4 inches long. This wire
-can be obtained from the Pittsburg Reduction Company, of Pittsburg,
-Pennsylvania. These wires must then be filed to sharp points on one end,
-the opposite ends being roughened with coarse sandpaper. Push as many of
-the wires into the hole in the block as it will hold and bend the points
-back so as to form a brush. Now heat some solder in a ladle and pour in
-around the lower ends of the aluminum wires, having first taken the
-precaution to heat the copper block so that the solder will flow well.
-The conductor rod is then soldered into a slot filed in the lower end of
-the block, and the bunch of points is complete.
-
-The ground connection is the most important part of the whole equipment.
-With poor ground connections, the rods become a menace to a building
-rather than a protection. Examples could be cited where buildings were
-actually struck and destroyed, even though “apparently properly rodded.”
-In one case the wire entered but two inches into dry soil, while in
-another the lower end was buried in concrete. It is absolutely essential
-that the lower end of the rod be connected with moist earth in some way,
-as this is the only method which will insure safety. If there are water
-pipes in the building, they should be attached to the rod in the
-basement in addition to the main ground connection.
-
-As the charge is to be dissipated in the earth, it will be necessary to
-expose a considerable area of metal under ground. If a spring is near,
-the rod should be run to the vicinity of the spring and there soldered
-to the ground plate, which should be below the level of the surface of
-the spring. Moist soil is the only kind which will conduct electricity,
-hence the insistence on a moist place for the terminal of the rod. In
-case the plate must be planted some distance from water, either it must
-go quite deep or it may be placed in a barrel of charcoal or coke buried
-under the surface. These materials will hold whatever water they
-receive, and it is a simple matter to wet the soil above such a terminal
-from time to time. The plate itself should be of copper and of an area
-of at least 25 square feet, including both sides. An old copper boiler,
-flattened out, makes a cheap and effective ground plate.
-
-There is no doubt that many buildings have been saved from destruction
-by means of properly installed lightning rods, and it is plain that they
-are not difficult nor expensive to install.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXI
-
-_THE FIELDS_
-
-
-While it is the primary object of this book to discuss the lay-out of
-buildings and their accessories, it would be incomplete if something
-were not said of the general plan of the fields themselves.
-
-
-FENCES
-
-Some ten years since, someone estimated that for every dollar’s worth of
-live stock kept in New York another dollar was expended in fences to
-restrain it. It is probable that this estimate is below rather than
-above the facts. Be this as it may, the first cost of fences and their
-maintenance is a serious draft on the resources of the farmer.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 137. The old-time fence system on the right; the
-present condition on the left.]
-
-In the pioneer days, when even the best of fencing material was so
-abundant that it was burned to clear the land, there was great
-temptation to split the tender logs into great rails and construct
-fences with them. Each winter a few acres of land were cleared and each
-year’s clearing was surrounded by a great ten-rail fence, which served
-to discourage some of the larger wild animals from destroying the crops.
-It is easily seen why our ancestors in the wooded districts fenced the
-farm into small fields. In some cases the surface stones were so
-numerous on the land that the larger ones had to be removed to make way
-for the plow. Naturally they were used for constructing fences, for the
-most economical way to get rid of these too numerous stones was to make
-fences of them. The haul was short and the fences could be increased in
-width and height until storage room was provided for all the rocks which
-the farmer cared to remove. So here, too, the temptation was great to
-fence the farm into small fields. The following diagrams show the fields
-and the fences as they were on the old homestead, and also as they are
-at the present time (Fig. 137).
-
-Changed agricultural conditions imply fewer fences and the adoption, in
-part at least, of the soiling system. Then, too, the introduction of the
-horn-fly makes a radical change imperative in the summering of the
-dairy. This worst of all dairy pests robs the cow of flesh and the owner
-of profit.
-
-Now that the silo is an assured success, except under rare conditions,
-soiling, or the partial soiling system, should be adopted on many
-farms, especially in the dairy districts. The object should be to
-provide a continuous and full supply of food, and comfortable conditions
-for the animals at all times. In May and June the pastures are succulent
-and the grasses usually abundant, and the annoying flies are not
-present. When the animals are first turned out on the pastures the
-nights may be too cold and damp for comfort, in which case they may be
-stabled and fed a small supplemental ration; in fact, cows in milk
-should always receive some dry, concentrated food for the first few
-weeks after they are turned out to grass. Often the early grass is
-over-succulent and deficient in food constituents to such an extent that
-the cows cannot eat enough to sustain life and produce the most
-profitable quantities of milk. When the pastures begin to fail, the
-flies appear and the days are hot, manifestly the animals will be most
-comfortable in the stables in the day time and in the pastures at night.
-This system will permit of reducing the pastures nearly one-half, and
-the removal of all fences except those which surround the permanent
-pasture land. If it is desired occasionally to pasture a part of the
-unenclosed land, a light woven wire fence, which can be easily erected
-and removed, may be constructed. All changes in the present system of
-summering animals should be towards smaller areas of pasture-land, fewer
-fences, more comfortable conditions for animals, economy of effort, and
-control of food-supplies for the animals at all seasons of the year.
-
-In most of the states the laws require each farmer to restrain his own
-animals without the aid of the neighbors; hence the road-fence, often
-the most unsightly and ill kept of all the fences, may be discarded. How
-many of the inside fences would best be removed depends upon
-circumstances; but certain it is that a more rational system of
-restraining and feeding cattle will be adopted than the one now almost
-universally in use. We cannot destroy the hornfly; we can remove the
-useless fences and house the animals in stables from which the
-pestiferous flesh- and milk-reducing flies are excluded.
-
-
-ORCHARDS
-
-In some fruit districts the farmers are cutting down their orchards,
-saying that they cannot afford to bother with them, and that
-fruit-raising must be carried on in a large way by specialists to be
-profitable. This is tantamount to saying that they are not intelligent
-and enterprising enough to manage six or eight acres of orchard
-successfully, while their neighbor is competent to care for ten times
-that acreage. The man who owns the smaller orchard should, other things
-being equal, secure a relatively larger profit than the owner of the
-large orchard, since he will be able to give it more personal attention.
-The man who overcomes the difficulties of fruit-raising is constantly
-adding to his education and power, while the man who is appalled with
-the difficulties of orcharding, and falls back on rye, buckwheat and
-oats as money-crops, sinks in intelligence and loses courage. The
-orchard, when intelligently cared for, seldom fails to give much larger
-profits than a like area devoted to the cereals. As a rule, the most
-difficult crop to raise or the most difficult business is the one which
-brings the most liberal reward after the difficulties have been
-surmounted.
-
-When convenient, the orchard might well be set to the north or west of
-the buildings, in most sections of the United States, but not so close
-to them as to prevent a good air passage between it and the dwelling.
-Low-headed fruit trees should not be set in the house yard or near to
-it. The trees in most orchards are set too close together, and even when
-set appropriate distances apart it will be found to be unprofitable, in
-the long run, to grow two crops on the same land at the same time, as
-wheat or oats and apples. Specific directions for the care and
-management of orchards can now be found in well written books and
-bulletins; therefore there is no occasion for treating orchards in
-detail here. Suffice it to say that the farmer without an abundance of
-fruits in their season is like the lad with empty pockets outside the
-circus tent: lots of fruit and fun, ready to be enjoyed by those who
-have made thoughtful provision for the gratification of desires which
-always come, sooner or later. Every farmer should grow most of the
-fruits suited to his soil and climate,--enough to eat and to sell and to
-give to the worthy poor.
-
-
-FARM GARDEN
-
-The farm garden should be ample and contain not only enough vegetable
-and small fruits for the use of the family, but a surplus to sell or to
-give away. The farmer used to large areas is reluctant to undertake
-anything so small as he imagines the garden to be; hence, too often he
-plows it and leaves the planting and cultivation of it to the “women
-folks.” If he knew how to manage a garden he would find that the
-half-acre of land devoted to small fruits and vegetables could be made
-the most profitable and pleasurable part of the farm. Higher
-remuneration is received for the time spent in harvesting the products
-of a large, well kept garden, than in harvesting the cereals or milking
-the cows. It must be said, however, that there are good reasons for the
-farmer’s distaste for gardening, for the gardens, as usually laid out,
-necessitate the maximum of hand-culture and the minimum of
-horse-culture. The result of such gardens is a minimum of products
-secured by maximum of effort, and a resultant surplus of weeds.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 138. Plan of a home garden.]
-
-The garden should be about four times as long as it is broad, unfenced
-when possible, near to the house, and should be, in miniature, a farm
-with the cereals, grasses, and large fruits left out (Fig. 138). The
-side farthest from the dwelling should be devoted to the perennial
-plants, such as grapes, currants and other bush-fruits. Everything
-should be planted in straight rows, with spaces sufficiently wide
-between the rows to admit of horse-hoe culture. The grapes and
-blackberries might occupy one row, the raspberries and currants a second
-row, rhubarb, asparagus and like plants a third row. The spaces between
-these various fruits should be eight feet, as it is poor economy to so
-crowd vines and bushes as to force them to struggle the year through for
-plant-food and moisture. A rod or two of land, more or less, virtually
-amounts to nothing on the farm; crowding the plants is only admissible
-in the city or village. Here the plants may receive unusual care, and
-often may be irrigated at fruiting time from the city hydrant. The rows
-of ordinary vegetables may be thirty inches apart, except in case of
-such plants as onions, lettuce, and early beets. These small,
-slow-growing esculents should be planted in double rows. Starting from
-the last row of potatoes a thirty inch space is measured off, a row of
-lettuce planted, and then one foot from this a row of beets or onions;
-then leave a space thirty inches wide and again plant double rows, if
-more of the small esculents are wanted. The larger spaces may be
-cultivated by horse-hoe and the smaller spaces by hand-hoe. The entire
-garden which is to be planted in the spring should be kept fertile and
-plowed early in the spring, leaving that part of it which is not
-designed for immediate planting unharrowed. It may be necessary to
-replow. It certainly will be necessary to cultivate several times that
-part of the garden which is used for late-growing crops, such as cabbage
-and celery. As a rule, the farmer cannot afford to attempt to raise two
-crops on the same land the same year, since labor is everything and the
-use of land nothing; therefore, better prepare the ground by two or
-three plowings for the late crops, than to attempt to raise them on land
-which has parted with much of its readily available plant-food in
-producing the early crop. Then, too, land which has produced one crop is
-likely to be deficient in moisture, while land that has been plowed two
-or three times during the summer and kept well harrowed will be moist
-and contain an abundance of readily available plant-food. Early in the
-spring, when the land is cold and often too moist, it is best to leave
-the soil rough for a time if it is not to be planted immediately, that
-it may become somewhat dry and warm. As a rule, the garden should not be
-fenced, but the chickens should be restrained by fences a part of the
-time; at other times they may have free access to the garden, where they
-are often very beneficial in reducing the insect enemies.
-
-
-
-
-INDEX
-
-
- Abandoned lands, significance of, 31.
-
- Agricultural statistics, 8; what they do not show, 10.
-
- Agriculturists, what they have done, 8.
-
- Air space required in cow stables, 281.
-
- Anglo-Saxon, cause of superiority, 50.
-
- Animal, necessity of exercise for, 278; voidings, how cared for in
- stables, 277.
-
- Asphalt for stable floors, 292.
-
-
- Bailey, Professor L. H., quoted, 7.
-
- Bailey, chap. xiv, 237.
-
- Balloon frames, 129.
-
- Barns, 288; basement, location of, 268; building the basement, 266;
- connected by covered way to house, 257; discussion of, 249; distance
- to locate from house, 257; economy in construction, 253; excavations
- for, 268; high large ones preferable, 253; location of, 255;
- octagonal, discussion of, 254; planning, 259; size required, 249;
- water supply for, 261; why large ones are required, 250.
-
- Barnyards, open ones objectionable, 258; paddocks are preferable to,
- 259.
-
- Basement barns, bridging for, 269; location of, 268; on level ground,
- 269; floors, how to construct, 277; walls, how to prevent dampness on,
- 275; wood preferable to stone, 275.
-
- Beauty and utility should be combined, 107.
-
- Bonanza farming, cause of decline, 36-38.
-
- Brick used in stable floors, 278.
-
- Building the barn, chap. xvii, 288; framing, 289; horse stables, 294;
- lightning rods on barns, 296; painting the barn, 296; plank frames,
- 290; protecting the root-cellar, 289; repairing old barn floors, 293;
- roof of barns, 296; stable floors, 292; windows, 295.
-
-
- Cattle, stanchions for, 284.
-
- Cement, Portland, cost and mixing of, 274; proportion of, to sand in
- mortar, 273.
-
- Changes in houses, considerations, 85.
-
- Children, city and country compared, 3.
-
- Cisterns as a source of water supply, 263.
-
- Cleanliness, and sanitation, water supply and sewage, chap. xii, 204;
- bacteria, harmful and beneficial, 204-206; bath room, 210; bath tubs,
- 213; cess pools, 220; closets, 210; disinfectants, 207; dry-earth
- closets, 222; kitchen sink, 212; laundry, 214; outhouses, 216;
- personal cleanliness, 209; pipes, 212; sewage, 219; water closets,
- 214; water supply, 217.
-
- College buildings and what they illustrate, 104.
-
- Colleges. Land Grant, aim of, 14; endowment, 14; data of incomes, 15.
-
- Competence, how obtained, 20.
-
- Concentration of barns, 84.
-
- Counsel at the right time, 69.
-
- Country churches, 119.
-
- Country life, what it stands for, 74; what things have no place in it,
- 74.
-
- Country school houses, 119-122.
-
- Cows, air space required for, 280, 281; mangers for, section of, 286.
-
- Crops, good and poor, 27; specialized, baleful results of, 33.
-
-
- Dams for artificial pools, how to construct, 262.
-
- Decorations inside, 193.
-
- Deeds and abstracts, 67.
-
- Demolins, M., quoted, 50.
-
-
- Economy, 224.
-
- Educating the eye and judgment, 107.
-
- Education, by contact with nature, 4; higher, concentration necessary,
- 52; higher, in the past, 13; industrial, 14.
-
- Evolution of high wages, 25.
-
- External construction, principles of, 108.
-
-
- Farm buildings, concentrated and distributive, 251; concentrated
- system preferable, 252; examples of mistakes, 89.
-
- Farm laborers, wages received by, 253.
-
- Farmers’ contribution to economic status of the United States, 9.
-
- Farms, selection of--climatic conditions, 55; cheap lands, 56; water
- supply, 57.
-
- Farms overloaded with buildings, 88.
-
- “Farming doesn’t pay,” 6.
-
- Fences, 336.
-
- Fields, the, chap. xxi, 336.
-
- Filigree work, not for farm houses, 96.
-
- First impressions, 116.
-
- Floors, basement, how to construct, 277; cows to stand upon, 280;
- stable, wooden ones preferable, 278.
-
- Foundations for buildings, how squared, 266.
-
- Foundation walls, properly and improperly bonded, 272.
-
- Frost pockets, 76.
-
- Furnishing, 193.
-
-
- Garden, farm, 341; planting the, 342.
-
- Gingerbread cornices, 130.
-
- Ground floor unhealthy, 77.
-
- Gypsum, use of in stables, 277.
-
-
- Heating, 190.
-
- Home education suggestions, 48.
-
- Home, old (should be preserved), 112; suggestions for improvement of,
- 113.
-
- Home training, 46.
-
- Homestead, improving the old, 114.
-
- Horn-fly, reference to, 337.
-
- House, building the, chap. viii, 132; brick and stone houses, 169;
- chimneys--flue linings, 140, openings for, 141; excluding vermin from
- the, 135; foundations, building the, 138; mortar for foundations, 139;
- protecting from frost, 136; the cellar, 133, 134; Wooden houses--the
- frame, 142; bridging the joists, 143; cutting braces and rafters, 150;
- diagonal boarding, 144; girders for second-story joists, 145; made-up
- timbers, 146; old houses, 170; roofs--kinds of, 147, pitch of, 149;
- studding, size of, 143; the story-and-a-half, 155.
-
- House furnishing and decoration, chap. xi, 193; carpets vs. rugs, 196;
- decorations, 200; draperies, 198; general principles, 193-196.
-
- House, location of, 74; extremes, 75; on elevated lands, 76, 80, 82.
-
- House of pioneer, where located, 75.
-
- House, old farm, an example of a good, 90-91.
-
- House sites--old and new, 84.
-
- House sites to be avoided, 82; near middle of estate, 83; and highway,
- 83.
-
- House with many gables, 96.
-
- Houses, exposed and overshaded, 117, 118; planning, 94; studying other
- models, 95; useless cost of, 95.
-
- Houses, farm, not a direct source of income, 87; mistakes in building,
- 87; what they are for, 87.
-
- Houses, old farm, 85.
-
- Houses, veneered, 168.
-
- Household administration, economy and comfort, chap. xiii, 224; a
- definite income, 225; bargain-hunting, 229; cash vs. credit, 286;
- economy of health, 232; keeping accounts, 230; reading matter, 235;
- systematic buying, 227; the farmer’s diet, 234; the wife’s share, 225.
-
-
- Improvements on the farm, 59.
-
- Inappropriate styles of architecture, 124.
-
- Inside finish, heating and ventilation, chap. x, 181; baseboards, 183;
- facings, 186; finish, hard oil, 186; floors, 182; patent mortars, 188;
- plastered walls, 186-188; picture moulding, 184; stairs, 185;
- wainscoting, 185; Heating--steam recommended, 191; systems of,
- compared, 190; Ventilation, 191.
-
-
- Land for market-gardening, 61.
-
- Lands, cheap, 56.
-
- Lawns, 243.
-
- Lawyer and the farmer, 73.
-
- Lawyer, province of the true, 72.
-
- Lawyers, 65.
-
- Level country, disadvantages of location in, overcome, 78.
-
- Leisure and study, 13.
-
- Light and air, 106.
-
- Lightning, artificial, 322; brush discharge, 326; discharges, 323;
- disruptive discharge, 326; protection from, 324; protection from by
- metal roofs, 324; protection from by steam and gas pipes, 325;
- protecting wooden roofs from, 326.
-
- Lightning protection, chap. xx, 321.
-
- Lightning rods, 328-336; insulation of, 331; joints for, 333; the
- conductor, 329; the ground connection, 334.
-
- Lime, proportion of, to sand in mortar, 273.
-
- Lime, stone, retail price of per bbl., 274; water, retail price of per
- bbl., 274.
-
- Lumbering, effect of, 38.
-
-
- Manger for cows, cross-section of, 286; how constructed, 285.
-
- Market-gardening, land for, 61.
-
- Mistakes in locating, 100.
-
- Mortar, amount of water to use in mixing, 275; how to mix, 273.
-
-
- Nature study, 111.
-
- Newton cattle tie illustrated and described, 286.
-
- Norris, H. H., chap. xx, 321.
-
-
- Occupation, selection of, 21.
-
- Old barns, remodeling, 298.
-
- Orchards, 340; care of, 341.
-
- Outbuildings and accessories, chap. xix, 306; piggeries, 311; portable
- coops, 309; poultry houses, 306; the silo, 316.
-
- Outside covering, painting, chap. ix, 158; cornices, 164; painting the
- house, 173; adulterated paints, 179; analyses of paints, 180; oils for
- painting, 177; roofs--construction of, 165; shingles, 165; shingling,
- 167; siding--novelty and lap, 160; the projections, 158, 164; the
- water-table, 158; valleys, 173.
-
-
- Parents as teachers, 45.
-
- Piggeries, 311.
-
- Plain cornices, 126.
-
- Plan, ground, not adapted to country, 98; adapted to country, 99, 101.
-
- Plant-food, natural cheaper than artificial, 62.
-
- Pools in level country, 78.
-
- Pools in the South, how constructed, 262.
-
- Poultry Houses, 306.
-
-
- Quality in farm products, 32.
-
-
- Red River valley soil, nitrogen in, 37.
-
- Remodeling old barns, chap. xviii, 298; combining several old frames,
- 299; form of roof, 302; trussing to eliminate posts, 301.
-
- Remuneration in agriculture, 7.
-
- Renter and renting discussed, 40.
-
- Road to farm, 63.
-
- Road fences, may be discarded, 339.
-
- Root cellar, location of in barn, 270.
-
- Rosendale cement, proportion to mix, 274.
-
- Rural life; advantages and disadvantages, 2; greatest advantage of, 5.
-
- Rural population, wants and aspirations, 19.
-
-
- Sanitation, 204.
-
- Scenery, natural, its value, 58.
-
- Schoenfeld, Mr. G., an intensive agriculturist, 22; his crops and
- their value, 23.
-
- School, district, sketch of a day in, 47.
-
- School children, effects of massing, 44.
-
- Schools, rural, 43.
-
- Sewage, 204.
-
- Shadows cast by walls, 106.
-
- Ship construction of houses, 128.
-
- Silos, 316.
-
- Silo, reference to use of, 337.
-
- Smith, Mrs. M. R., chap. xi, 193; chap. xii, 204; chap. xiii, 224.
-
- Soil and subsoil for house location, 80.
-
- Soiling system, referred to, 337, 338.
-
- Stable floors, 292; wooden ones preferable, 278; drip in, how
- constructed, 280; how to secure sanitary conditions in, 277;
- stanchions for cattle, 284.
-
- Stalls for cows, how constructed, 285.
-
- Stock on the farms in U. S. in 1870 and 1890, 250.
-
-
- Tillage, cost of, considered in land value, 62.
-
- Types of dwelling houses, 109.
-
-
- VanVleet, D.F., chap. v, 65.
-
- Ventilation, 191; principles of, 283; secured by swing windows, 282.
-
- Ventilators for stables, how constructed, 282.
-
- Veranda--a poor example, 96; outlook from, 81; shading, 103.
-
- Vistas and views brought into the landscape, 81.
-
-
- Warner, Prof. Amos G., quoted, 3.
-
- Walls, stone, how to bond, 272.
-
- Water for animals, temperature best in winter, 264.
-
- Water supply and sewage, 204.
-
- Water supply, artificial pools for, 262; for animals, should be in
- barn, 264; for buildings, 261; springs and streams, 264.
-
- Water, cold, effect upon the animal, 265; lime, retail price of per
- bbl., 274.
-
- Wells, 71.
-
- Wheat, production and cost of, 30.
-
- Windows, swing, how constructed in stables, 282.
-
- Writing, matters of importance should be in, 71.
-
-
- Yard (the house yard), chap. xiv, 237; driveways and walks, 239;
- flowers, 247; planting, scattered and in groups, 339; the lawn, 243;
- vines and creepers, 247.
-
-
-
-
-CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN HORTICULTURE
-
-
-By L. H. BAILEY
-
-Of Cornell University, assisted by WILHELM MILLER, and many Expert
-Cultivators and Botanists
-
- FOUR VOLUMES--OVER 2800 ORIGINAL ENGRAVINGS--CLOTH--OCTAVO--$20 NET
- PER SET--HALF MOROCCO, $32 NET PER SET
-
-
-This great work comprises directions for the cultivation of
-horticultural crops and original descriptions of all the species of
-fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants known to be in the
-market in the United States and Canada. “It has the unique distinction
-of presenting for the first time, in a carefully arranged and perfectly
-accessible form, the best knowledge of the best specialists in America
-upon gardening, fruit-growing, vegetable culture, forestry, and the
-like, as well as exact botanical information.... The contributors are
-eminent cultivators or specialists, and the arrangement is very
-systematic, clear and convenient for ready reference.”
-
- “We have here a work which every ambitious gardener will wish to place
- on his shelf beside his Nicholson and his Loudon, and for such users
- of it a too advanced nomenclature would have been confusing to the
- last degree. With the safe names here given there is little liability
- to serious perplexity. There is a growing impatience with much of the
- controversy concerning revision of names of organisms, whether of
- plants or animals. Those investigators who are busied with the
- ecological aspects of organisms, and also those who are chiefly
- concerned with the application of plants to the arts of agriculture,
- horticulture, and so on, care for the names of organisms under
- examination only so far as these aid in recognition and
- identification. To introduce unnecessary confusion is a serious
- blunder. Professor Bailey has avoided the risk of confusion. In short,
- in range, treatment and editing, the Cyclopedia appears to be
- emphatically useful:... a work worthy of ranking by the side of the
- Century Dictionary.”--_The Nation._
-
-This work is sold only by subscription, and terms and further
-information may be had of the publishers.
-
-THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
-
- 64-66 Fifth Avenue NEW YORK
-
-
-
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- F. W. Card’s Bush Fruits 1 50 net
-
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-=On the Care of Live Stock=
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- Nelson S. Mayo’s The Diseases of Animals 1 50 net
- W. H. Jordan’s The Feeding of Animals 1 50 net
- I. P. Roberts’ The Horse 1 25 net
- George C. Watson’s Farm Poultry 1 25 net
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-=On Dairy Work=
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- Henry H. Wing’s Milk and Its Products 1 50 net
- C. M. Aikman’s Milk 1 25 net
- Harry Snyder’s Dairy Chemistry 1 00 net
- W. D. Frost’s Laboratory Guide in Elementary
- Bacteriology 1 60 net
- I. P. Sheldon’s The Farm and the Dairy 1 00 net
-
-
-=On Economics and Organization=
-
- L. H. Bailey’s The State and the Farmer 1 25 net
- Henry C. Taylor’s Agricultural Economics 1 25 net
- I. P. Roberts’ The Farmer’s Business Handbook 1 25 net
- George T. Fairchild’s Rural Wealth and Welfare 1 25 net
- S. E. Sparling’s Business Organization 1 25 net
- In the Citizen’s Library. Includes a chapter on Farming.
- Kate V. St. Maur’s A Self-Supporting Home 1 75 net
- Kate V. St. Maur’s The Earth’s Bounty 1 75 net
-
-
-=On Everything Agricultural=
-
- L. H. Bailey’s Cyclopedia of American Agriculture:
- Vol. I. Farms, Climates, and Soils.
- Vol. II. Farm Crops.
- Vol. III. Farm Animals.
- Vol. IV. The Farm and the Community.
- Price of sets: Cloth, $20 net; half-morocco, $32 net.
-
-_For further information as to any of the above, address the publishers_
-
-THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
-
- 64-66 Fifth Avenue NEW YORK
-
-
-
-
-LESSONS WITH PLANTS
-
-Suggestions for Seeing and Interpreting Some of the Common Forms of
-Vegetation
-
-
-By L. H. BAILEY
-
-With delineations from nature by W. S. HOLDSWORTH, of the Agricultural
-College of Michigan
-
-SEVENTH EDITION--491 PAGES--446 ILLUSTRATIONS--12MO--CLOTH--$1.10 NET
-
-There are two ways of looking at nature. The _old way_, which you have
-found so unsatisfactory, was to classify everything--to consider leaves,
-roots, and whole plants as formal herbarium specimens, forgetting that
-each had its own story of growth and development, struggle and success,
-to tell. Nothing stifles a natural love for plants more effectually than
-that old way.
-
-The new way is to watch the life of every growing thing, to look upon
-each plant as a living creature, whose life is a story as fascinating as
-the story of any favorite hero. “Lessons with Plants” is a book of
-stories, or rather, a book of plays, for we can see each chapter acted
-out if we take the trouble to _look_ at the actors.
-
- “I have spent some time in most delightful examination of it, and the
- longer I look, the better I like it. I find it not only full of
- interest, but eminently suggestive. I know of no book which begins to
- do so much to open the eyes of the student--whether pupil or
- teacher--to the wealth of meaning contained in simple plant forms.
- Above all else, it seems to be full of suggestions that help one to
- learn the language of plants, so they may talk to him.”--DARWIN L.
- BARDWELL, _Superintendent of Schools, Binghamton_.
-
- “It is an admirable book, and cannot fail both to awaken interest in
- the subject, and to serve as a helpful and reliable guide to young
- students of plant life. It will, I think, fill an important place in
- secondary schools, and comes at an opportune time, when helps of this
- kind are needed and eagerly sought.”--Professor V. M. SPALDING,
- _University of Michigan_.
-
-
-FIRST LESSONS WITH PLANTS
-
-An Abridgement of the above
-
-117 PAGES--116 ILLUSTRATIONS--40 CENTS NET
-
-THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
-
- 64-66 Fifth Avenue NEW YORK
-
-
-
-
-BOTANY
-
-An Elementary Text for Schools
-
-
-By L. H. BAILEY
-
-TWELFTH EDITION--431 PAGES--500 ILLUSTRATIONS--$1.10 NET
-
-“This book is made for the pupil: ‘Lessons With Plants’ was made to
-supplement the work of the teacher.” This is the opening sentence of the
-preface, showing that the book is a companion to “Lessons With Plants,”
-which has now become a standard teacher’s book. The present book is the
-handsomest elementary botanical text-book yet made. The illustrations
-illustrate. They are artistic. The old formal and unnatural Botany is
-being rapidly outgrown. The book disparages mere laboratory work of the
-old kind: the pupil is taught to see things as they grow and behave. The
-pupil who goes through this book will understand the meaning of the
-plants which he sees day by day. It is a revolt from the dry-as-dust
-teaching of botany. It cares little for science for science’s sake, but
-its point of view is nature-study in its best sense. The book is divided
-into four parts, any or all of which may be used in the school: the
-plant itself; the plant in its environment; histology, or the minute
-structure of plants; the kinds of plants (with a key, and descriptions
-of 300 common species). The introduction contains advice to teachers.
-
- “An exceedingly attractive text-book.”--_Educational Review._
-
- “It is a school book of the modern methods.”--_The Dial._
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- “It would be hard to find a better manual for schools or for
- individual use.”--_The Outlook._
-
-THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
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- 64-66 Fifth Avenue NEW YORK
-
-
-
-
-_FOR THE STUDENT OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY_
-
-
-By HARRY SNYDER, B.S.
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-Professor of Agricultural Chemistry, University of Minnesota, and
-Chemist of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station
-
-The Chemistry of Plant and Animal Life
-
- Illustrated. Cloth. 12mo. 406 pages. $1.25; by mail, $1.35.
-
- “The language is, as it should be, plain and simple, free from all
- needless technicality, and the story thus told is of absorbing
- interest to every one, man or woman, boy or girl, who takes an
- intelligent interest in farm life.”--_The New England Farmer._
-
- “Although the book is highly technical, it is put in popular form and
- made comprehensible from the standpoint of the farmer; it deals
- largely with those questions which arise in his experience, and will
- prove an invaluable aid in countless directions.”--_The Farmer’s
- Voice._
-
-Dairy Chemistry
-
- Illustrated. 190 pages. $1 net; by mail, $1.10.
-
- “The book is a valuable one which any dairy farmer, or, indeed, any
- one handling stock, may read with profit.”--_Rural New Yorker._
-
-Soils and Fertilizers
-
- Third Edition. Illustrated. $1.25 net; by mail, $1.38.
-
- A book which presents in a concise form the principles of soil
- fertility and discusses all of the topics relating to soils as
- outlined by the Committee on Methods of Teaching Agriculture. It
- contains 350 pages, with illustrations, and treats of a great variety
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- Commercial Fertilizers, several chapters; Rotation of Crops;
- Preparation of Soil for Crops, etc.
-
-THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
-
- 64-66 Fifth Avenue NEW YORK
-
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-_NEW BOOKS FOR THE FARM LIBRARY_
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-hotbeds and greenhouses; other uses of land; flowers; poultry and novel
-live stock; and nearly every other imaginable topic of intensive farming
-in clear, definite statements which are easily verified. It is a
-practical book from cover to cover.
-
- Cloth. Illustrated. $1.75 net, by mail, $1.88.
-
-
-By ALLEN FRENCH
-
-A Book of Vegetables and Garden Herbs
-
-A Practical Handbook and Planting Table for the Home Garden
-
-This book gives complete directions for growing all vegetables
-cultivable in the climate of the northern United States. Besides a
-description of each plant, its habit, value, and use, the book contains
-detailed cultural directions, covering the soil, planting distances,
-times for sowing, thinning and transplanting, fertilizing, picking,
-winter protection, renewal, storage, and management of diseases and
-pests.
-
- Cloth. 12mo. Illustrated. $1.75 net, by mail, $1.88.
-
-
-By KATE V. ST. MAUR
-
-A Self-supporting Home
-
- “Each chapter is the detailed account of all the work necessary for
- one month--in the vegetable garden, among the small fruits, with the
- fowls, guineas, rabbits, cavies, and in every branch of husbandry to
- be met with on the small farm.”--_Louisville Courier-Journal._
-
- Cloth. 12mo. Fully illustrated from photographs.
- $1.75 net, by mail, $1.88.
-
-
-By W. S. HARWOOD
-
-The New Earth
-
-A Recital of the Triumphs of Modern Agriculture in America. Mr. Harwood
-shows in a very entertaining way the remarkable progress which has been
-made during the past two generations along all the lines which have
-their focal point in the earth.
-
- Cloth. 12mo. Illustrated. $1.75 net, by mail, 1.88.
-
-THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
-
- 64-66 Fifth Avenue NEW YORK
-
-
-
-
-CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN AGRICULTURE
-
-
-Edited by L. H. BAILEY
-
-Of Cornell University, Editor of “Cyclopedia of American Horticulture,”
-Author of “Plant Breeding,” “Principles of Agriculture,” etc.
-
- WITH 100 FULL-PAGE PLATES AND MORE THAN 2,000 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE
- TEXT--FOUR VOLUMES--THE SET: CLOTH, $20 NET--HALF-MOROCCO, $32
- NET--CARRIAGE EXTRA
-
-
-Volume I--Farms
-
-The Agricultural Regions--The Projecting of a Farm--The Soil
-Environment--The Atmosphere Environment.
-
-
-Volume II--Crops
-
-The Plant and Its Relations--The Manufacture of Crop Products--North
-American Field Crops.
-
-
-Volume III--Animals
-
-The Animal and Its Relations--The Manufacture of Animal Products--North
-American Farm Animals.
-
-
-Volume IV--The Farm and the Community
-
-Economics--Social Questions--Organizations--History--Literature, etc.
-
- “Indispensable to public and reference libraries ... readily
- comprehensible to any person of average education.”--_The Nation._
-
- “The completest existing thesaurus of up-to-date facts and opinions on
- modern agricultural methods. It is safe to say that many years must
- pass before it can be surpassed in comprehensiveness, accuracy,
- practical value, and mechanical excellence. It ought to be in every
- library in the country.”--_Record Herald, Chicago._
-
-Published by
-
-THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
-
- 64-66 Fifth Avenue NEW YORK
-
-
-
-
- Transcriber’s Notes
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-<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Farmstead, by Isaac Phillips Roberts</p>
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
-at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
-are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
-country where you are located before using this eBook.
-</div>
-
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Farmstead</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>The making of the rural home and the lay-out of the farm (5th edition)</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Isaac Phillips Roberts</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 5, 2022 [eBook #68243]</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>
- <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Charlene Taylor, Harry Lamé and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p>
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FARMSTEAD ***</div>
-
-<div class="tnbox">
-<p class="center">Please see the <a href="#TN">Trascriber&#8217;s Notes</a> at the end of this text.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="cover x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="container w25em">
-<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover" />
-</div>
-
-</div><!--cover-->
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="series">
-
-<p class="center"><span class="oldtype fsize110"><b>The Rural Science Series</b></span><br />
-<span class="smcap fsize90">Edited by L. H. Bailey</span></p>
-
-</div><!--series-->
-
-<p class="center highline8 fsize150">THE FARMSTEAD</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="container logo">
-<img src="images/illo002.png" alt="MacMillan logo" />
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<h1><span class="fsize250">THE FARMSTEAD<br />
-<span class="highline8">&#160;</span></span><br />
-<i><span class="gesp1">THE MAKING OF THE RURAL HOME AND<br />
-THE LAY-OUT OF THE FARM</span></i></h1>
-
-<p class="center blankbefore4 highline2 fsize80">BY</p>
-
-<p class="center highline2 fsize110">ISAAC PHILLIPS ROBERTS</p>
-
-<p class="center fsize80">Director of the College of Agriculture and Professor of Agriculture in<br />
-Cornell University; author of “The Fertility of the Land”</p>
-
-<p class="center highline8 fsize90 gesp1"><i>FIFTH EDITION</i></p>
-
-<p class="center blankbefore4 highline2"><span class="oldtype"><b>New York</b></span><br />
-THE MACMILLAN COMPANY<br />
-LONDON: MACMILLAN &amp; CO., <span class="smcap">Ltd.</span><br />
-1910<br />
-<span class="highline2 fsize80"><i>All rights reserved</i></span></p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<p class="center fsize80 blankbefore8 highline2"><span class="smcap">Copyright</span>, 1900<br />
-<span class="smcap">By</span> THE MACMILLAN COMPANY<br /></p>
-
-<hr class="sec" />
-
-<p class="center fsize70">Set up and electrotyped January, 1900<br />
-Reprinted August, 1902; January, 1905;<br />
-August, 1907; June, 1910<br /></p>
-
-<div class="printer">
-
-<p class="center fsize80"><span class="oldtype fsize110 gesp2"><b>Mount Pleasant Press</b></span><br />
-J. Horace McFarland Company<br />
-Harrisburg, Pennsylvania</p>
-
-</div><!--printer-->
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Pagev">[v]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="frontmatter">CONTENTS</h2>
-
-<table class="toc">
-
-<tr>
-<th colspan="2" class="left fsize80">CHAPTER</th>
-<th class="right">PAGES</th>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapno">I.</td>
-<td class="chapname"><span class="smcap">Rural Homes</span></td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page1">1-11</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapno high">II.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">The Farm as a Source of Income</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page12">12-42</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapno high">III.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Educational Opportunity on the Farm</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page43">43-53</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapno high">IV.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Selection and Purchase of Farms</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page54">54-64</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapno high">V.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">The Relation of the Farmer to the Lawyer</span>
-<span class="righttext">(<i>By Hon. DeForest VanVleet</i>)</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page65">65-73</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapno high">VI.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Locating the House</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page74">74-86</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapno high">VII.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Planning Rural Buildings</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page87">87-131</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td rowspan="3" class="chapno high">VIII.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Building the House&mdash;General Lay-out</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page132">132-157</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Building the Foundations</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page138">138</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Wooden Houses&mdash;The Frame</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page142">142</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td rowspan="4" class="chapno high">IX.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Building the House, Concluded&mdash;Outside Covering, Painting</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page158">158-180</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Veneered Houses</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page168">168</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Old Houses</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page170">170</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Painting the House</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page173">173</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td rowspan="2" class="chapno high">X.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Inside Finish, Heating, and Ventilation</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page181">181-192</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Heating and Ventilation</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page190">190</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapno high">XI.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">House Furnishing and Decoration</span>
-<span class="righttext">(<i>By Professor Mary Roberts Smith</i>)</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page193">193-203</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td rowspan="2" class="chapno high">XII.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Cleanliness and Sanitation&mdash;Water Supply and
-Sewage</span> <span class="righttext">(<i>By Professor Mary Roberts Smith</i>)</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page204">204-223</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Water Supply and Sewage</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page217">217</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapno high">XIII.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Household Administration, Economy, and Comfort</span>
-<span class="righttext">(<i>By Professor Mary Roberts Smith</i>)</span><span class="pagenum" id="Pagevi">[vi]</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page224">224-236</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapno high">XIV.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">The Home Yard</span>
-<span class="righttext">(<i>By Professor L. H. Bailey</i>)</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page237">237-248</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td rowspan="4" class="chapno high">XV.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">A Discussion of Barns</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page249">249-265</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Location</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page255">255</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Planning the Barn</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page259">259</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Water Supply</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page261">261</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td rowspan="6" class="chapno high">XVI.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Building the Barn&mdash;The Basement</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page266">266-287</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Excavation</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page268">268</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Walls</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page271">271</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Floors</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page277">277</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Stalls</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page280">280</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Mangers and Ties</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page285">285</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapno high">XVII.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Building the Barn&mdash;The Superstructure</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page288">288-297</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapno high">XVIII.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Remodeling Old Barns</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page298">298-305</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td rowspan="4" class="chapno high">XIX.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Outbuildings and Accessories</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page306">306-320</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Poultry Houses</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page306">306</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Piggeries</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page311">311</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">The Silo</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page316">316</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td rowspan="3" class="chapno high">XX.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Lightning Protection</span>
-<span class="righttext">(<i>By H. H. Norris, M.E.</i>)</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page321">321-335</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Metal Roofs</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page324">324</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Protecting Wooden Roofs</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page326">326</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td rowspan="4" class="chapno high">XXI.</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">The Fields</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page336">336-345</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Fences</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page336">336</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Orchards</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page340">340</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="chapname sub">Farm Garden</td>
-<td class="pagno"><a href="#Page341">341</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td>&#160;</td>
-<td class="chapname high"><span class="smcap">Index</span></td>
-<td class="pagno high"><a href="#Page346">346</a></td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<p class="center highline8 fsize150">THE FARMSTEAD</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page1">[1]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>RURAL HOMES</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Man is made partly by heredity, partly by
-environment; both may be controlled and modified
-to a far greater extent than is generally
-supposed. In speaking of farm life, its disadvantages
-are frequently emphasized, while its
-possible advantages as an environment for the
-development of the finest quality of human
-nature are as often ignored or overlooked.</p>
-
-<p>Nature, with her ever-varying form and color,
-beauty and symmetry, is forgotten in the city;
-the shady forest, the meadow brook, the waving
-fields, are unknown. There, instead, is incessant
-noise, the clang and clash of trade, towering
-and ugly buildings, skies darkened by the smoke
-of factories, children who never saw a tree or
-played elsewhere than upon a hard and filthy
-pavement; and worst of all is the nerve-destroying
-haste and unequal competition, wearing out<span class="pagenum" id="Page2">[2]</span>
-body and soul. In rural life, however tame and
-lonely, the home is not merely a few square
-feet hedged in by brick walls, but the whole
-wide countryside: the barns, the fields, the
-woods, the orchards, the animals wild and domesticated,
-the outlook over hill and valley&mdash;these
-all constitute the farmer’s home.</p>
-
-<p>The manufacturer locates his factory in some
-by-street or suburb where land is cheap, and
-as far as possible from the residence part of the
-city; his home is far removed from these unsightly
-surroundings. But the farmer must live
-within a few hundred feet of his barns and outbuildings,
-and if these be ugly and dirty, the
-beauty and comfort of the home are sadly
-marred. If the farmer, then, has the whole
-landscape as a background for his home, he
-must on the other hand modify his immediate
-surroundings so as to overcome their almost inevitable
-unsightliness.</p>
-
-<p>Besides the ever-present beauties of nature,
-country life has certain other advantages over
-the city: it is the place to develop the strong
-health-physique. The luxury of rich and populous
-communities tends to produce puny and
-enervated citizens; the excessive toil, bad air,
-limited space and scant food of the poor tend
-to degrade and destroy body and soul; but the
-comfortable simplicity, space, air, sunlight and<span class="pagenum" id="Page3">[3]</span>
-abundant food of the open country give opportunity
-for the finest development of the human
-animal. It is true that even on the farm there
-are sometimes overwork and privation; but, at
-the worst, these cannot be so severe as in cities
-so long as the sun shines, the wind blows,
-and green things grow for the worker out
-of doors. Here the child may be born right
-and nourished by pure food and air. It is
-surrounded by animals whose life and motion
-become an incentive to action, and who become
-its companions without danger of moral contamination.
-The lamb, the calf, the colt, are far
-safer playmates than the city urchin precociously
-wise in evil ways.</p>
-
-<p>Professor Amos G. Warner says that “children
-reared in institutions are much below par
-because they lack the power of initiative.” The
-farm child has an incessant, varied and unconscious
-training of the eye, the hand, and the
-mind. While he is developing strength, symmetry,
-courage, the mental is being coördinated
-with the physical. The hand is made to obey
-the will, while the fact that the handicraft is
-made useful lends charm and delight to the
-work. The city child must try to learn, by a
-course of manual training in some public school,
-what the country child picks up unconsciously
-in the natural process of play and work.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page4">[4]</span></p>
-
-<p>After half a century, I look back to one of
-the happiest moments of my life, when I presented
-my mother with a dove-tailed wooden
-flower box, painted bright red. That flower box
-first taught me how to make wood take the
-form desired. While the flower box has long
-since rotted, the board-runner sled smashed, the
-water wheel broken, and the boat lies rotten in
-the bottom of the lake, the time spent upon
-them was not thrown away, for they gave me
-the inspiration and power to “boss” wood, and
-this power has served me well in many an
-emergency.</p>
-
-<p>As knowledge begins to dominate the hand
-and train it to change the form and character
-of things, certain physical laws are discovered.
-If the sail is made too large or the boat too
-narrow, a cold bath is the result. If the sled
-runners are too short and rough, the school-mate
-arrives at the bottom of the hill first. No
-schoolmaster was needed, for when one of these
-natural laws was broken or ignored, the penalty
-followed quickly and with full force. So, in a
-thousand ways, the youth is taught respect for
-the laws which govern matter. All this leads
-the youth on the farm, if full play and direction
-are given, to investigate everything in sight,
-to discover that there are other than physical
-laws. The higher laws puzzle him greatly,<span class="pagenum" id="Page5">[5]</span>
-give him much concern, lead to doubts, for
-they are too abstract and too far-reaching for
-his youthful comprehension. The physical laws
-have been found by experience to be ever true
-and stable, and the youth cannot but believe
-that moral and spiritual laws are equally so.
-This is the sheet anchor which holds him to
-belief in them, however imperfectly he may
-understand them. He is anxious to investigate,
-even to experiment along these lines, but is
-disappointed because the results cannot be set
-down in pounds or feet or units of energy. If
-here on the farm the mental and physical have
-been kept healthy and active, the moral and
-spiritual will develop as naturally as the fruit
-from the blossom. The development of spiritual
-fruit to high perfection is slow, because the
-power to think and reason correctly and abstractly
-comes only with age, experience and
-mental development.</p>
-
-<p>But the greatest advantage of country life
-lies in the opportunity for the promotion of
-healthy family relations. Parents naturally find
-their chief happiness in the education and development
-of their children; and in time the children
-stimulate the parents. The sharing of common
-labors from babyhood up, the working together
-for common interests and ambition, which farm
-life especially entails, produce the most wholesome<span class="pagenum" id="Page6">[6]</span>
-family relations. The most valuable part
-of any person’s education is really in the home.
-To “help father and mother” becomes the keynote
-of a child’s life, and unselfish, willing service
-is the first and last and best lesson of
-morality and religion. The pride in honest and
-capable ancestors, the natural and wholesome
-ambition for the future of the children, fill up
-a measure of contentment difficult to find elsewhere.
-In such a family there need be nothing
-to conceal; life takes on dignity in place of
-affectation, honesty instead of sham; it has simplicity,
-pure affections, fidelity. Artificial sex
-distinctions disappear; men and women may do
-that which is needful and human, the woman in
-the field, the man in the house, if desirable,
-sharing their common, healthful activities.</p>
-
-<p>All this is very well, some will say, but how
-shall such a home be maintained on the income
-of the farm? “Farming doesn’t pay.” This statement
-is unverified, and, carrying on its face, as
-it does, a little truth, is misleading. Does farming
-pay? Does anything pay? What is pay?
-All depends upon how you value the currency
-in which the pay is received. Is “wisdom better
-than rubies?” Are the sayings of the wisest
-and best of men true? “Give me neither riches
-nor poverty. Get wisdom, get understanding.
-Take fast hold of instruction.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page7">[7]</span></p>
-
-<p>A modern thinker, Professor L. H. Bailey,
-in the report of the Secretary of the Connecticut
-Board of Agriculture, 1898, puts it in this wise:
-“But there is another cause of apprehension
-which I ought to mention, perhaps founded upon
-the probable tendencies of our sociological and
-economic conditions, especially as they apply to
-rural communities. There is a tendency towards
-a division of estates as population increases, and
-the profits of farming are often so small that
-educated tastes, it is thought, cannot be satisfied
-on the farm. There are those who believe
-that because of these two facts we are ourselves
-drifting towards an American peasantry. Let
-us take the second proposition first,&mdash;that the
-profits of farming are so small that educated
-tastes cannot be satisfied and gratified on the
-farm. Now I grant this to be true if the
-measure of the satisfaction of an educated taste
-is money; but I deny it most strenuously if the
-satisfaction of an educated taste lies in a purer
-and better life. We must make this distinction
-very deep and broad, for it is a fundamental one.
-I believe we have made a mistake in teaching
-agriculture, during the last few years, by putting
-the emphasis on the money we make out
-of it. I do not believe that people are to become
-wealthy on the farm, as a few do in manufacturing;
-I should not hold out that hope to men.<span class="pagenum" id="Page8">[8]</span>
-There are certain men here and there who have
-great executive ability, who see the strategic
-points and take advantage of them, who can
-make a success of farming the same as they
-would at the making of shoes, or harnesses, or
-buttons, or anything else. But as a general
-thing, the farmer should be taught that the
-farm is not the place to become wealthy. I do
-not believe it is. Certainly I should not go on
-the farm with that idea in view. But if I
-wanted to live a happy life, if I wanted to have
-at my command independence and the comforts
-of living, I do not know where I could better
-find them than on the farm; for those very
-things which appeal to an educated taste are
-the things which the farmer does not have to
-buy,&mdash;they are the things which are his already.”</p>
-
-<p>The wealthy few of the cities give voice to
-the thought that the farming classes in the
-United States are always on the verge of poverty,
-yet in the last century they have rescued
-from barbarism and solitude nearly all of the
-arable land of the two billion acres of which
-the United States are composed. More than
-four million five hundred thousand farm homes
-have been planted, valued at more than thirteen
-billion dollars. Much hue and cry has been
-raised of late about farm mortgages. If the
-facts were known, it is more than probable that<span class="pagenum" id="Page9">[9]</span>
-the farmers, as a whole, have assets in mortgages,
-promissory notes and savings banks amply
-sufficient to liquidate all such outstanding obligations.
-Added to the real estate, the farmers
-own implements and machines valued at five
-hundred millions of dollars, and their live stock,
-upon ten thousand hills, numbers one hundred
-and seventy-five millions, valued at more than
-two billions of dollars, while the annual value
-of the farm products is between two and three
-billions of dollars. It should be remembered
-that these values are nominal, the true value
-being in most cases more than double these
-amounts. The farmers are not now in danger
-of becoming paupers. From the farms come
-more than half of the college students. At the
-present time it is probable that the income of
-the farmers exceeds three billion dollars annually.
-When it is considered that there is little
-or no direct outgo for rent of house, and that
-nearly three-fourths of the food is produced at
-home, and that these items are seldom taken into
-account in the statistics of income, it appears
-that the farmer’s real income is much larger
-than is usually estimated in money. In other
-words, a five hundred dollar net income on the
-farm, under the conditions which now prevail,
-provides for a more comfortable living than
-does a thousand dollars in the city.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page10">[10]</span></p>
-
-<p>But these results of the labors of the farmer
-as set forth in figures, tell but half the story,
-for nothing is said in these census reports of
-an empire redeemed, of the thousands upon
-thousands of miles of road constructed, of rivers
-spanned, of the school house by every roadside,
-or of the church spires which mark the progress
-of agriculture and civilization in countryside, in
-village and in hamlet. The census report does
-not give the number or value of the great men
-and noble women which the rural homes have
-produced, though they are the most valuable
-product of the farms. It says nothing about
-the perennial rural springs from which flow, in
-a never-ending stream, statesmen, divines, missionaries,
-teachers, students and business men.
-Although more than half of these life-giving
-energies of the nation and civilization come
-directly from the rural homes, the census report
-gives no clue by which the value of these, the
-nation’s wealth and power, can be ascertained.</p>
-
-<p>Looking over all the trades and professions
-which are followed by civilized and barbarous
-peoples, none give opportunity for rearing
-the family under so nearly ideal conditions
-as does the profession of agriculture: none
-furnish such good conditions for rearing children
-and for developing them into strong, natural
-and useful men and women. Here, then, on<span class="pagenum" id="Page11">[11]</span>
-these broad acres of America, under the flag
-which we love, we are to help transform the
-rude surroundings of the pioneer and the slovenly
-homes of the careless into pure and beautiful
-nurseries of American citizenship. Having
-shown, in part, what a rural life has to offer to
-those who are trained to appreciate the beauties
-of nature and to obey her laws, and having
-shown that the average farmer always has an
-assured though modest income, and that the
-better farmers have an ample income for maintaining
-improved rural homes, the further discussion
-of how they may be made to minister
-to the natural longings for broader and more
-refined lives may be taken up.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page12">[12]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER II<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>THE FARM AS A SOURCE OF INCOME</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>If it cannot be shown that the profession of
-agriculture offers as good opportunities for securing,
-with a fair degree of certainty, what all
-should prize,&mdash;a beautiful and comfortable home
-and a modest surplus,&mdash;then this little volume
-will be for the most part useless and uncalled
-for, as the following chapters presuppose
-an income sufficient for maintaining a
-home, and for gratifying, in part at least, the
-simple, educated tastes of the better class of
-American farmers.</p>
-
-<p>In “The Fertility of the Land” I attempted
-to set forth some fundamental principles which,
-if followed, should result in such increased incomes
-as to justify the present book. A comfortable
-home must be secured from the products
-of field and stable, with a reasonable expenditure
-of physical energy, or farming in its highest
-sense is a failure. In addition, farming must
-give fair opportunity for training and educating
-families, and for making provision for old age
-and unforeseen contingencies.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page13">[13]</span></p>
-
-<p>In the previous chapter the annual income
-of the farmer has been set forth, and, approximately,
-the accumulated earnings of the rural
-population. Unfortunately, we are so short-sighted
-that the present&mdash;the dollar&mdash;blunts the
-appreciation of the higher and more enduring
-values which spring from well conducted farms.
-This being so, of necessity much stress must
-be laid on immediate benefits which flow from a
-well ordered farm life. While it is not proposed
-to write here of the details of farm management
-along the lines of greatest financial results,
-yet something must be said, at least in
-general, about the methods most likely to produce
-the necessary competence.</p>
-
-<p>A fairly liberal income and financial reserve
-give, or should give, some leisure. Leisure gives
-opportunity for study and recreation, without
-which life becomes one ever-revolving round of
-work, and results in producing an automatic
-animal. If this is to be avoided, far-reaching
-plans must be laid, energy directed into its
-most efficient channels, and time and resources
-economized. All this implies training and education
-directed, primarily, along the lines which
-broaden and ennoble, and those of the occupation
-to be followed.</p>
-
-<p>For centuries, the higher education has been
-in the direction of the humanities, while educa<span class="pagenum" id="Page14">[14]</span>tion
-along technical and non-professional lines,
-until recently, has been conspicuous by its absence.
-Prior to the present century, what
-provision was made for coördinating the hands
-and intellects of the industrial classes? None
-at all. Is it any wonder, then, that the farmer
-and mechanic, until recently, received but meager
-rewards for their efforts?</p>
-
-<p>All this is now changed. Already the industrial
-classes are enabled to secure far more of
-the necessaries and luxuries of life for a given
-period of work than could their ancestors. In
-every state and territory one or more colleges
-have been equipped and endowed to teach, among
-other things, “such branches of learning as are
-related to agriculture and the mechanic arts,
-... <i>in order to promote the liberal and
-practical education of the industrial classes in
-the several pursuits and professions of life</i>.”
-In addition to this provision, Congress gives to
-each state and territory $15,000 annually for
-conducting experiments and investigations in
-agriculture. In 1890 the Federal government
-supplemented the benefactions of 1862 by appropriating
-annually $15,000 to each of the
-Land Grant colleges; this sum has now been
-increased and finally fixed at $25,000, for the
-purpose of strengthening the departments of
-agriculture and mechanic arts. Most, if not<span class="pagenum" id="Page15">[15]</span>
-all, of the states have made additional appropriations
-for agriculture, in some cases very
-liberal ones. At first, there was a strong prejudice
-against these colleges devoted to the improvement
-of the industries and those engaged
-in them, but this has nearly disappeared.</p>
-
-<p>A broader view of education now prevails than
-formerly. The modern colleges and universities
-think it not undignified to offer other than four
-year courses of study preceded by difficult entrance
-requirements. Many courses of from six
-weeks to one or two years are now open to those
-who prize knowledge above a diploma. Most of
-these courses are given at such seasons of the
-year as best suit the pupils. In America all
-doors which lead to knowledge have at last been
-opened, and all earnest students may enter and
-find teachers awaiting them. The effect of the
-recent changes in college courses has been most
-marked and beneficial. Many of the colleges
-have, as far as possible, adopted the words of
-the founder of Cornell University: “I would
-found an institution where any person can find
-instruction in any study.”</p>
-
-<p>The following data show the incomes of the
-United States Land Grant colleges for the year
-ending June 30, 1897. The table is condensed
-from one recently published by the United States
-Department of Agriculture:</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page16">[16]</span></p>
-
-<p class="tabhead"><i>Income of the U. S. Land Grant Colleges for the Year Ending June 30, 1897</i></p>
-
-<table class="colleges">
-
-<tr class="btd bb">
-<th class="br"><span class="smcap">States<br />and<br />Territories</span></th>
-<th class="br">Interest<br />on<br />Land Grant<br />of 1862</th>
-<th class="br">Interest<br />on<br />Other<br />Funds</th>
-<th class="br">U. S.<br />Appropri-<br />ations,<br />Act<br />of 1890 </th>
-<th class="br">State<br />Appropri-<br />ations </th>
-<th class="br">Miscella-<br />neous </th>
-<th>Total</th>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Alabama (Auburn)</td>
-<td class="amount br">$20,280.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">$12,012.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">$8,746.83</td>
-<td class="amount br">$2,821.20</td>
-<td class="amount">$43,860.03</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Alabama (Normal)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">9,988.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">4,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">16,898.44</td>
-<td class="amount">30,886.44</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Arkansas (Fayetteville)</td>
-<td class="amount br">10,400.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">16,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">26,911.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,200.00</td>
-<td class="amount">54,611.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Arkansas (Pine Bluff)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">6,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">418.25</td>
-<td class="amount">6,418.25</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">California (Berkeley)</td>
-<td class="amount br">43,619.33</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">133,415.46</td>
-<td class="amount br">12,180.48</td>
-<td class="amount">311,212.45</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Colorado (Fort Collins)</td>
-<td class="amount br">3,238.99</td>
-<td class="amount br">$109,997.18</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">38,892.01</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount">64,131.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Connecticut (Storrs)</td>
-<td class="amount br">6,750.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">26,800.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount">55,550.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Delaware (Newark)</td>
-<td class="amount br">4,980.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">17,600.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,620.74</td>
-<td class="amount">24,200.74</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Delaware (Dover)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">4,400.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">4,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount">8,400.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Florida (Lake City)</td>
-<td class="amount br">9,107.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">11,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,896.88</td>
-<td class="amount">27,003.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Florida (Tallahassee)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">11,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">4,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount">15,000.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Georgia (Athens)</td>
-<td class="amount br">16,954.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">14,666.66</td>
-<td class="amount br">29,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,600.00</td>
-<td class="amount">62,220.66</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Georgia (College)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">6,333.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount">6,333.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Idaho (Moscow)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">6,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">339.80</td>
-<td class="amount">28,839.80</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Illinois (Champlain)</td>
-<td class="amount br">23,241.10</td>
-<td class="amount br">500.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">121,214.93</td>
-<td class="amount br">41,305.09</td>
-<td class="amount">211,591.60</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Indiana (Lafayette)</td>
-<td class="amount br">17,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">3,830.48</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">58,562.96</td>
-<td class="amount br">29,552.35</td>
-<td class="amount">127,115.31</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Iowa (Ames)</td>
-<td class="amount br">47,729.75</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">23,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">37,232.10</td>
-<td class="amount br">49,397.49</td>
-<td class="amount">157,359.34</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Kansas (Manhattan)</td>
-<td class="amount br">50,689.50</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">16,557.70</td>
-<td class="amount br">9,323.88</td>
-<td class="amount">98,571.08</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Kentucky (Lexington)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">18,810.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">32,429.32</td>
-<td class="amount br">6,680.61</td>
-<td class="amount">57,819.93</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Kentucky (Frankfort)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">3,190.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">76.00</td>
-<td class="amount">8,266.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Louisiana (Baton Rouge)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount">...</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-
-<td class="name">Louisiana (New Orleans)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">11,346.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">9,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">439.46</td>
-<td class="amount">20,785.46</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Maine (Orono)</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,915.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">4,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">20,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">20,001.13</td>
-<td class="amount">71,916.13</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Maryland (College Park)</td>
-<td class="amount br">6,142.30</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">9,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">18,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount">55,142.30</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Massachusetts (Amherst)</td>
-<td class="amount br">7,300.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">3,820.23</td>
-<td class="amount br">14,666.66</td>
-<td class="amount br">15,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,920.00</td>
-<td class="amount">42,706.89</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Massachusetts (Boston)</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,896.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">35,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">7,666.67</td>
-<td class="amount br">25,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">253,076.23</td>
-<td class="amount">318,638.90</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Michigan (Agricultural College)</td>
-<td class="amount br">39,009.66</td>
-<td class="amount br">386.34</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">10,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">12,825.62</td>
-<td class="amount">84,221.62</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Minnesota (St. Anthony Park)</td>
-<td class="amount br">27,410.55</td>
-<td class="amount br">21,856.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">23,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">174,332.59</td>
-<td class="amount br">74,496.48</td>
-<td class="amount">321,095.62</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Mississippi (Agricult’l College)</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,914.50</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">10,217.08</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,500.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">14,597.96</td>
-<td class="amount">53,227.54</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Mississippi (West Side)<span class="pagenum" id="Page17">[17]</span></td>
-<td class="amount br">6,814.50</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">11,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">7,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount">24,814.50</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Missouri (Columbia)</td>
-<td class="amount br">16,100.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">6,469.58</td>
-<td class="amount br">20,804.02</td>
-<td class="amount br">3,762.34</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,022.73</td>
-<td class="amount">52,158.67</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Missouri (Rolla)</td>
-<td class="amount br">4,025.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">6,469.58</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,201.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,476.65</td>
-<td class="amount br">2,192.16</td>
-<td class="amount">23,364.39</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Missouri (Jefferson City)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,195.98</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount">1,195.98</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Montana (Bozeman)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">2,500.10</td>
-<td class="amount br">2,439.57</td>
-<td class="amount">26,939.57</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Nebraska (Lincoln)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">123,572.50</td>
-<td class="amount br">7,801.53</td>
-<td class="amount">153,374.03</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Nevada (Reno)</td>
-<td class="amount br">4,464.89</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,803.55</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">16,250.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">327.35</td>
-<td class="amount">44,845.79</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">New Hampshire (Durham)</td>
-<td class="amount br">4,800.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">3,880.50</td>
-<td class="amount br">23,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,500.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,148.00</td>
-<td class="amount">40,328.50</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">New Jersey (New Brunswick)</td>
-<td class="amount br">6,644.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">21,170.37</td>
-<td class="amount">49,814.37</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">New Mexico (Mesilla Park)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">19,792.01</td>
-<td class="amount br">875.70</td>
-<td class="amount">42,667.71</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">New York (Ithaca)</td>
-<td class="amount br">34,428.80</td>
-<td class="amount br">314,407.51</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">25,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">191,660.07</td>
-<td class="amount">587,496.38</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">North Carolina (West Raleigh)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount">...</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-
-<td class="name">North Carolina (Greensboro)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">12,500.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">157.92</td>
-<td class="amount">12,657.92</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">North Dakota (Agri. College)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">392.96</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">27,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">3,446.62</td>
-<td class="amount">52,839.58</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Ohio (Wooster)</td>
-<td class="amount br">31,450.58</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,511.63</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">118,906.53</td>
-<td class="amount br">175,140.39</td>
-<td class="amount">349,009.13</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Oklahoma (Stillwater)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">500.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">3,391.00</td>
-<td class="amount">25,591.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Oregon (Corvallis)</td>
-<td class="amount br">7,164.68</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,854.79</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,342.37</td>
-<td class="amount">32,361.84</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Pennsylvania (State College)</td>
-<td class="amount br">25,637.43</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,382.57</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">45,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">8,340.27</td>
-<td class="amount">106,360.27</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Rhode Island (Kingston)</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,500.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">10,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">6,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount">40,500.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">South Carolina (Clemson College)</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,754.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">3,512.36</td>
-<td class="amount br">11,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">54,053.29</td>
-<td class="amount br">700.00</td>
-<td class="amount">75,019.65</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">South Carolina (Orangeburg)</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">11,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">13,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">1.00</td>
-<td class="amount">29,001.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">South Dakota (Brookings)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,900.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">8,038.12</td>
-<td class="amount">35,938.12</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Tennessee (Knoxville)</td>
-<td class="amount br">23,760.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,650.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,674.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">7,271.89</td>
-<td class="amount">56,355.89</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Texas (College Station)</td>
-<td class="amount br">14,280.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">16,500.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,500.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">9,361.39</td>
-<td class="amount">62,641.39</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Texas (Prairieview)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,500.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">15,700.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">10,836.78</td>
-<td class="amount">32,036.78</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Utah (Logan)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,811.83</td>
-<td class="amount">49,811.83</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Vermont (Burlington)</td>
-<td class="amount br">8,130.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,500.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000,00</td>
-<td class="amount br">6,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">16,603.09</td>
-<td class="amount">54,233.09</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Virginia (Blacksburg)</td>
-<td class="amount br">20,658.72</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">14,666.67</td>
-<td class="amount br">15,750.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">12,352.48</td>
-<td class="amount">63,427.87</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Virginia (Hampton)</td>
-<td class="amount br">10,329.36</td>
-<td class="amount br">30,264.61</td>
-<td class="amount br">7,333.33</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">109,110.46</td>
-<td class="amount">157,037.76</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Washington (Pullman)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">29,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount">51,000.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">West Virginia (Morgantown)</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,223.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">1,485.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">17,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">38,060.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">10,315.13</td>
-<td class="amount">72,083.13</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">West Virginia (Farm)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">5,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">14,500.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">600.00</td>
-<td class="amount">20,100.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="name">Wisconsin (Madison)</td>
-<td class="amount br">12,250.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">14,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">23,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">285,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">47,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount">381,250.00</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr class="bb">
-<td class="name">Wyoming (Laramie)</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">...</td>
-<td class="amount br">22,000.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">7,425.00</td>
-<td class="amount br">775.59</td>
-<td class="amount">30,200.59</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr class="bbd">
-<td class="name"><span class="padl4">Total</span></td>
-<td class="amount br">$609,992.64</td>
-<td class="amount br">$574,120.08</td>
-<td class="amount br">$1,009,097.07</td>
-<td class="amount br">$1,821,072.01</td>
-<td class="amount br">$1,239,902.90</td>
-<td class="amount">$5,203,580.82</td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page18">[18]</span></p>
-
-<p>It has been thought strange that the farmers
-did not more quickly see and appreciate the
-valuable opportunities offered to their children.
-But why should they at once appreciate and
-value the princely provisions which were being
-made for them? With no opportunity for education
-along the lines of their profession, following
-a more or less despised calling, from being
-the butt and jest of those who had had educational
-advantages from time immemorial, how
-could they at once understand the value and
-far-reaching effects of the new order of things?
-Then, too, these liberal provisions were made
-somewhat in advance of the times. The pioneer
-must first redeem the land from the wilderness,
-fight the physical battles and endure the hardships
-of a new country. As soon as these
-primitive conditions passed away, the farmers
-made an effort to bring their profession up to
-a high intellectual plane and make it a delightful
-and honorable calling. The evolution from
-the primitive to the complex, from the age of
-toil to the age of thought, from excessive muscular
-effort to a more intelligent direction of
-energy, from the narrow and prejudiced to the
-broad and liberal, from the coarse and ugly to
-the refined and beautiful, is proceeding rapidly,
-and is in part realized. What happier task than
-to give direction and help, sympathy and encouragement<span class="pagenum" id="Page19">[19]</span>
-to these new-born desires! The
-part which the youths on the farm are taking in
-this evolution leads naturally to a higher intellectual
-plane, and hence to a more rational
-understanding and fuller comprehension of what
-the rural home should be. This desire to
-gratify the love for the true and beautiful, which
-has been growing up by reason of the better
-education, leads directly to the securing of an
-income sufficiently large to gratify the more refined
-and newly acquired tastes.</p>
-
-<p>Taking the rural population as we find it,
-with added wants and new aspirations, and with
-a somewhat better understanding of the value of
-a more extended culture, it will be seen that a
-more rational system of agriculture, a more
-economic expenditure of energy, and a clearer
-comprehension of the highest and most economical
-use of money must be secured if the objects
-sought are attained. To secure the results desired,
-it must be shown how a competence can
-be secured without excessive toil, how the
-results of work may be put to the best uses,
-and lastly, but not least, it must be shown what
-is really valuable, what real, what substantial,
-what polite, what beautiful, what worthy of intelligent
-Americans. On the other hand, vulgar
-display must be shown to be vulgar, shoddy
-must be unmasked, the effect of aping the uncultured<span class="pagenum" id="Page20">[20]</span>
-rich set forth, and that which is unreal
-and that which goes for naught but vanity displayed
-under their true colors,&mdash;that comparisons
-may be made, and that truer conceptions of
-life, its duties and obligations, may be secured.</p>
-
-<p>How may a competence be obtained? Briefly,
-by securing a knowledge of the laws which
-govern the business or undertaking entered into,
-and by conducting the business or undertaking
-in obedience to the modes of action or laws
-which apply to the specific case in hand. What
-are some of the dominant laws which should
-govern the farmer and farm practices? The
-farmer should specialize along those lines for
-which his taste and training, in part at least, fit
-him. To be more specific: A farmer will show
-you his potato patch with pride, but not a word
-will be said about his work animals and their
-offspring, which look like Barnum’s woolly horse.
-Then the first principle of agriculture is, follow
-up successes. In this case, the man has land
-and skill in potato culture which should lead
-him directly to success. Why not each year increase
-the output of potatoes, and let some
-horseman breed the horses? I have no ear or
-taste for music; why should I spend time in
-thrumming a piano and in making the life of
-my neighbors miserable? I love a bird and am
-interested in all its ways, its beauty and its life.<span class="pagenum" id="Page21">[21]</span>
-Why not study the birds, and let them make
-the music?</p>
-
-<p>Much of life’s energy is spent in trying to
-adjust square pegs to round holes and round
-pegs to square holes, and life may be spent before
-the adjustment is complete. Modern civilization
-tends to specialization. Men vary as
-widely as do the stars. There is a place for
-everyone and some one to fill the place, if this
-great mass of unlike units can only be sorted and
-fitted into the complex problem of civilization.</p>
-
-<p>The first question, and the question which
-should be repeated often is, What am I good for;
-what branch or branches of agriculture will give
-me the greatest pleasure and profit? Having
-answered this question, pursue the work through
-all discouragements to a successful issue. It
-is possible you have no capacity for farm life,
-and, since you cannot buy a capacity, better go
-directly to town and there fit yourself into your
-environment. I have known men to toil many
-years on a farm, and near the close of life to
-be driven to town by the sheriff. There they
-made not only a living, but secured a modest
-competence in conducting some little one-horse
-business, the profits or losses of which could be
-counted up every night. The farm, with all its
-complexities, with its profits and losses a year
-or five years in the future, was too large and<span class="pagenum" id="Page22">[22]</span>
-far-reaching for their narrow understandings.
-All are not so fortunate. Some remind us of
-the Quaker’s dog which he sold to his friend
-and recommended as a good coon dog. The
-dog proved to be a failure and was returned to
-the seller, who said, “I am much surprised.
-Thee believes that nothing was created in vain,
-does thee not, Ephraim?” “Most certainly I
-believe that the Creator made all things for
-some beneficent purpose.” “I, too, believe this,
-and I had tried that dog for everything else
-under the heavens but coons, so I was certain
-he must be a good coon dog.”</p>
-
-<p>A competency is always in sight in this
-country for those who do well those things
-which are suited to their tastes and training. A
-competence may be secured by following those
-branches of farming which require the minimum
-of labor and the maximum of skill and training.
-My friend of Westfield, Mr. G. Schoenfeld,
-from Germany, has six acres of land, a part of
-which is covered with glass. He did that terrible
-thing,&mdash;ran in debt for the full purchase
-price of the land. It and the valuable improvements
-upon it are now paid for. His modest
-home is valued at $6,000. While paying for it
-a large family has been raised and educated, the
-eldest boy entering Annapolis Naval Academy
-with a high standing. It is possible that this<span class="pagenum" id="Page23">[23]</span>
-son will one day be acknowledged as the intellectual
-and social equal of the aristocracy of
-Germany should he ever visit the fatherland of
-his parents. But why this long account of a
-not infrequent occurrence? To show how it was
-done: This German, though untrained, succeeded
-from the first in producing superior
-carnations. He followed up his successes, and
-sold the product of brains instead of the fertility
-of his little farm. Mr. Schoenfeld sold in Buffalo
-during one year&mdash;October 1, 1896, to September
-30, 1897&mdash;carnations (80,946 flowers)
-for the net sum, over commissions, of $719.08.
-The amount of plant-food removed by the 80,946
-carnations was as follows:</p>
-
-<table class="basic">
-
-<tr>
-<th>Nitrogen</th>
-<th>Phosphoric acid</th>
-<th>Potash</th>
-<th>&#160;</th>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td>5 lbs. 4 ozs.</td>
-<td>2 lbs. 3 ozs.</td>
-<td>10 lbs. 8 ozs.</td>
-<td>(valued at $1.32)</td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<p>The table below shows the amount of plant-food
-removed by 856 bushels of wheat, being
-the amount which, at 84 cents per bushel (the
-average price of wheat for the last ten years
-in central New York), would bring $719.08, the
-amount received for the carnations.</p>
-
-<table class="basic">
-
-<tr>
-<th>Nitrogen</th>
-<th>Phosphoric acid</th>
-<th>Potash</th>
-<th>&#160;</th>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td>904 lbs.</td>
-<td>437 lbs.</td>
-<td>298 lbs.</td>
-<td>(valued at $158.34)</td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<p>In addition, 20,000 flowers used in making
-flower displays for weddings, and the like, were<span class="pagenum" id="Page24">[24]</span>
-sold at retail, by the dozen, for $450.80. The
-net returns for flowers sold during the fiscal
-year ending September 30, 1897, amounted to
-$1,169.88. The expenses, including taxes, insurance
-and 10 per cent on the capital, were
-$790.67. This includes the cost of raising
-12,000 plants, about 6,000 of which netted
-$263.24. In round numbers, then, the net income
-from the one leading industry&mdash;flowers&mdash;after
-paying 10 per cent on invested capital,
-coal, commission and workmen’s bills, was
-$642.45, with an additional prospective income
-from the 6,000 plants which remained unsold.</p>
-
-<p>When I last visited this gentleman, he informed
-me that he had all the land he wanted.
-Since that time he has purchased eight acres
-adjoining, has made some improvements upon
-the land, and now values it at $2,000. He
-stated incidentally that the reason he made his
-purchase was that the land was in the market,
-and he wanted control of it that he might
-choose his neighbor. The land, he says, is now
-in the market, although it paid 9 per cent, clear
-of all expenses, on a valuation of $2,000. The
-question is often discussed as to how much land
-is necessary to secure a competence. Here we
-find that six acres suffices. A large family has
-been fed chiefly from the products of the orchards,
-vineyard and garden, and the children<span class="pagenum" id="Page25">[25]</span>
-are receiving a practical and, in some cases,
-a liberal education. All this has been accomplished
-because the man quickly learned the
-value of scientific agriculture and was wise
-enough to follow up his successes.</p>
-
-<p>Not only follow up success, but learn to do
-the difficult things; there will always be a
-throng seeking to do the easy things,&mdash;things
-which require the maximum of muscle and the
-minimum of brains. Why do such multitudes
-seek this hard, easy work? Because they will
-not consent to endure the toil, shall I say, of
-acquiring the power to think deeply, accurately
-and effectively. Some of our sympathy is
-thrown away upon these muscular workers.
-Their desires are few, their wants simple, their
-appetites good, and their sleep peaceful. Let us
-show them the way to a higher life, open the
-doors to those who choose to enter, and fret not
-because all will not enter in.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-
-<div class="poetry">
-
-<div class="stanza">
-<span class="verse indent-1">“Some are and must be greater than the rest,<br /></span>
-<span class="verse indent0">More rich, more wise; but who infers from hence<br /></span>
-<span class="verse indent0">That such are happier, shocks all common sense.”<br /></span>
-</div>
-
-</div><!--poetry-->
-
-</div><!--poetry-container-->
-
-<p>The man who fells the trees in the woods
-may receive 15 cents per hour; the man who
-controls the carriage of the great sawmill and
-decides on the instant what shape and dimensions
-the lumber shall take may receive 25 cents<span class="pagenum" id="Page26">[26]</span>
-per hour for simply moving a little lever; a
-third man causes a piece of the wood to take
-on the forms of beauty for the great staircase,
-and may receive 50 cents per hour; the fourth
-furnishes the design for this beautiful staircase,
-and may receive $1 an hour. The man who
-does the so-called “hard” work receives the
-least pay. Why? Because it is the least difficult.
-This difference of remuneration holds
-good on the farm. Mushrooms sell for 50 cents
-per pound; maize for one-half cent per pound.
-Why? Because anybody, even a squaw, can
-raise maize, but only a specially skilled gardener
-can succeed in mushroom culture. Hothouse
-lambs bring from $6 to $10 when two
-months old; a poorly bred sheep at two years
-of age may bring from $2 to $4. Why? The
-breeding and feeding of the one is easy; of the
-other difficult.</p>
-
-<p>In 1897 the raising of potatoes was difficult.
-The blights, the bugs and the beetles were present
-in full force. Good potatoes in the middle
-and eastern states rose to 65 cents per bushel
-wholesale. The man who watched and fought
-intelligently secured 300 bushels per acre and a
-ready market; the careless man and the man
-who should have been raising horses or chickens
-secured 30 bushels per acre and a slow market.
-Why? Because unusual difficulties were present,<span class="pagenum" id="Page27">[27]</span>
-and the man who was able to cope with
-them drew the prize of $195 per acre for his
-potatoes. This successful potato raiser the previous
-year secured more than 300 bushels per
-acre, and sold them for 25 cents per bushel,
-but even at this low price they brought more
-than $75 per acre. If from 200 to 300 per cent
-profit can be secured and the limit of profit not
-reached by raising one of the most common
-products of the farm, what possibilities loom up
-for securing a competence from those products
-which require greater skill and knowledge than
-the raising of potatoes?</p>
-
-<p>Consider the crops which are supposed to
-give promise of securing little or no profits at
-the present low prices, as wheat, maize, hay and
-oats. One man, on land naturally below the
-average, has secured during the last fifteen years
-an average of nearly 35 bushels of wheat, and
-in a few cases 40 bushels per acre. The average
-yield for the whole United States in 1889 was a
-shade less than 14 bushels per acre. During the
-same year the average yield of oats was 28.57
-bushels per acre, and hay, including such other
-crops as are used for forage, averaged 1.26 tons
-per acre. Good farmers secure 40 to 50 bushels
-of oats, and 2 to 2¹⁄₂ tons of hay, and in propitious
-years 50 to 60 bushels of oats and 3 tons
-of hay per acre. (Compare <a href="#Fig1">Figs. 1</a> and <a href="#Fig2">2</a>.) These<span class="pagenum" id="Page28">[28]</span>
-latter yields always show large profits and lead
-to a competency, while the average yield usually
-gives no profit. If the average yield gives only
-a bare subsistence, what must be the condition
-of those who secure much less than the average?
-If one man raises 35 bushels of wheat, five
-other men must each raise 10 bushels to secure
-an average yield of 14 bushels per acre. Some
-entire states&mdash;as, for instance, Mississippi, North
-Carolina and Tennessee,&mdash;have an average of
-6, 6 and 9 bushels, respectively, per acre. What
-is the remedy? Stop raising wheat, and raise
-something better adapted to soil and climate, or<span class="pagenum" id="Page29">[29]</span>
-go to town and sell peanuts. Some of these men
-who utterly fail to comprehend the laws of wheat
-culture may be good “coon dogs,” after all.</p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig1">
-
-<img src="images/illo036.jpg" class="bordered" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 1. Thirty-five-bushel wheat field (Cornell University).</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig2">
-
-<img src="images/illo037.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 2. Eight-bushel wheat field, on a farm adjoining that shown in <a href="#Fig1">Fig. 1</a>.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>It will be said that if the yield per acre be
-doubled, the market will be so flooded that no one
-will receive profits. This is the old scarecrow.
-No farmer can control the prices of his product.
-The law of supply and demand is inexorable.
-What he may do is to improve quality, diminish
-cost, reduce area, find the best market
-and the products most sought, and increase the<span class="pagenum" id="Page30">[30]</span>
-production from a given area. If he raises the
-yield from 20 to 35 bushels, while the yield of
-his neighbor remains at 10 bushels and prices
-remain low, we shall soon see a fine illustration
-of “the survival of the fittest.” The 35 bushels
-will yield a fair remuneration for the work
-expended in production when prices are at the
-lowest. When they are high the profits are 200
-to 300 per cent. Wheat, for the last ten years,
-has averaged 84 cents per bushel in June in
-central New York. Allow $3 for the straw of
-the lower yield, and if the wheat was sold at
-the average price, the total income per acre
-would be $11.40. For the straw of the larger
-yield allow $6, which, added to the wheat at the
-average price, would give a gross income per
-acre of $35.40.</p>
-
-<p>The cost of raising and marketing an acre of
-wheat, including $5 for rental of land and $2
-for fertilizers, may be set down at from $15 to
-$20 in New York. If the most successful compels
-the less successful farmer to stop raising
-wheat at a loss, what will the latter do with his
-land? Better give it away than lose by farming
-it. Better abandon the farm and go to town and
-set up a second-hand clothing store. There is
-always at least a small profit in that business.</p>
-
-<p>In central New York a large herd of dairy
-cows was tested, and the owner of the herd<span class="pagenum" id="Page31">[31]</span>
-was informed that about one-fourth of his cows
-were quite profitable, one-half paid their board
-bill and a little more, and one-fourth were kept
-at a considerable loss. He was advised to dispose
-of the unprofitable cows. His answer was,
-“But what will I do for cows?”</p>
-
-<p>Then, to secure a competence, the crops and
-the land which uniformly produce loss must be
-abandoned. How it worries the city penny-a-liner
-and how it rejoices the successful farmer to
-see land thrown out of cultivation&mdash;“abandoned.”
-To me nothing is so encouraging in agriculture
-as this lately acquired knowledge which reveals
-the fact that vast areas have been cleared and
-brought under cultivation which should have
-been left undisturbed, except to harvest the mature
-trees and protect the young plants from
-ravages of fire and cattle. As the blackberry
-bushes, year by year, creep down the steep
-hillsides and over the rock-covered fields, one
-rejoices at the pioneer work these modest,
-hardy, tap-rooted plants are accomplishing.
-How wisely and well they fit the soil for a
-higher and more noble class of plants, and how
-surely in time they cover the shame and nakedness
-of mother earth!</p>
-
-<p>The rural population has made many serious
-mistakes, toiling to reclaim land which was not
-worth reclaiming, not worthy of an intelligent<span class="pagenum" id="Page32">[32]</span>
-farmer. But how could they know better? Not
-one college of forestry in all this great land
-up to 1898, and as yet but one in its infancy!
-Until the last generation not a single school of
-agriculture, scarcely a book obtainable which
-might give direct help to the rural American
-boy and girl! Therefore, the farmer should not
-be blamed for the wasteful and unscientific
-treatment of forest and field. All this leads to
-the conclusion that to secure a competence,
-lands of high and varied agricultural capabilities,
-lands worthy of an intelligent American,
-should be selected upon which to build and
-maintain rural homes.</p>
-
-<p>Quantity of farm products we have in abundance;
-better quality is what is wanted, since
-quality may improve prices and widen markets.
-To assist in securing a competence some specialization
-is advisable. Sometimes this has
-been carried so far as to work serious disaster.
-Many farms in western New York have been
-almost exclusively devoted to the raising of
-grapes, which, when abundant or moderately so,
-sold at ruinous prices. It is noticed that where
-only an eighth or a fourth of the farm was
-devoted to vines, the yield was not only proportionately
-larger but the quality better than
-where nearly all the land was used as a vineyard.
-Wherever diversified agriculture was carried<span class="pagenum" id="Page33">[33]</span>
-on to a limited extent and plantations were
-restricted, the low price of grapes made no serious
-inroads on the income. Where all the land
-was given up to grapes, work was intermittent,
-the farmer being overtasked at one season of
-the year and idle at another. The demoralizing
-effect on the farmers and their families of this
-army of unrestrained youths and loungers of
-the city, which, for a brief period, swarms in
-the districts devoted to specialized crops, as
-grapes, berries and hops, is marked.</p>
-
-<p>The baleful result of raising a single or few
-products in extended districts may be seen in
-California and the great wheat districts of the
-northwest. In such localities there is little or no
-true home life, with its duties and restraints;
-men and boys are herded together like cattle,
-sleep where they may, and subsist as best they
-can. The work is hard, and from sun to sun for
-two or three months, when it abruptly ceases,
-and the workmen are left to find employment as
-best they may, or adopt the life and habits of
-the professional tramp. It is difficult to name
-anything more demoralizing to men, and especially
-to boys, than intermittent labor; and the
-higher the wages paid and the shorter the period
-of service, the more demoralizing the effect. If
-there were no other reason for practicing a somewhat
-diversified agriculture, the welfare of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page34">[34]</span>
-workman and his family should form a sufficient
-one. Happily, many large and demoralizing
-wheat ranches are being divided into small
-farms, upon which are being reared the roof-tree,
-children, fruits and flowers.</p>
-
-<p>To secure a competence, no more activities
-should be entered into than can be prosecuted
-with vigor and at a profit. On the other hand,
-too few activities tend to stagnation and degeneration.
-Mental power, like many other things,
-increases with legitimate use and diminishes with
-disuse. The farmer who simply raises and sells
-maize is often poor in pocket and deficient in
-understanding. The college graduate who attempts
-but a few easy things seldom becomes a
-ripe scholar.</p>
-
-<p>To secure a competence, the petty outgoes
-should be met by weekly receipts from petty
-products. I have known so many farmers to
-succeed by specializing moderately along one or
-two lines, while holding on to diversified agriculture,
-in part at least, that I am tempted to give
-a single illustration as a sample of thousands
-which have come under my notice.</p>
-
-<p>A Scotchman and his family of four little
-children landed in northern Indiana with three
-to four hundred dollars; to this was added as
-much more by day labor. A farm of about one
-hundred and fifty acres was purchased, one hundred<span class="pagenum" id="Page35">[35]</span>
-acres of which were adapted to wheat, corn
-and clover. Thirty acres were marshy pasture
-land; the balance, timber. Wheat was selected
-as the great income crop, which was supplemented
-by the sale of one to three horses
-yearly. The butter from a dozen cows, the
-chickens, ducks, and their eggs, were taken to
-the city once each week. The result was that
-at the end of the year there were no debts of
-subsistence to be paid. This left all the money
-received for the wheat and horses to be applied
-towards liquidating the mortgage. In a few
-years a large, comfortable house was built. This
-was followed by the purchase of another farm,
-and still another, until each child was provided
-with a home and facilities for securing a modest
-income. This shrewd Scotchman succeeded
-because he neglected neither little nor great
-things.</p>
-
-<p>With what pride the writer, in 1863, deposited
-$1,700 in bank, the product of a single wool
-crop!&mdash;and the little farm of one hundred and
-twenty acres was not all devoted to wool-raising.
-If a young man can secure a loving, helpful
-wife, four good cows and enough land to produce
-feed for them, with room left for an ample
-garden, a berry patch and a small orchard, he
-may consider himself rich, and if he be able
-and intelligent he will soon have a competence.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page36">[36]</span></p>
-
-<p>The farmer, of necessity, goes to the city or
-village once each week for supplies which cannot
-well be produced on the farm. He should return,
-if possible, with more money than he had
-when he left home. It is not the big mortgage
-which was given for part of the purchase price
-of the farm which should make him unhappy,
-but the steadily increasing little charges accumulating
-on the tradesmen’s ledgers until this
-“honest” farmer dreads to meet a score of his
-town acquaintances.</p>
-
-<p>The farmer who, from his well-painted covered
-democrat wagon, sells the product of his
-skill and labor looks to me quite as dignified as
-does the merchant who sells nails and codfish,
-turpentine and bobbins, patent medicines and
-jews’-harps, none of which represents his own
-skill or labor.</p>
-
-<p>Farming will never be carried on in America
-by trusts or syndicates. A combine can run
-fifty nail factories or breweries, but not fifty
-farms, at a profit, because farming is too difficult,
-requires too close supervision and frequent
-change of details and combinations, and new
-plans to meet the ever-changing conditions of
-climate and soil. The conditions which surround
-agriculture in America put a quietus forever
-on “bonanza farming,” and tend to the
-rearing of ideal homes and the accumulation of<span class="pagenum" id="Page37">[37]</span>
-modest incomes. Mining-farming on virgin, fertile,
-unobstructed areas can be successfully
-prosecuted only for a time.</p>
-
-<p>“The Red river valley native soils contain
-from .35 to .40 of nitrogen, while the soils
-which have been under cultivation (in wheat)
-for twelve to fifteen years contain from .2 to
-.3 of a per cent.”<a id="FNanchor_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> Another important point:
-When humus is taken out of the native soil
-as above, only .02 of a per cent of the phosphoric
-acid is soluble by ordinary chemical
-methods, while in the native soil three or four
-times as much phosphoric acid is soluble and is
-associated with the humus. Allowing that an
-acre of soil one foot deep weighs 1,800 tons,
-the native soil would contain from 12,600 to
-14,400 pounds of nitrogen per acre, while the
-cultivated soil would contain from 7,200 to
-10,800 pounds per acre. If the average amount
-of nitrogen in native soils (13,500 pounds per
-acre), and the average in the soil after it had
-been cropped twelve to fifteen years (9,000
-pounds per acre), are compared, it will be
-seen that the soil has lost 4,500 pounds of
-nitrogen per acre, or more than one-third (probably
-one-half) of the nitrogen which could well
-be made available, and this in less than a quarter
-of a century.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a>
-Henry Snyder, Bulls. 30, 44, Minn. Exp. Sta. See “Fertility of the Land,” p. 256.</p>
-
-</div><!--footnote-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page38">[38]</span></p>
-
-<p>Fifteen crops of wheat of 25 bushels per
-acre require 433 pounds of nitrogen, or one-tenth
-of the amount which the soil lost during
-the years of cropping. This soil, under “bonanza
-farming,” has lost outright nitrogen sufficient
-for 155 crops, each requiring as much
-nitrogen as does a crop of 25 bushels of
-wheat per acre. When the amount wasted on
-a single acre is multiplied by the acres of the
-vast, fertile wheat plains of the west, where
-“bonanza farming” is carried on, the loss of
-nitrogen to our country is seen to be so great
-as to appal the thoughtful man who looks forward
-to the generations who will want this
-element in the not distant future. Happily,
-this “bonanza farming” has its own cure.
-When mining-farming reduces the yield so that
-profits vanish, then these great farms will be
-cut up into modest-sized ones, true homes will
-rise, intermittent labor and the tramp harvest-hand
-will disappear, and the last and only condition
-which tends to produce an uninstructed
-peasant class will cease to exist.</p>
-
-<p>The other great “bonanza” industry which
-still remains and which affects agriculture, and
-the land directly, is lumbering. This, like “bonanza”
-wheat farming, may be classed as a mining
-industry, carried on at the surface instead
-of in the bowels of the earth. Without rational<span class="pagenum" id="Page39">[39]</span>
-direction, restraint or control, this agricultural
-mining goes on until the sources from which
-the profits are drawn are so depleted as to
-be no longer profitable. There is no home or
-competency for the farm boys in the lumber
-camp or on the great wheat farm. Here the
-rule is to take all and return nothing. After
-the ax and the binder, comes the fire to complete
-the wanton destruction. The shade-giving
-and moisture-conserving brush, stubble and
-straw, and all living plants, are destroyed, and
-nothing but the mineral matter, unmixed with
-surface humus, remains. A blackened waste,
-devoid of animal or vegetable life, is left behind.
-No homes can be reared here, no competence
-secured until nature, assisted by man
-in the coming years, slowly restores the covering
-and productivity of the soil. This unwise
-treatment of the land must soon come to an
-end; then the hardy home-builder will have opportunity
-to repair, by more rational methods,
-some of the wanton and unnecessary waste.</p>
-
-<p>Is it too much to hope that before the close
-of another decade every state and territory will
-have a school of forestry, and that all national
-forest domains will have been brought under
-rational supervision and control? The future
-home-builders will need them, and the present
-owners of homes have a right to a share of<span class="pagenum" id="Page40">[40]</span>
-the benefits which flow from intelligently managed
-forest preserves. It is not enough to
-show that intelligent farming is highly remunerative
-at the present time; provision must
-be made by which the children and the children’s
-children, for all generations, may have
-opportunity for securing a competence from
-rural pursuits.</p>
-
-<p>Can a competence and a comfortable home
-be secured by the renter? If not, why not?
-Shall the farmer put his little capital into a
-home and run in debt for supplies and necessary
-equipment; or had he better rent, and
-start even? This depends to a large extent
-upon the individual. A successful country life
-does not depend upon owning the land in fee
-simple. Here is a picture of what may be
-called “a country gentleman” (<a href="#Fig3">Fig. 3</a>). He,
-his father and his grandfather, all have been
-renters of the same farm. He has a competence
-and an assured income. This hue and
-cry about renting has no terrors for those who
-have been renters and have found that this is
-often the most satisfactory way to start when
-capital is limited. The merchant of limited
-means invariably rents the building in which
-he does business, because it is safer and usually
-more economical to rent than to purchase
-the business block.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page41">[41]</span></p>
-
-<div class="container w25em" id="Fig3">
-
-<img src="images/illo049.jpg" class="bordered" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 3. A farmer and a renter.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>In an old city of 12,000 inhabitants, it was
-found that 84 per cent of the business was carried
-on in rented rooms. The trouble in renting
-farms in the United States lies chiefly in
-the fact that there are no well digested laws
-or old customs which help to guide the renter
-and rentee. A few simple laws would provide for
-adjusting the value of betterments removed from<span class="pagenum" id="Page42">[42]</span>
-or put upon the farm at any time. Long leases,
-with inducements to long occupancy, would give
-the rentee a permanent occupier. The renter
-has quite as good a chance of finally securing
-a home in fee simple as has the man who purchases
-and mortgages heavily. The possession
-of a valuable farm and an assured income, especially
-in a new country, is often most surely
-and easily secured by renting for a series of
-years. Good farming pays liberal profits even
-on rented land. If there is failure, it is the
-man and not the occupation which causes it.
-The fault will not be “in the moon,” but in
-ourselves if we fail or become underlings.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page43">[43]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER III<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY ON THE FARM</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>More and more we are coming to believe
-that the rural district schools offer but few opportunities
-for educating the farmers’ children.
-Various schemes have been recommended for
-providing better and more convenient educational
-facilities. One proposition is first to
-improve the principal highways. This, it is
-thought, will make it possible to run ’buses or
-carriages twice daily to transport the children to
-and from some centrally located graded school.
-Such schemes are usually proposed by some one
-who has seldom seen a country school-house and
-who is totally unacquainted with the conditions
-which prevail in rural communities.</p>
-
-<p>Admitting, for the sake of comparison, that
-teacher and pupil in the country are not so far
-advanced in book-lore as they are in the city,
-how does it happen that the country youths are
-able to maintain themselves on an educational
-level with the pupils of the graded schools when
-they meet them in the academy and college? Is
-it not quite possible that the wide opportunities<span class="pagenum" id="Page44">[44]</span>
-enjoyed by the country youth for becoming
-acquainted with natural objects of use and
-beauty are a full offset, so far as training is concerned,
-for the more systematic instruction given
-in the city schools?</p>
-
-<p>I can but look with some degree of solicitude
-on the effect on civilization and on the home, of
-palatial hotels, and great school buildings, filled
-with heterogeneous masses of children, in which
-love, solicitude and sacrifices, each for all, have
-little opportunity for growth and development.
-The family seems to be the sacred unit of civilization
-and morality. A full and sufficient reason
-must be given for massing men, much more
-children, in a single great structure, thereby
-destroying the quiet and breaking the sacred
-ties of the home. What good reasons can be
-offered for massing children between the ages of
-six and twelve in an uncomfortable school-room?
-Children do not study; they learn little
-except when they read the lesson in the immediate
-presence of the teacher who is able to
-amplify and explain the lesson in hand. Sending
-these little ones to school is a relic of the
-primeval days, when, by reason of large families,
-lack of training and excessive toil of the
-parents, there was no other way but to make
-nursery maids of the school-teachers.</p>
-
-<p>I have a vivid recollection of those early<span class="pagenum" id="Page45">[45]</span>
-days when I was crowded into a 16 × 20 school-house,
-with two score other bounding, mischievous
-urchins, all seated on the hard side of unbacked,
-long-legged slab benches, which left our
-bare legs, for which the flies had a liking, to
-dangle between heaven and earth. True, all
-this has now been improved, and good and appropriate
-seats are usually provided, but this
-only ameliorates the conditions; it does not cure
-them. If the parents who have lost something
-of their first love for their children, or who are
-too lazy or careless or ignorant to teach them,
-will go to these patent-seated school-rooms and
-sit for five mortal hours on one of these hard,
-wooden, uncushioned seats, they will no longer
-place their tender children in these modernized
-stocks. You who no longer have the hot blood
-and restless nervous energy of youth make long
-faces and complain bitterly from your well
-cushioned pew, if the over-earnest pastor prolongs
-his sermon ten minutes beyond the customary
-time. It may be said that many, nevertheless,
-secured a primary education under these
-unfavorable conditions. But I did not; I received
-it at my mother’s knee in the old
-kitchen, some of it before daylight. About all I
-got in that old school-house were kicks and cuffs
-from boys who were older and stronger than I,
-and round shoulders from sitting through many<span class="pagenum" id="Page46">[46]</span>
-weary hours on backless benches, and blistered
-hands in punishment for my unrestrained interest
-in things in general, and in my school-mates
-in particular.</p>
-
-<p>But what has all this to do with the opportunities
-which a farm life gives for education?
-It is to emphasize the need of more home training,
-more personal attention by the parents, and
-a more natural and rational education of those
-whom it has been our responsibility to bring
-into existence, and upon whose shoulders will
-rest the weal or woe of our country. In these
-rural homes, children should be reared and educated
-until they have reached the point beyond
-which their parents or the older children cannot
-carry them. The child, when only two or three
-years old, begins to learn handicraft, performs
-some little helpful act for another; it is being
-taught to work. As it becomes more mature it is
-to do useful things; but who thinks of keeping
-the child of eight to ten years of age at continuous
-work for five or six hours daily? Why
-not carry on the child’s mental education along
-these natural lines in the same manner as it
-receives its primary technical education?</p>
-
-<p>I am almost persuaded that the farmers’
-children would be better off if the old red
-school-house on the dusty, treeless four corners
-was abandoned, and the responsibility for the<span class="pagenum" id="Page47">[47]</span>
-education of the children up to twelve or fourteen
-years of age was thrown upon the parents.
-As it is, the parents who have received a fairly
-good primary education become rusty and illiterate
-simply from non-use of the education
-which they had when they left the schools. If
-the unexcelled opportunities which rural life
-offers for securing a primary education were only
-utilized, there would be fewer country youths
-hating even the sight of that red school-house
-which has received such honorable mention. It
-has been glorified in every Fourth of July oration,
-but it still remains not only unevolutionized
-but even degenerated.</p>
-
-<p>If you ever imagined that the best provision
-has been made for teaching the little ones,
-spend a day in one of these school-houses.
-Take some book with you that is as abstract
-and useless to you as the children believe their
-books to be to them, and make the attempt to
-memorize a single page, or essay to write a
-composition on “The Immortality of the Soul,”
-or on “The Wisdom of Annexing the South Sea
-Islands.” Meantime, classes are reciting in falsetto
-voices; the teacher is giving many admonitions
-and making dire threats; a festive bumblebee
-has found its way through the open window
-and makes as much commotion among the
-timid girls as a mouse at a tea-party. Now a<span class="pagenum" id="Page48">[48]</span>
-dog barks, and the boys know that Bowser has
-safely treed a squirrel. Before you have had
-time to collect your thoughts a lusty farm boy,
-perched on a creaking wain, whooping loudly to
-his team, goes rattling by. Stay a week and
-finish your composition, and see how fast your
-children are securing disjointed fractions of an
-education. A half-hour of continuous, quiet, intensified
-study at home is worth more than a day
-in many a school-room where little muddy driblets
-of knowledge are being doled out to the children.</p>
-
-<p>You may say that you have no time to teach
-children. Business is too pressing, and you are
-already overworked. You should have thought
-of that sooner, and been wholly selfish and saved
-the money and time you spent to persuade that
-beautiful maiden to join you and help perform
-the duties and functions of life.</p>
-
-<p>You will certainly agree that home education
-is the best, the ideal education. For a child, an
-hour or two of study and recreation a day, an
-equal time employed in useful work, and the
-rest of the day spent in picking up fun and
-facts, both of which may be found in abundance
-on the old farm, is the natural way to secure a
-broad primary foundation, upon which to rest a
-liberal education.</p>
-
-<p>After the child has reached the age of ten
-or twelve and has had careful home training,<span class="pagenum" id="Page49">[49]</span>
-what provision can be made for continuing its
-education during the next four to six years?
-Two or more districts might be joined to form
-one, for graded school purposes. On every farm
-is, or should be, a spare horse and a light
-wagon; a few dollars would provide a stable
-near the school building. Such an arrangement
-would permit the children to drive to and from
-the central school, although the distance might
-be two or three miles. All this means that the
-children will be around the family fireside in the
-evening instead of on the street, as is too frequently
-the case when they are sent to the village
-or city school and remain during the week.
-All this keeps the boys and girls in sympathy
-and healthful touch with home life and their
-parents, until character has been strengthened
-by age and knowledge. Here, in these country
-and village graded schools, the home life, with
-its restraints and duties, is preserved. Only the
-mentally strong or the courageous and aspiring
-will seek the halls of higher learning, from
-which, if they tend to go astray or neglect their
-work, they are quickly returned to the bosom of
-their families. If the central graded school is
-impracticable in some cases, then a few families
-might join and employ a private instructor; this
-would be far cheaper and more satisfactory than
-to send the children away from home.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page50">[50]</span></p>
-
-<p>It is not so much lack of facilities as a lack
-of an appreciation of the true value of an education
-which debars the country youth from
-securing even a wholesome and logical primary
-education. The value of an education for citizenship
-must be placed first, and its value as a
-money-making power second. Now the first
-question that is usually asked is, Will an education
-help to secure a position or to make
-money? The question, Will an education help
-to a nobler citizenship? is not even thought of.
-We shall have no evolution in rural training
-until the parents secure a clearer conception of
-the true value of an education.</p>
-
-<p>Evolution along educational lines has already
-begun, and it is not difficult to see many beneficial
-effects of the changed methods. M.
-Demolins’ recent book has this to say: “‘It is
-useless to deny the superiority of the Anglo-Saxons.
-We may be vexed by this superiority,
-but the fact remains, despite our vexation.’...
-Considering the superiority conclusively
-proved, the author proceeds to search
-for the cause of this superiority. He finds the secret
-of this irresistible power of the Anglo-Saxon
-world in the education of its youth, in the direction
-given to studies, to the spirit which reigns in
-the school. The English and the people of the
-United States have perceived that the needs of<span class="pagenum" id="Page51">[51]</span>
-the time require that youth should be trained to
-become practical, energetic men, and not public
-functionaries or pure men of letters, who know
-life only from what they learn in books. M. Demolins
-has personally studied with care some
-prominent English schools. In these he found the
-school buildings, not as in France, immense structures
-with the aspect of a barrack or a prison, but
-the pupils were distributed among cottages, in
-which efforts were made to give the place the appearance
-of a home. They were not surrounded by
-high walls, but there was an abundance of air and
-light and space and verdure. In place of the
-odious refectories of the French colleges, the dining-room
-was like that of a family, and the professors
-and director of the school, with his wife and
-daughters, sat at table with the pupils.”<a id="FNanchor_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a>
-Editorial, “Literary Digest,” July 2, 1898.</p>
-
-</div><!--footnote-->
-
-<p>Here is seen the beginning of better methods
-in primary education. In the rural districts of
-America, this system needs but little modification
-to fit it to the rural home. All else must
-yield to the inborn rights of the children. If
-that Brussels carpet which adorns the dark and
-unused parlor must be pulled up and some of
-the worst pictures relegated to the garret, in
-order that provision for a school-room for the
-children of the family or for those of the immediate
-neighborhood may be made, then pull<span class="pagenum" id="Page52">[52]</span>
-it up. Receive the visitor in the sitting-room or
-on the veranda, and let the neighborly chat be
-where there is “air, and light, and space, and
-verdure.”</p>
-
-<p>Reduce the above picture of an English school
-to suit environment, and we have the family as
-a unit; the mother and her companion as teachers;
-and we shall have not only the appearance
-of home, but a true home, where duty commands
-and love obeys. This is no far-fetched
-picture; it is one drawn from many observed
-instances of these farm home schools. The
-youths on the farm have a right to a liberal
-education if they desire it; they own the earth,
-and why should they not have the best it
-affords if they make good use of what the earth
-and all that therein is has to offer.</p>
-
-<p>When we come to the higher education, there
-are good and sufficient reasons why pupils
-should be massed. At the college, expensive and
-rare appliances, great laboratories and museums,
-ample and expensive libraries, and distinguished
-and able teachers, must be provided.
-Then, too, the pupils of the college have arrived
-at that period of maturity which gives them a
-fair degree of self-restraint and discretion.</p>
-
-<p>Connected, as I have been for more than a
-quarter of a century, with college life, I have
-had many opportunities to observe the freshness,<span class="pagenum" id="Page53">[53]</span>
-vigor and purity of many of the country
-lads and lasses who come directly from the
-healthy, solid home instruction of their parents.</p>
-
-<p>I am well aware that this chapter will not
-revolutionize rural primary education. I do not
-want it to do so. Revolution destroys; evolution
-builds. But if these brief words of one who
-received until near manhood the thoughtful,
-loving home training of a mother, who said,
-“I received a better education than my parents
-did, and, come what will, I determine that my
-children shall have better opportunities for securing
-an education than I had,” shall persuade
-some that the farm home is the natural, the
-appointed place for training children until they
-have passed the critical mental and physical
-period of life, I shall be content.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page54">[54]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IV<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>SELECTION AND PURCHASE OF FARMS</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>In selecting a farm, many things should be
-considered. One purchaser may lay stress on
-the quality or productivity of the land, another
-on its location as to market, another as
-to the outlook or scenery, and another as to
-the society in the immediate locality. Some
-would be unhappy if far removed from city or
-town, while others delight in many broad acres
-far removed from the busy crowd. All these
-different phases of the subject, with many
-others, should be considered before the purchase
-is made. It is seldom that a farm can
-be secured which fulfils all desirable conditions;
-therefore, such choice should be made as
-will most fully meet the desires and tastes of
-the purchaser.</p>
-
-<p>Some farms are purchased with little or no
-thought of their producing a livelihood, while
-others are selected largely for the purpose of
-securing profits in their cultivation, and others
-are bought because they are expected to furnish
-safe and profitable investments. It is evident<span class="pagenum" id="Page55">[55]</span>
-that no specific or even general rule can be
-formulated which will be applicable to all purchasers,
-since tastes, training, needs and desires
-of the purchaser vary widely; nevertheless, a
-discussion of the subject may be profitable.
-Those who secure their income and profits by
-agriculture alone should lay stress on four
-things; viz., healthfulness, environment, quality
-of land, and water supply.</p>
-
-<p>Without health, life often becomes a burden;
-therefore, climatic conditions, soil and surroundings,
-so far as they relate to physical and
-mental vigor, should be considered first. But
-health and vigor are not all, for if the moral,
-intellectual and social conditions of the people
-in the neighborhood are undesirable, the children
-may take the road which leads towards
-semi-barbarism. This road is open to all, in
-city and country, but parents should avoid
-thrusting their children into it. Church, and social
-congenial and God-fearing associates should
-be accessible to the growing family. Children are
-and must be active, physically and mentally, if
-they are to grow straight; and if provisions are
-not made for directing their energies into proper
-channels, they are likely to find improper ones.
-Wherever the farmer sows not a full abundance
-of good seeds, weeds are certain to spring up.
-The farm must provide a fair and liberal income,<span class="pagenum" id="Page56">[56]</span>
-because want brings lack of true pride,
-breeds carelessness, even hatred of others, filches
-self-respect and courage. Therefore, if profits
-are desired, good land, land of wide agricultural
-capabilities, should be selected. The greater
-variety of crops the land is capable of producing
-and the more varieties the farmer raises,
-provided he does not exceed his mental and
-executive capabilities, the better will be his
-education and training.</p>
-
-<p>Frequently the purchaser has too little means,
-and feels that he must secure cheap lands,
-which too often are situated far from the railway
-markets and centers of activity. In such a
-case, he places himself outside the activities of
-the towns, which are extremely helpful to him if
-he be wise enough to choose the good and refuse
-the evil which they offer. Of course, much
-depends on the good sense of the parents and
-the inheritance and training of the children as
-to how much they will imbibe of that which is
-good and how much they will refuse of that
-which is evil. Children cannot be placed entirely
-beyond evil influences, but they can be prevented
-from becoming too familiar with them.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-
-<div class="poetry">
-
-<div class="stanza">
-<span class="verse indent-1">“Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,<br /></span>
-<span class="verse indent0">As, to be hated, needs but to be seen;<br /></span>
-<span class="verse indent0">Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,<br /></span>
-<span class="verse indent0">We first endure, then pity, then embrace.”<br /></span>
-</div>
-
-</div><!--poetry-->
-
-</div><!--poetry-container-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page57">[57]</span></p>
-
-<p>Already something has been said with regard
-to an abundant supply of water, but it may not
-be out of place to emphasize the necessity of securing
-healthful water for household purposes.
-Modern science has revealed the fact that a
-large number of diseases are introduced into the
-system by means of drinking water (see <a href="#Page204">Chapter
-XII</a>). All drinking water may be boiled; it may
-be said that it should be, for in too many cases
-water that appears limpid and pure, drawn from
-sources which have every appearance of being
-uncontaminated, is not only dangerous but
-sometimes deadly. Careful physicians recommend
-that all water be filtered, but so many of
-the filters are imperfect and are so badly
-neglected that there is no certainty that filtered
-water is entirely safe; therefore, it may be said
-that the only safe way is to boil all drinking
-water. As the streams and soil become more
-and more contaminated by unsanitary conditions,
-it is only in rare cases that safe water
-can be secured naturally. When wells or
-streams become low, or when streams are
-quickly flushed by heavy rains, invariably there
-is danger that the water which they contain
-may be impure. Care should be taken to provide
-an abundance of water, and that used for
-household purposes should be treated in such
-manner as will make it entirely healthful.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page58">[58]</span></p>
-
-<p>Having discussed the subject from four leading
-standpoints, those of less importance may
-be taken up. It is usually not wise to purchase
-a farm, however well it may fulfil the requirements
-of healthfulness, desirable environment
-and productivity, if the lands by which it is
-surrounded are poor, since man, in one respect,
-is like the tree toad, which partakes largely of
-the color of the thing to which it adheres. The
-French have a proverb which runs in this wise:
-“Tell me where you live, and I will tell you
-your name.” Translated into modern thought, it
-would read: “Tell me your environment, and I
-will tell you your character.”</p>
-
-<p>Beauty of natural scenery may not be entirely
-ignored, although utility, the dollar, must be
-kept prominently in view. One can afford to
-economize in the living expenses in many ways
-not dreamed of by those who load the farm
-table with a superabundance of good things, if
-it be necessary to do so, to secure beautiful
-surroundings. It may be only a question of
-choice between a moderate subsistence and a
-reposeful environment, or an overloaded table
-with uninspiring surroundings. Natural as well
-as artificial beauty and pleasurable environment
-have their values. A certain lot on one street
-sells for $1,000, another one on the same street
-for $500. They are both within easy reach of<span class="pagenum" id="Page59">[59]</span>
-the business center, on the same street-car line,
-of the same size, and have the same elevation.
-Why the difference in price? Because of environment.
-A seat in the dress circle at the
-theater costs a dollar, one in the peanut gallery
-ten cents. The play can be seen as well with
-a glass in the cheap seat as in the more expensive
-one. Then environment has value, as
-well as land and buildings.</p>
-
-<p>The value of the farm may be greatly modified
-by the improvements upon it. It is well to
-ask, Is the house well located? May it not
-have to be virtually rebuilt before it is at all
-satisfactory? Will it be necessary to move and
-repair barns before they are at all suited to
-their purposes? The improvements may be too
-extended for the needs of the purchaser. Some
-farms are overloaded with buildings (<a href="#Fig4">Fig. 4</a>);
-some have badly arranged, unsightly buildings,
-too good to destroy and too ugly and unhandy
-for either economy or pleasure. Farm buildings
-are not a direct source of income and are expensive
-to keep in repair; therefore, there would
-better be a slight deficiency of them than an
-ill arranged surplus. All other permanent improvements,
-such as orchards, plantations, fences,
-and the like, should be carefully considered. A
-good bearing orchard of only a few acres may
-serve to furnish enough profit each year to liquidate<span class="pagenum" id="Page60">[60]</span>
-taxes and interest charges. The orchard
-may be cheaper at $500 per acre than the balance
-of the farm is at $75 per acre, or it may
-be only an incumbrance of good land. Is the
-farm naturally or artificially drained? If not,
-will $35 per acre have to be spent in thorough
-draining before the land is really satisfactory?
-If not drained, will it bring constant disappointment?
-Fences, lanes and the necessity for them,
-the amount and location of inferior land as pasture
-land, the kind of weeds about the farm, as<span class="pagenum" id="Page61">[61]</span>
-well as the amount, kind and location of timber,
-should be considered.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig4">
-
-<img src="images/illo068.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 4. Too many buildings for eighty acres of land.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Land devoted to market-gardening should be
-near the market town where the perishable products
-are to be sold. Vegetables should reach
-the market early in their season in a fresh and
-presentable condition and cheaply, if satisfactory
-profits are desired. Then land which can be
-tilled early (warm or sandy land), though it
-may contain a comparatively small amount of
-natural plant-food, will be more satisfactory
-than rich, cold land situated farther from the
-market. An acre of poor, sandy land near the
-market may be worth, to the gardener, three or
-four times as much as an acre of the more distant
-fertile upland.</p>
-
-<p>Near the town, manures, which are so necessary
-to force many market-garden products, can
-be procured cheaply and in abundance. The
-added distance of even one or two miles from
-the switch or shipping station may have an important
-effect on profits. Land situated far
-from market may well be devoted to stock-raising
-and such other products as may be
-marketed infrequently or at leisure. As yet,
-agricultural methods in America are so new that
-they have not adjusted themselves to the growing
-cities, nor have specialized crops found their
-appropriate localities. Too often are seen truck<span class="pagenum" id="Page62">[62]</span>
-farms located half a score of miles from the
-city, and the meat-producing farms within sight
-of it. As the country becomes older, the varied
-activities in agriculture will fit themselves into
-their appropriate localities, as they have already
-done in many parts of Europe. The dairyman
-of the Channel islands has long since learned
-that the piebald cattle of the poulders are not
-suited to his wants, and the boer of the lowland
-knows that the meek-eyed, thin-skinned
-Jersey is not best adapted to his cold, windy
-country and wet pastures.</p>
-
-<p>Cost of tillage should be considered when
-valuing land. When produced on friable land,
-crops may be secured at much less cost than
-on tenacious clay. On the other hand, while
-sandy soils are the most easily cultivated, they
-are ever demanding more plant-food, and hence
-are not well adapted to grass or general agriculture,
-as the expense of keeping them productive
-is usually so great as to preclude profits.</p>
-
-<p>Except in special cases, as in truck farming,
-it is cheaper to purchase natural plant-food
-in the soil than artificial fertility. One acre of
-land may have potential plant-food sufficient
-under superior tillage for one hundred crops,
-while another unaided will yield but half as
-many, and yet the two pieces of land are often
-priced at the same figure. In other words, land<span class="pagenum" id="Page63">[63]</span>
-of high productive power is usually cheaper
-than land of low productive power. A good
-farm may be cheaper at $50 per acre than a
-poor one as a gift.</p>
-
-<p>Last, but not least, is the road to the
-farm. Every free-born American demands a
-public highway in front of his house; if
-farms are small there must then be a highway
-about every mile, or, at most, every two miles.
-This leads to cutting up the country into enlarged
-checkerboards, to a multiplication of
-highways so great that none of them can be
-kept passably good without overtaxing the land
-which adjoins them. On account of the contour
-of the land over which they pass, some
-roads are extremely difficult and are well described
-by the man who, when asked how far
-it was from a certain town to another one,
-answered: “Thirty miles, and it’s up hill both
-ways.” As I write this I look out upon a
-washed clay road which stretches up and on
-towards the horizon for six weary miles, so steep
-that the team must maintain a walk for the
-whole distance in ascending or descending. What
-is land worth at the other end of this road, as
-compared with that which lies six miles away
-in the other direction, along a smooth, level
-pike? Every grown farm boy should have a
-good horse and a good road upon which to<span class="pagenum" id="Page64">[64]</span>
-drive, if he be worthy of such a noble animal
-as the horse. When he starts for himself let
-him locate on a good road. There are always
-enough persons who are not thankful for advice,
-especially if it be in a book, who are looking
-for cheap land at the end of the hilly road.</p>
-
-<p>Many farms are purchased by young men
-just starting out in life before judgment has
-been developed by experience, while men of
-mature years take in the whole problem, or
-rather series of problems, easily and at once.
-The novice would do well to make a list of
-the topics enumerated above, and add to them
-such others as appeal to his tastes or conditions
-and then study them, one at a time; in
-fact, there is nothing left for the young man
-to do but to make out a score-card upon which
-he records his judgment in numbers as he investigates
-each phase of the difficult problem
-of selecting a farm.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page65">[65]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER V<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>THE RELATION OF THE FARMER TO THE LAWYER</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Doubtless more than one reader will be astonished,
-perhaps even horrified, to think that
-the writer should seriously suggest that there
-ought to be any relation whatever between the
-farmer and the lawyer.</p>
-
-<p>It has come to be generally believed by many
-farmers that lawyers are at best a necessary
-evil, which it is well to avoid if possible; but,
-strange as it may appear, this very feeling is
-responsible for much of the litigation, with its
-attendant loss and sometimes ruin, in which too
-many farmers have been engaged. It is not the
-purpose of this short chapter to treat of the
-subject of law, or to try to lay down any rules
-to be blindly followed in legal matters. An
-old and learned lawyer, who had all his life
-been engaged in a country practice, once told
-me that the most prolific sources of litigation
-were alleged text-books of law, bearing such
-alluring and seductive titles as “Every Man
-his own Lawyer,” or “The Farmer’s own Law
-Book.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page66">[66]</span></p>
-
-<p>Several years ago, a wealthy manufacturer
-of the state of New York sent a bright son
-to a law school, to help prepare him for a
-business career. At the end of his course
-the proud father was present at commencement,
-and, in the course of conversation with
-his son, said: “Well, John, I suppose you
-have learned a great deal.” John answered,
-“I have learned one thing which I think is of
-value; and that is, if any legal matter comes
-up in the course of my business, to consult the
-very best lawyer I can find.” That young man
-had really learned something worth far more than
-the cost of his course in the college of law.</p>
-
-<p>There is, perhaps, no other of the so-called
-learned professions which is so exacting and
-which requires more devotion and study for its
-mastery. Some of the brightest men in this
-country have devoted a lifetime to the study
-and practice of law, only to have just entered
-its broad field as they have been compelled to
-lay down their work. How futile, then, would
-be the attempt to make every man his own
-lawyer! The real purpose of this chapter is
-to open the eyes of the farmer to the necessity
-of a closer relationship between himself and the
-lawyer,&mdash;the family lawyer, if you please, having
-his confidence to the same extent as that
-of the family doctor.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page67">[67]</span></p>
-
-<p>Most farmers desire a comfortable and a
-beautiful home, and it is to aid such that this
-book is written. Such a farmer would doubtless
-consult a builder or an architect as to the
-foundation, walls, plan and materials of the
-home to be constructed, and he would act
-wisely; but how many would think so far as
-to consult a lawyer as to the very foundation
-upon which his home and his future happy
-occupancy of it rest: the title to the farm.
-Too many times he is satisfied with the services
-of the village solons,&mdash;the shoemaker who is a
-notary public, the justice of the peace, or
-the pettifogger who daily overrules the supreme
-court or the court of appeals. Years after he
-has purchased his farm, he finds, perhaps, that
-some man has given a deed whose wife has not
-signed, and upon the death of the woman’s
-husband our farmer friend is confronted with
-a law suit; and he finds that this wife, who did
-not sign the deed, is entitled to dower in his
-farm, the use of one-third of its value at the
-time her husband gave the deed, for life. Such
-cases are frequent, and might easily be prevented
-by submitting an abstract of the title to
-a lawyer at a cost of $5 or less. The flaw in
-the title may be a mortgage or judgment, or a
-failure of all the heirs of a deceased person,
-somewhere along the chain of title, to join in<span class="pagenum" id="Page68">[68]</span>
-the deed; all of which might be overlooked by
-the ordinary business man, and yet be readily
-detected by a lawyer.</p>
-
-<p>Some day the farmer may be annoyed by
-the encroachment of a neighbor upon his farm,
-and, when in the midst of a litigation, find that
-the description of his farm is so defective that
-there is no relief. I have in my possession a
-deed of a valuable farm containing this description:
-“Beginning on the &mdash;&mdash; road at the
-south end of a pile of four-foot wood; running
-thence westwardly to a black cherry tree,
-thence northerly to a stake, thence easterly to
-a pine stump in the center of the road, and
-thence southerly to the place of beginning, containing
-100 acres, more or less.” For fifty
-years this description has been copied, a score
-of times, by the various justices of the peace
-and notaries public of the neighboring hamlet,
-but fortunately, however, it has never devolved
-upon the owners to establish the boundaries of
-that farm. The first lawyer who got hold of
-this particular deed insisted upon such a description
-as would be tangible and certain.
-Not many years ago a mortgage on a valuable
-farm in Tompkins county, N. Y., was foreclosed,
-and during the foreclosure it was discovered
-that this mortgage covered about fifty
-acres of Cayuga lake, and what had been supposed<span class="pagenum" id="Page69">[69]</span>
-to be a valuable mortgage was depreciated
-one-half by reason of the neglect and
-incompetence of the country conveyancer.</p>
-
-<p>So, too, there are questions as to line fences,
-water courses, rights of way, encroachment
-upon the highway, and an innumerable train of
-threatening evils, continually arising, any one
-of which, if neglected or referred to the many
-wiseacres common to every community, may lead
-to costly litigation, or even to the loss of the
-farm itself. A bit of counsel at the right time,
-which is when the matter first appears, will prevent,
-at trifling cost, all the attendant evils of a
-law suit.</p>
-
-<p>Such instances are very common in the experience
-of every lawyer who enjoys even a
-moderate country practice; and it is an alarming
-fact that perhaps fifty per cent of the titles
-to all the farms, especially in the older states,
-have flaws more or less serious, any one of
-which is a microbe of trouble, liable to assert
-itself when least expected. This being so, the
-general and inflexible rule should ever prevail,
-never to take a deed of property without an
-abstract of title which has been examined by a
-competent attorney. The so-called maxims of
-law, often repeated and distorted, especially in
-farming communities, are extremely dangerous
-to follow. They may have some foundation in<span class="pagenum" id="Page70">[70]</span>
-fact, but as almost all rules of law have their
-exceptions, and as no one not versed in the law
-is competent to pass upon them, they should
-never be blindly followed by a layman.</p>
-
-<p>To illustrate this point: Not long ago a
-prosperous farmer, relying upon the oft-repeated
-assertion that twenty years of peaceable possession
-gave title, became involved in a lawsuit
-with the town over a fence which had been
-built in the highway adjacent to his farm. He
-was an astonished man when the lawyer whom
-he consulted told him that possession for a
-thousand years of the land claimed would not
-give him title as against the public.</p>
-
-<p>It seems almost incredible that a farmer, who
-will drive his horse for miles to have him shod
-by an expert, or who will summon a veterinarian
-to treat a sick cow, will be satisfied to
-consult what someone has brightly termed a
-necessity lawyer,&mdash;because necessity knows no
-law,&mdash;upon matters affecting his farm, his home,
-or his competence, rather than the experienced
-lawyer. The cow might be replaced for forty
-or fifty dollars if a mistake was made, but the
-farm, the competence, have cost a lifetime of
-labor.</p>
-
-<p>Perhaps the most striking example of neglect
-on the part of the farmer is in regard to the
-disposal of the fruits of his life-work. It is<span class="pagenum" id="Page71">[71]</span>
-true that anybody can draw a will, and yet the
-fact that men and women allow anybody to
-draw their wills is productive of more fat fees
-than arise from any other source. Not long
-ago an acquaintance, who did not realize the
-truth of the old adage that “a little knowledge
-is a dangerous thing,” drew his own will, and,
-being childless, sought to leave his property to
-his wife, who had been the partner of his labors
-in a long life of toil. The law of the state of
-New York requires two witnesses to a will. He
-procured only one, and upon his death the
-property, which husband and wife had with so
-much toil secured, was for the most part scattered
-among distant relatives, almost strangers,
-because he was afraid of lawyers and their fees.</p>
-
-<p>In all the varied business which a farmer will
-meet,&mdash;the giving of notes, mortgages, etc., or,
-better, the taking of mortgages, bills of sale,
-and promissory notes,&mdash;it is well to remember
-that different conditions of fact make necessary
-different interpretations of the law, and that it is
-usually unsafe to follow a neighborhood precedent.
-Oftentimes you may be called upon to
-transact business where it is not convenient to
-consult a lawyer. In such cases, and in all
-transactions of any magnitude or possible importance,
-all talk, or the essence of it, should
-be reduced to writing. Then it cannot get away<span class="pagenum" id="Page72">[72]</span>
-or be distorted or forgotten, and is in good
-shape to submit, at the first opportunity, to
-your lawyer, who, if an error has been made,
-can, while the matter is fresh, more easily correct
-it. Remember that a contract is simply a
-meeting of the minds of the contracting parties,
-and the best drawn contract possible is one that
-states, in language simple and concise, what
-each means as expressed by word of mouth.</p>
-
-<p>Most of the litigation so much feared by the
-farmer is due to the farmer himself and his
-neglect to seek an ounce of preventive. It is
-true that there are rascally lawyers; so, too,
-there are dishonest men in every trade, occupation
-or profession, but they are generally easily
-located.</p>
-
-<p>If this chapter shall lead the farmer to feel
-that his business is farming, that “a jack-at-all-trades
-is master of none,” and that the law,
-justly interpreted and enforced by those who
-know it thoroughly and well, is to be the
-foundation of his success, the guarantee of
-his home through life, and the channel of its
-proper disposal after death, then it has not been
-written in vain. Remember that the province of
-the true lawyer is to keep his client out of
-trouble, rather than to get him out of trouble.
-An honest lawyer, of whom, thank Heaven,
-there are very many, notwithstanding the popular<span class="pagenum" id="Page73">[73]</span>
-prejudice of those who have suffered from
-litigation, will always try to steer you clear of
-litigation and loss.</p>
-
-<p>In conclusion, then, always consult a lawyer
-in matters affecting your farm or property. The
-average fees of a lifetime will not exceed fifty
-dollars, and oftentimes valuable advice will be
-given free. Select one in whom you have confidence,
-and stick to him. Become his friend,
-and let the relation be one of mutual confidence.
-Do not neglect to ask him a question
-because you fear he will think you dumb; he
-probably knows less about farming than you
-do about law. He will need your advice and
-influence in minor matters as much as you need
-his. Call on him when you are in town, and
-he will be glad to see you. Very often he will
-answer your question gratis. When he charges
-you what may seem a large fee, remember that
-you are paying for skilled labor, and that you
-are entitled to expend as much for the possible
-welfare and happiness of your family as you
-expend upon the choice stock in your stables.
-Farmers, more than any other class of men,
-perhaps, are prone to neglect legal matters, or
-place them in incompetent hands.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page74">[74]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VI<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>LOCATING THE HOUSE</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Since more than three-fourths of the life of
-the farmer and his family are spent in sight of
-home, more than one-half of life in the house,
-and more than one-fourth in bed, the house, the
-place where they live, should receive most careful
-attention. Having secured sufficient land to
-maintain a home, and having made certain that
-these lands are productive and profitable, a
-problem is presented in locating and building
-the house which demands a high degree of intelligence,
-long, painstaking study, and a good
-understanding of what constitutes fitness, beauty
-and durability.</p>
-
-<p>Life in the country gives one the idea of repose,
-of strength and breadth, of largeness, of
-solidity and durability, of healthy, symmetrical,
-solid development. Things which are evanescent,
-unreal, shoddy; things which are simply
-for show or vulgar display; things which have
-the appearance of aping that which may be
-appropriate under different conditions, but are
-totally out of place in rural life, must be<span class="pagenum" id="Page75">[75]</span>
-avoided if utility, natural beauty and comfort,
-economy and repose are to be secured.</p>
-
-<p>The pioneer in the wooded districts built the
-home in some sequestered nook or valley at the
-base of the hill or table land, where the spring
-or the stream issued from the wood-covered
-heights. The rural house of the pioneer allowed
-free circulation of the frosty air; the problem
-of ventilation they solved without knowing it.
-Unwittingly they adopted the correct principle;
-viz., ventilation by many small, gentle streams
-of air instead of by a few large openings, which
-create dangerous drafts. It must be admitted
-that our forefathers overdid the ventilation in
-most cases, and rheumatism and chilblains were
-the result; but the principle was correct.</p>
-
-<p>Now the spring has dried up, the water from
-the deforested hills comes rushing to the lowlands
-until the streams overflow their banks,
-and these and other changed conditions indicate
-that the future farmsteads should be erected on
-higher land, on the slopes of the hills. From
-the one extreme we have gone, in some cases,
-to the other, and the home has been built on
-the very apex of some lofty hill. Such locations
-may be well adapted for summer residences,
-where little or no farming is carried on, but are
-not suitable for the farm home.</p>
-
-<p>Now that the house is constructed by more<span class="pagenum" id="Page76">[76]</span>
-skilled workmen than formerly, and out of better
-material, there is little need of locating the
-home in the sheltered nook, except possibly in
-the extreme north, or on plains subject to tornadoes.
-The object in locating the house on
-somewhat elevated lands is fourfold. First, air
-drainage. In deep, crooked, narrow valleys the
-air is pocketed, especially at night, and the
-damp, cold air settles in the lowest land as certainly
-as water finds the low-lying pool. In
-these pockets between the hills, frosts come
-early and remain late.</p>
-
-<p>While traveling in western North Carolina in
-the late summer and fall, I could not but observe
-how every little break in the hillside and every
-narrow valley was filled at sunrise, to the crest
-of the adjoining hill, with a dense fog. Slowly
-the sun, as it approached the zenith, dissipated
-the fog, but the narrow valleys were often free
-from fog for only a few hours each day. Here
-the home might be situated well up the mountain
-side, as shown at the right in <a href="#Fig5">Fig. 5</a>.</p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig5">
-
-<img src="images/illo085.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 5. A house in the bottom of the valley and one on the mountain side.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>In a little pocket about twenty feet deep,
-formed by hills, with a road embankment at its
-mouth, fruits failed, although they flourished on
-the adjoining land, where there was good air
-drainage (<a href="#Fig6">Fig. 6</a>). If fruits do not thrive on
-these undrained areas, the natural conclusion
-is that the children will not. It is found<span class="pagenum" id="Page77">[77]</span>
-that the upper stories of city buildings are
-healthier than the lower ones, and that the
-ground floor is the most unhealthy of all. This
-is the only objection to a one-story house. On
-the level prairies little opportunity is offered for
-locating the house above the level of the surrounding
-country. Fortunately, many of the
-prairies are undulating, and furnish most beautiful
-locations for country homes. Much may be<span class="pagenum" id="Page78">[78]</span>
-done, even in the level country, to overcome
-the disadvantages of the site by placing the
-cellar of the house only two or three feet in
-the ground and grading up to within a short
-distance of the top of the wall. A pool or
-two, or a miniature lake near the barns, and
-skilful planting of trees will lend a diversity
-and charm well worth the attention and time
-given to them.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig6">
-
-<img src="images/illo086.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 6. A frosty pocket.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>A pool may be made by scooping a place in
-hard earth or by damming a stream (<a href="#Fig7">Fig. 7</a>).
-If no water is allowed to flow over the dam and
-it is raised some two feet above the overflows,
-it will serve every purpose as well as an expensive
-grout or stone structure. It will be noticed
-in the picture that provision has been made by<span class="pagenum" id="Page79">[79]</span>
-digging shallow ditches on the right and left for
-carrying off the surplus water when the miniature
-lake is full. In constructing the dam, a
-trench two feet wide, at right angles to the
-stream, should be dug to the depth of one foot,
-or until solid ground, unmixed with vegetable
-matter, is reached. Fill the trench with clayey
-earth which is free from humus, which will prevent
-the dam from leaking at the bottom where
-it meets the natural soil. The stream which
-feeds the lake or pond should be small, and
-need not be perennial if the dam is raised as
-high as it should be. If the water is dammed
-back to the depth of twelve to fourteen feet,
-and the banks of the pond are rather steep
-(A, <a href="#Fig7">Fig. 7</a>), a cool, useful miniature lake will<span class="pagenum" id="Page80">[80]</span>
-be formed, and not an unsightly marsh, during
-the dry months of summer.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig7">
-
-<img src="images/illo087.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 7. A useful pond.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Dryish, gravelly soil and subsoil is to be
-much preferred as a site for a house to clayey
-or dark, damp soil which contains much humus.
-If the ideal soil cannot be secured, then thorough
-drainage should be provided. In locating on a
-gentle declivity, there is a constant tendency for
-water to penetrate the wall next the hillside or
-to pass under the wall and appear in the bottom
-of the cellar. Unless this can certainly be prevented,
-another location had better be selected.</p>
-
-<p>The house should be situated on somewhat
-elevated ground, to promote both surface and
-house drainage. If it is the purpose to introduce
-into the house more water than has been
-furnished heretofore, then full provision should
-be made for carrying all waste water and fecal
-matter to a safe distance from the house, and to
-do this beyond a peradventure, sufficient fall
-must be secured to give permanency to the work
-and an unobstructed outlet.</p>
-
-<p>One of the objections urged against a country
-home is that it is “too quiet,” too much shut
-up from the outside world. This, in part, is
-true. It detracts much from the enjoyment and
-beauty of the country home if vision is shut in
-to a few acres just about the house. The American
-farmer is not content to live under the<span class="pagenum" id="Page81">[81]</span>
-conditions which delight the Transvaal Dutch
-farmer, so isolated that he cannot see the smoke
-from his neighbor’s chimney nor hear the bark
-of his neighbor’s dog.</p>
-
-<p>When visiting the home of the Hon. Edwin
-Morgan, I found that he was having three large
-trees cut down. It seemed to the uninstructed
-like vandalism. When asked the reason for sacrificing
-these noble trees, nourished and tended
-for half a century, he answered: “I have many
-more trees, but I have but one lake&mdash;Cayuga&mdash;and
-I must have vistas through which I can
-watch the white sail, the crested waves, the ever-changing
-colors of the water as the winds open
-vistas in the fleecy clouds. I love the trees not
-less, but the soft reflection of the moonbeams
-on the rippling wave more, and so the trees
-must give way.”</p>
-
-<p>The outlook from the vine-covered veranda
-should be broad and extended. If possible, the
-hill and dale, the stream and wood, neighbors’
-houses nestled in plantations of trees and
-shrubs, all should be in sight. As life advances,
-I see more and more clearly the effect of that
-noble lake, its now boisterous now placid surface
-of the rippling water which laved the stony
-beach. I see its effect on that “tow-headed” lad
-who at one time breasted the waves, at another
-sat dreamily casting pebbles into the clear expanse,<span class="pagenum" id="Page82">[82]</span>
-wondering what life had in store, what
-the great unknown world offered for the nut-brown,
-high-tempered, crude country boy. Then
-plant the country home where nature in her
-happiest moods has showered her richest gifts!</p>
-
-<p>But beauty loses much of its charm where
-healthy vigor gives not the power to appreciate
-and enjoy it. So the house should be located
-on a healthy eminence. But it is not easy to
-find a location which shall combine convenience,
-beauty, air and water drainage, and healthfulness
-all in the highest degree. In the case of the
-farmer, convenience as to carrying on the various
-operations of the farm and healthfulness
-are paramount. Drainage may be artificially
-improved, vistas opened, miniature lakes constructed,
-and surroundings made more beautiful.
-The farm and its equipment is the workshop,
-and must be convenient in all its appointments,
-or much energy is spent for naught; health
-must be maintained at the highest, or work
-may become but toil and drudgery.</p>
-
-<p>In locating a house, its relation to the size
-of the farm, its productiveness and agricultural
-capabilities should be considered. In locating
-the site, two places should be carefully avoided:
-First, at the end of a long lane in the middle
-of the farm. It may be said that the buildings
-form the natural nucleus in and around which<span class="pagenum" id="Page83">[83]</span>
-the work centers, and therefore they should be
-placed near the middle of the estate. But the
-work carried on in the fields forms but a small
-part of the farmer’s activities. He must
-ever, in these modern times, be in touch with
-the school, the church, the post office, the railway,
-the market, and his neighbors. When an
-infrequent call is made at the end of this long
-lane, the children appear like frightened deer as
-they seek shelter in the shrubbery or behind the
-corner of a building, and the more the inherited
-timidity and reserve, the wilder they
-appear.</p>
-
-<p>The other location to be avoided is within a
-few feet of the highway. Such locations are
-only admissible in the city, where land sells by
-the square foot. What fortunes are sometimes
-spent in the city to secure some amplitude of
-space between the dusty, noisy street and the
-residence! What dignity and repose an ample,
-well kept house-yard gives to even a plain,
-modest house! The effect of the mistake of
-locating the house too close to the highway is
-often accentuated by locating the barns on the
-other side and immediately upon the highway,
-and in front of the house. The location of the
-house, as to the highway, should be governed,
-in part, by the size and productive power of the
-farm. If ample acres and means are available,<span class="pagenum" id="Page84">[84]</span>
-then the grounds should be ample; if limited,
-the grounds should be made to correspond.</p>
-
-<p>In moderate-sized holdings, a clear space of
-from 100 to 200 feet between the house and the
-highway, and width equal to or exceeding the
-length, will give room for a few shade trees and
-an ample grass plat. The site should be either
-suited to the house or the house to the site.
-Therefore, the character of the proposed house
-and the site should be considered at the same
-time. One location may be suited to a one-story,
-another to a two-story house. No location
-is suited to a story-and-a-half house.</p>
-
-<p>It may be said that on most farms the house
-is already located, and has grouped around it
-plantations and barns. In many cases it would
-be inexpedient to change the site of the house,
-as this would necessitate many changes of outbuildings
-and other permanent improvements.
-But if a careful inspection is made of farmsteads,
-it will appear that many of the houses
-are in need of repairs and additions, and that
-the cost of making them would be but slightly
-increased if either the house or the outbuildings
-were removed to a more desirable site. In the
-great majority of cases, the old barns should be
-gathered together into one structure, or into two
-at most, and adapted to the needs of modern
-agriculture (as will be explained in a subsequent<span class="pagenum" id="Page85">[85]</span>
-chapter). All changes presuppose well
-matured plans and long and careful study of
-problems which will have to be solved if the
-location of the house or barn is changed.</p>
-
-<p>The scope, and particularly the cost, of the
-changes should be known approximately before
-the execution of the plan begins. “For which
-of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not
-down and counteth the cost, whether he have
-sufficient to finish it? Lest haply after he hath
-laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it,
-all that behold it begin to mock him, saying,
-this man began to build and was not able to
-finish.” Far better live in the old house, with
-its inconveniences, and get the greatest possible
-happiness out of the ancient structure, than to
-build a new one and cover it with shining paints
-of many colors and a mortgage which sticks
-longer than the paints.</p>
-
-<p>Some of these old farm houses embody many
-beautiful and reposeful characteristics, are well
-located, and need only slight modifications to
-make them fit the site as nicely as a bird fits
-its nest. If thought can be awakened as to
-the possibilities of these neglected homes and
-some information imparted as to their treatment,
-or, in other words, if the eyes and understanding
-can be trained to take in the fundamental
-principles of beauty, dignity, fitness, and repose,<span class="pagenum" id="Page86">[86]</span>
-we shall soon see fewer architectural monstrosities.
-That there are not more is a wonder.
-What lad or lass has ever had the slightest
-instruction by teacher in rural or city school
-along the lines of fitness, beauty, and healthfulness
-of sites for country homes? The few
-youths who reach the institutions of higher
-learning are scarcely better off. Some of these
-are taught to see the beauties and wonders of
-nature through a microscope, and, in rare
-cases, one may be taught to observe the lines
-of symmetry and form as exhibited in a poor
-plaster cast of some mythological Roman warrior;
-but as for any instruction which leads
-directly to a broad understanding or keen appreciation
-of nature in her broader, happier, and
-grander aspects, it is painfully conspicuous by
-its absence. So, is it any wonder that the
-farmer is deficient in appreciation of the fitness
-and beauty of the tree-clad, gently rolling
-plateau for a home site, when the “liberally”
-educated fail to see the innumerable beauty-spots
-which cover the face of nature?</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page87">[87]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VII<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>PLANNING RURAL BUILDINGS</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>The farm house is not what is called, a
-“paying investment.” It is not a direct source
-of income; neither can the other rural buildings
-be said to produce a direct income. Generally
-speaking, the farm house can fulfil but
-four purposes if properly planned and well constructed:
-the house may serve to keep the
-family warm in cold weather, cool in hot
-weather, dry in wet weather, and to gratify a
-love for the beautiful. Since the farm house as
-a paying investment is usually a failure, if it
-does not supply the wants of the household and
-fulfil its object, it becomes a failure indeed.
-The first great mistake which the prosperous
-farmer usually makes is to invest too much
-money in expensive, hastily planned buildings.
-The house should be built to serve its inmates; too
-often the inmates become the servants of the house.
-A farmer’s wife cannot well afford to devote one
-room in the overcrowded house to the storage of
-expensive, useless upholstery and bric-a-brac,
-nor time to keep them presentable and in order.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page88">[88]</span></p>
-
-<p>The debt incurred for a part of the purchase
-price of the farm forbids the employment of
-help to keep in order this home museum of
-things useful and beautiful, and things useless
-and ugly. If plainness, durability, and natural
-beauty in parlor, sitting-room and chamber
-would only become fashionable, what a burden
-would be removed from the shoulders of housewives,
-both in country and city! The time is
-at hand when health and intelligence should
-count for more among American women than
-show and the possession of a miniature upholstery
-shop. The furnishings of the rooms should
-minister to the comfort of their owner, and not
-tend to make life burdensome.</p>
-
-<p>Not infrequently farmers of energy and
-ability become possessed of more than a competence
-near the close of life. Having lived in
-somewhat restricted circumstances, they think
-to make the close of life more comfortable and
-luxurious. So, notwithstanding the fact that
-most of the children have left the paternal roof,
-they set about building a large house, tear down
-or remodel, and add to the outbuildings; and at
-the close of life they leave the possessions encumbered
-and a farm overloaded with buildings
-as an inheritance to a child unable, by reason
-of youth and inexperience, to secure a competence
-sufficient to live and keep up repairs.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page89">[89]</span></p>
-
-<p>A beautiful farm of 180 acres, in central
-New York, is provided with the following buildings:</p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig8">
-
-<img src="images/illo097.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 8.
-The buildings on a
-180-acre farm.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="centerblock">
-
-<p class="noindent">A house, part 2-, and part 1¹⁄₂-story, 110 feet long.<br />
-A horse barn, 30 by 80 feet.<br />
-A grain barn, 40 by 80 feet.<br />
-A straw shed, 20 by 30 feet.<br />
-A machinery and husking barn, 20 by 80 feet.<br />
-A hay barn, 16 by 30 feet.<br />
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page90">[90]</span>
-A cart shed and chicken house, 20 by 24 feet.<br />
-A piggery, 20 by 24 feet.<br />
-A corn crib, 12 by 18 feet.<br />
-A carriage house, 24 by 32 feet.</p>
-
-</div><!--centerblock-->
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig9">
-
-<img src="images/illo098.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 9. The farm house that is too big for the farm.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Some of this lay-out is shown in <a href="#Fig8">Figures 8</a>,
-<a href="#Fig9">9</a>, and <a href="#Fig10">10</a>. These buildings could not have cost
-less than $15,000. A fair valuation of the farm
-at the present time would be $14,000 to $16,000.
-The family which now occupies the house consists
-of man and wife, one child, and two
-regular employes, one of whom has his own<span class="pagenum" id="Page91">[91]</span>
-home. The father overloaded the farm with
-buildings, his son is struggling to keep them in
-repair, and the wife labors to keep unused rooms
-presentable. These buildings might well serve
-for a section of land and a family of twenty.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig10">
-
-<img src="images/illo099.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 10. Scattered farm buildings.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig11">
-
-<img src="images/illo100.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 11. A cosy farm house.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Another house not far from this one was
-built nearly a century ago (<a href="#Fig11">Fig. 11</a>). If the
-upper story was a full instead of a half-story,
-it would fulfil all the demands of a house, except
-possibly beauty. It stands on a rather
-steep front slope, which stops abruptly on the
-shore of one of our beautiful inland lakes <span class="pagenum" id="Page92">[92]</span>(<a href="#Fig12">Fig.
-12</a>). By reason of the steep incline at the front
-of the house, a tall building would be far less
-beautiful than this lean-to, severely plain structure.
-This simple old house has a restful,
-almost beautiful appearance when viewed in
-conjunction with the trees, the steep, sloping
-lawn, and the broad, placid lake. The shaded
-veranda gives the idea of social repose far more
-than does the formal, stiff, restricted one shown
-in <a href="#Fig9">Fig. 9</a>, which has scarcely room for two easy
-chairs, and is so constructed that no grateful<span class="pagenum" id="Page93">[93]</span>
-shade is secured. Woe be to the man who destroys
-this restful old house and substitutes for
-it a lofty, narrow-waisted one adorned with peaks
-and spires, bay windows and a filigree cornice!</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig12">
-
-<img src="images/illo101.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 12. The lake view in front of the house.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Before ground is broken for the foundation,
-carefully considered plans suited to the site, the
-size and productiveness of the farm, and the
-probable income, should have been made. It
-may be said that the size of the house should
-be governed by the size, or the probable size,
-of the family. But “it is better to dwell in<span class="pagenum" id="Page94">[94]</span>
-the corner of the house-top than in a wide
-house” with insufficient means to maintain it.
-The general plans should be outlined at least
-a year before a new building or extensive enlargement
-of the old is begun. The houses
-which are to be built in the future should be
-planned with a view to greater economy, convenience,
-beauty, and durability. There is now
-little excuse for erecting poor, uncomfortable,
-inconvenient houses on the farm. True, the
-rural population is handicapped, for few city
-architects have made any study of the plain
-rural house, and fewer have paid any attention
-whatever to farm barn construction. Even
-if architects had given attention to the needs of
-the rural population, the farmer would feel
-that he could hardly afford to pay $100 to
-$200 for the plans of a house costing $1,000
-to $2,000, exclusive of the labor which the
-owner, his men and teams were able to perform
-upon it. The task of planning a country
-house is too great for the country carpenter;
-he cannot even interpret plans correctly; his
-range of observation and training have been
-too limited. Then, who is to plan the house?
-Why, the farmer and his family, and it will
-take at least two years of study and observation
-of other houses and their modern conveniences
-before intelligent, crude plans and<span class="pagenum" id="Page95">[95]</span>
-instructions are ready to be placed in the hands
-of the draughtsman.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig13">
-
-<img src="images/illo103.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 13. A house of seven gables.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Few persons are original; therefore, if the
-little conveniences which help to lighten work
-and make life more pleasurable are to find a
-place in the house, they must be seen in other
-houses. All men have more ideas than any one
-man; therefore, the range of study should be
-wide, that whatever is suitable to the conditions
-may be adopted. After having built many
-farm houses and barns, and having made a
-long and most careful study of them, I estimate
-that from 30 to 40 per cent of the cost
-of farm buildings is useless, and sometimes
-worse than thrown away.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page96">[96]</span></p>
-
-<p>A small farm house on a modest-sized farm
-is shown in <a href="#Fig13">Fig. 13</a>. The site is beautiful, and
-is worthy of a house better fitted to the situation,
-the farm, and the farmer. The illustration
-shows seven gables, and the house, therefore,
-might serve as a model for a work of fiction;
-but the left-hand side of the house is like unto
-the right-hand side, so it will not do for fiction,
-for if the truth must be told, there are eleven
-gables and twenty-two valleys on this house.</p>
-
-<div class="container w25em" id="Fig14">
-
-<img src="images/illo104.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 14. Filigree work is expensive, and
-does not look well on a farm house.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The vine-covered veranda is most beautiful,
-and looks cool and comfortable, but there are
-too many vines, and, with the exception of a
-few days in summer at midday, the air under
-this veranda would be
-damp and uncomfortable.
-It is far better
-to secure shade by
-means of awnings and
-a few tall, well trimmed
-shade trees, which
-preclude dampness and
-permit air drainage,
-than to overburden the
-veranda with vines.
-The covering of this veranda is an unprotected
-floor, and extends along the front and well
-around both sides. Notice the too expensive
-balustrade and frequent fancy posts, an enlarged<span class="pagenum" id="Page97">[97]</span>
-section of which is shown in <a href="#Fig14">Fig. 14</a>. All of
-this expensive wooden material is exposed to
-our ever-changeful, paint-destroying climate.
-The tinsmith, the painter, and the carpenter
-will reap a rich harvest if the external part<span class="pagenum" id="Page98">[98]</span>
-of this house is kept in order. It seems hardly
-necessary to call attention to the chambers,
-which, of necessity, must be of such a character
-as to preclude comfort, beauty and repose.</p>
-
-<div class="container w35em" id="Fig15">
-
-<img src="images/illo105.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 15. Ground plan of a house which is out of character on a farm.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>A house built after the ground plan, <a href="#Fig15">Fig.
-15</a>, might make a not unpleasing picture in
-the landscape, but it would not be appropriate
-for the farm, and would be unnecessarily expensive
-in construction and maintenance. It
-would be difficult to heat, on account of the
-great surface exposure due to the broken outlines
-and numerous corners, which are seldom
-air-tight. The style might not be altogether
-inappropriate for a cheap seaside cottage.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig16">
-
-<img src="images/illo106.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 16. A good model for a farm house, having strong lines and much character.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page99">[99]</span></p>
-
-<p>A rear view of a somewhat larger house is
-given (<a href="#Fig16">Fig. 16</a>). It would not cause the passerby
-to stop and stare. It may be compared
-to a well, appropriately, and simply dressed lady,
-while the other is a reminder of the over-dressed,
-furbelowed damsel, who attracts the prolonged
-stare and the thoughtless comments of every
-sidewalk idler. Here are seen repose, beauty,<span class="pagenum" id="Page100">[100]</span>
-elements of durability, and freedom from expensive
-ornamentation and repairs.</p>
-
-<p>A back view of this house has been shown
-purposely to emphasize the fact that the rear
-side of a house may be made nearly as beautiful
-as the front side. It would be improved both
-in looks and convenience if a partially enclosed
-porch were placed over the door and two of the
-windows.</p>
-
-<div class="container w35em" id="Fig17">
-
-<img src="images/illo107.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 17. Ground plan of the house shown in <a href="#Fig16">Figs. 16</a> and <a href="#Fig19">19</a>.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The planning of a house is not difficult if
-wants are clearly defined and the principles of
-economy, dignity, durability and repose, as applied
-to the exterior of the house, are fairly
-well understood. If the site is ample, and it
-always is in the country, you have but to draw
-a rectangle, the length of which is one-third to
-one-fourth longer than its breadth. <a href="#Fig17">Fig. 17</a> is a
-ground plan of the house shown in <a href="#Fig16">Fig. 16</a>.</p>
-
-<p>The farm house shown in <a href="#Fig18">Fig. 18</a> is located
-thirty feet from a dusty, muddy, much-traveled
-public highway. Opposite to it, and immediately
-on the road, are located the ill-kept farm buildings.
-How the aromas of the stables and kitchen
-are to be kept each on its respective side of
-the road is a question difficult to solve. Here,
-as in so many cases, the wife showed better
-training and more commendable pride in her
-surroundings and her workshop than the husband.
-She may coax him some day to set a<span class="pagenum" id="Page101">[101]</span>
-few trees, which may serve
-in part to hide his workshop
-on the other side.
-There are many things
-about this farm house
-which are commendable,
-and the only wonder is
-that so few mistakes were
-made in planning it.
-Farmers’ wives must have
-a sort of natural intuition;
-how else can the fewness
-of their mistakes be explained,
-for they have seldom
-received the slightest
-instruction along the lines
-of house-building. True,
-the tower on the corner is
-expensive and inappropriate,
-but if the house had
-an appropriate setting of
-trees and shrubs it might
-be beautiful.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig18">
-
-<img src="images/illo109.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 18. The house is too fancy. The small projections make it look weak. The view is not attractive.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The farm house should
-have one large bed-room
-on the first floor, a well
-appointed kitchen and living
-room. When the size,
-number, and arrangement of the other rooms are<span class="pagenum" id="Page102">[102]</span>
-fixed, the lines which bound the outside of the
-rooms will not, of necessity, always coincide with
-the rectangular lines. On one side the house may
-extend slightly over, on another fall short of
-the lines which bound the rectangle. Does the
-rectangle embody fitness and beauty? If the
-manufactured things by which we are surrounded
-are noted, it will be seen how many of them
-are rectangular. The book, the sheet of paper,
-the pamphlet, the photograph, the picture frame
-on the wall, the rug on the floor, the writing
-case, the chiffonier, the trunk, and thousands of
-objects of use and beauty naturally take the
-rectangular form: then why not the house?
-Man constructs along the lines of acute, obtuse,
-and right angles unless there are specific reasons
-for adopting curves, while nature’s modes adhere
-closely to circular and curved outlines.</p>
-
-<p>A front view of a substantial, appropriate
-house fronting to the west is shown in <a href="#Fig19">Fig. 19</a>.
-It is the house of which a rear view is shown
-in <a href="#Fig16">Fig. 16</a>. The wide, projecting eaves, the
-simple roof over the second-story windows, and
-the plain veranda, all protect the windows from
-storm and the glaring afternoon sun. The eave-trough
-near the edge of the roof serves to relieve
-the plainness of the projecting roof, which really
-has no cornice. The side and ends of some of
-the rafters are seen, and no attempt has been<span class="pagenum" id="Page103">[103]</span>
-made to box them in. The treatment is dignified,
-plain, inexpensive, and suitable,&mdash;therefore
-it is beautiful. The planting at the left is
-too thick for any but a dry climate. A lofty
-elm tree would serve better for shading the veranda
-in the late afternoon, and permit of better
-air drainage. The trees shown are deciduous,
-and therefore cannot form an ideal winter windbreak.
-If they were evergreens they would be
-entirely too close to the house. The mournful
-sighing of evergreen trees in the bleak November
-winds does not promote cheerfulness.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig19">
-
-<img src="images/illo111.jpg" class="bordered" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 19. A dignified, restful, economical house.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page104">[104]</span></p>
-
-<p>Four college buildings are shown in <a href="#Fig20">Figs. 20</a>,
-<a href="#Fig21">21</a>, <a href="#Fig23">23</a>, and <a href="#Fig24">24</a>. School buildings can hardly be
-said to be a part of the farm lay-out, but they
-will serve quite as well as farm buildings to
-educate the taste and to train the eye and the
-judgment. The reader will see at once which
-two of these buildings are most dignified and
-pleasing.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig20">
-
-<img src="images/illo112.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 20. University building,&mdash;gray stone and tile roof.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>In the schools, the people of the rural districts
-have had no instruction which would lead
-them to carefully observe and compare buildings
-of any kind; and hence, with but rare exceptions,
-they are ill-qualified to make an intelligent
-study of them. They are totally unprepared to
-grasp the fundamental principles which should<span class="pagenum" id="Page105">[105]</span>
-govern the erection of structures on the farm,
-and totally ignorant of the principles to be observed
-when large public buildings are planned
-and erected. Fortunately or unfortunately, some
-farmers will be called upon to judge of the
-plans for school and other public buildings.
-The plans for a president’s house and an expensive
-college building were submitted to a
-board of thirteen trustees of a flourishing agricultural
-college. Ten of these trustees were
-farmers of more than local reputation. I forbear
-giving illustrations of the results: suffice
-it to say, that happily the house fell down
-before it was roofed in.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig21">
-
-<img src="images/illo113.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 21. University building,&mdash;red brick and slate roof.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>A school building for the higher education
-should be light and airy; but light does not<span class="pagenum" id="Page106">[106]</span>
-enter a building freely through narrow windows
-placed in thick stone or brick walls. <a href="#Fig22">Fig. 22</a>
-shows the effect of narrow and wide windows
-in the lighting of a building. Observe the
-shadow cast by the wall between the two narrow
-windows. The sun is directly in front of
-the windows for but a small part of the day.
-Usually it enters at a more or less acute angle,
-in which case a window three feet wide may
-be more than twice as efficient in lighting a
-room as one two feet wide, and a four-foot
-window three or four times as efficient as one
-half its width.</p>
-
-<div class="container w30em" id="Fig22">
-
-<img src="images/illo114.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 22. Showing the greater proportionate amount of light admitted by one broad
-window, as compared with two narrow ones of equal combined opening.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig23">
-
-<img src="images/illo115.jpg" class="bordered" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 23. University laboratories,&mdash;red brick and slate roof.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p><a href="#Fig20">Figs. 20</a>, <a href="#Fig21">21</a>, <a href="#Fig23">23</a>, and <a href="#Fig24">24</a> serve to illustrate
-some of the fundamental principles which should
-be observed in constructing expensive public
-buildings, and they may also serve for comparison,<span class="pagenum" id="Page107">[107]</span>
-and for educating the eye and the judgment.
-The knowledge acquired in a study of
-these buildings may be useful in the planning
-and erection of rural homes, for in some respects
-all buildings should be alike. The farmer
-seldom has opportunity to contrast and study
-large detached buildings in which beauty, dignity,
-durability, and, above all, utility, are combined,
-and he seldom plans and erects more
-than one homestead; therefore, many buildings
-should be observed, the desirable and undesirable
-features noted and discussed thoroughly
-before the erection of a new structure, however<span class="pagenum" id="Page108">[108]</span>
-simple it may be, is begun. It requires no
-little knowledge to construct in the best manner
-even a modern chicken house.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig24">
-
-<img src="images/illo116.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 24. University building,&mdash;gray stone and slate roof.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The consideration of these four school buildings,
-so different in character, may not be dismissed
-at once. They are introduced for the
-purpose of arousing interest and for giving
-opportunity to study the principles of external
-construction. The true principles once mastered,
-their application to rural homes will not be difficult.
-If <a href="#Fig20">Fig. 20</a> be studied carefully, it will be
-noticed that the lines are dignified, restful and
-even beautiful, although the building is constructed<span class="pagenum" id="Page109">[109]</span>
-on straight lines, with little attempt
-at ornamentation. This building is sometimes
-taken for an art gallery, and so it is, for in
-it is taught the fine art of butter making. Its
-strong tile roof, ample projection of eaves, and
-freedom from peaks and valleys give assurance
-that this building, barring accidents, will stand
-for centuries with slight repair, and be more
-beautiful as time tones down and softens the
-colors.</p>
-
-<p>The building shown in <a href="#Fig21">Fig. 21</a> satisfies
-neither eye nor judgment. It is a noble building
-as to size and material, but are not the
-twenty miniature peaks out of place? It does
-not have the appearance of a restful school
-building, but of a mammoth seaside hotel. The
-many little gables might have been combined
-into a few large, noble ones, which would have
-given abundant light and lent dignity and
-charm to this well built structure. If we now
-transfer our thought from the large buildings
-to the brick dwelling house (<a href="#Fig25">Fig. 25</a>), we find
-the same strong lines, the same dignity, and
-the same durability of roof structure, with a
-little added ornamentation, as are found in some
-school buildings. It should have been two-story
-instead of a story and a half, and the veranda
-might well have been more ample. This house,
-too, like the large stone structure (<a href="#Fig20">Fig. 20</a>) is<span class="pagenum" id="Page110">[110]</span>
-restful and satisfying. One instinctively sees
-that the cost of maintenance of this durable
-structure will be comparatively little. If this
-house be compared with the one shown in <a href="#Fig26">Fig.
-26</a>, it will be easily seen how much more appropriate
-and beautiful it is. One is built of
-cream brick and roofed with soft-colored tile;
-the other is roofed with poor shingles, has a
-cheap hemlock frame, and is sided with wood,
-which is covered with gaudy, ready mixed earth
-paints, which may fade out before the bill for
-them is paid.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig25">
-
-<img src="images/illo118.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 25. A simple and attractive little dwelling house.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Some day a genius will set forth for the<span class="pagenum" id="Page111">[111]</span>
-farmer, in simple language and illustrations,
-the fundamental principles which should be followed
-in the building of rural homes. When
-that time comes the present children will then
-be mature and will have been so energized by
-nature-study work, which is now being introduced
-so extensively in the schools, as to be
-able to appreciate and profit by such literature.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig26">
-
-<img src="images/illo119.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 26. Another type of dwelling house.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Some of the tree-embowered farm houses
-have such a restful look and often embody
-such true lines of beauty that it seems almost
-sacrilegious to change them. On the other
-hand, some of them are so ill adapted to<span class="pagenum" id="Page112">[112]</span>
-farm life, so unhandy and uncomfortable, that
-radical changes should be made. After the
-farmer has prospered, he naturally has a desire
-to build a new house or to transform the old
-one, not only to secure needed conveniences,
-but that greater beauty and a more luxurious
-home may be secured. It is difficult for him
-to find adequate help to solve the problem if
-he keeps the cost within reasonable limits. He
-may know where to begin; he seldom knows
-where he will end. Usually the first thought
-should be to preserve the old home, or the
-greater part of it. The architect is almost
-certain to advise demolition and the erection
-of a new house, asserting that the new structure
-will be no more expensive than the remodeling
-of the old, which may or may not
-be true. But he does not always know what
-is best, as he is usually unfamiliar with the
-farmers’ needs and traditions. Sacred associations
-usually cluster round the old farm house;
-every room and door and window may be associated
-with some epoch in life’s history. Through
-yonder door came the happy bride a half century
-ago; in yonder room the children were
-born;&mdash;every nook and corner has some tale
-to tell, some happy association. We cross
-oceans and mountains to view the birthplaces
-and homes (which happily sometimes are preserved<span class="pagenum" id="Page113">[113]</span>
-and held sacred) of a Burns and a
-Shakespeare. Then is it not well to preserve
-the farm houses, where possibly are the birthplaces
-of many “Cromwells guiltless of their
-country’s blood.”</p>
-
-<p>The first thought, then, should be to save
-and improve the old house, not to destroy it.
-But most of these farm houses are either too
-low or too high: that is, they are neither one- nor
-two-storied, but a story and a half. A
-two-story wing may often be placed either at
-the front or side, and may serve to give dignity
-to the house; or a lower room or two, a few
-comfortable chambers, and an entrance hall or
-vestibule may be added. Such addition would
-make it possible to remove the low, flat-roofed,
-leaky kitchen to more appropriate quarters.
-The formerly unused parlor might be transformed
-into a living-room, the former living-room
-into a dining-room, and the old dining-room
-into a kitchen. The details by which
-this evolution is made must, of necessity, be
-worked out by those who are to occupy the
-house. That home is enjoyed best which is
-planned by those who have to pay the bills;
-therefore, I shall not go into detail of arrangement.
-My object will have been accomplished
-if I succeed in creating a greater respect and
-love for the houses of our ancestors, and shall<span class="pagenum" id="Page114">[114]</span>
-have stayed the hand of the iconoclast. Any
-one can destroy, but few can create.</p>
-
-<p>So reasoned the college graduate on his return
-to the old homestead. The old house (<a href="#Fig27">Fig.
-27</a>) was improved by making slight additions
-and some minor changes. Even the green window
-blinds and the white siding were not disturbed,
-only brightened by the use of old-fashioned,
-unadulterated paints. The major
-effort was along the line of improving the live
-stock and making the acres more productive,
-soon resulting in surplus funds, which were
-used to erect the large and commodious barn.
-Simultaneously with the barn came the icehouse,
-and the windmill for pumping water.
-The observant passer-by instinctively knows that
-here are all the outward indications of morality,
-intelligence, and a rational and progressive system
-of agriculture. If the family be judged by
-what is seen in this picture of the farm above
-ground, the conclusion must be reached that
-here is a true home.</p>
-
-<p>How different the impression is when we look
-through the open roadside gate in the next
-picture (<a href="#Fig28">Fig. 28</a>)! Lack of intelligent purpose
-and of neatness and thrift is written upon every
-structure, and is especially shown by the want
-of any logical plan in the arrangement of the
-numerous small structures. The house, which
-stands just to the right of the beautiful tree, is
-modern in many respects, but the front is supported
-by numerous Grecian columns nearly
-twenty feet long, as inappropriate and as useless
-for a farm-house as is a coon’s tail on a
-lady’s hat.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page115">[115]</span></p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig27">
-
-<img src="images/illo123a.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 27. The old homestead.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig28">
-
-<img src="images/illo123b.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 28. Lack of intelligent purpose.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page116">[116]</span></p>
-
-<p>Instinctively we judge people at first sight,
-and largely by the clothes they wear and the
-manner of wearing them. So we judge, and
-often very accurately, of families by the houses
-which shelter them and the objects which surround
-them. One can easily tell much of the
-character of a man by the style and tip of his
-hat. What noble deeds, what lofty aspirations
-in this day and age of plenty and opportunity,
-should we expect to have birth and fruition in
-the house shown in illustration <a href="#Fig29">Fig. 29</a>! This
-building is not located in the country, but in
-the suburbs of a small, prosperous inland
-city. Unfortunately, this village is unlike many
-beautiful country villages and small cities in
-western New York in which there are no poor
-people. What a depressing effect this building
-must have on the well bred country lad who
-passes it weekly on his journey to and from the
-post office!</p>
-
-<p>But how easy to go from one extreme to the
-other! Too many farm houses stand alone,
-unrelieved by noble trees or by modest planting<span class="pagenum" id="Page117">[117]</span>
-of appropriate shrubbery, looking in the
-distance at the setting sun like lofty, whitewashed
-sepulchres. On the other hand, the
-house may be made dark and damp by over-planting.
-The house shown in <a href="#Fig30">Fig. 30</a> is a
-comfortable, fairly attractive stone structure, but
-is made gloomy and damp by the superabundance
-of evergreen and deciduous trees which
-fill all the space, barely thirty feet, between the
-house and the highway.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig29">
-
-<img src="images/illo125.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 29. Environment often makes the man.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The church, as well as the farm house, is or
-should be the home of the farmer; but the
-church, like the individual, may become proud,
-in which case the old meeting-house is demolished
-and replaced by a modern new one,<span class="pagenum" id="Page118">[118]</span>
-which may serve for a time to stimulate laggards
-and appear to take the place of changed
-purposes in life. But the debt saddled on the
-congregation tends to drive the church-goers to
-the rear seats and eventually out of doors. I
-have sometimes thought that a country church
-could not well be too small. Man is a gregarious
-animal, and does not enjoy church-going
-when the seats are but partially occupied.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig30">
-
-<img src="images/illo126.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 30. Buried in trees. The opposite extreme from <a href="#Fig26">Fig. 26</a>.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The plain, substantial stone church shown in
-<a href="#Fig31">Fig. 31</a> is located in a sparsely settled district
-on the windy prairies of Kansas. It is certainly
-most appropriate and fits its environment; all
-it lacks to make it beautiful is a suitable setting
-of trees and shrubbery. It would then serve as<span class="pagenum" id="Page119">[119]</span>
-a reminder of “God’s first temple not made
-with hands,” and not of one made with a
-jig-saw.</p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig31">
-
-<img src="images/illo127.jpg" class="bordered" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 31. A plain, substantial stone church.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>“It is a plain, rugged, austere structure, like
-the men who built it, and any proposal to modernize
-it would be received with disfavor; for
-it means more to the people than merely a
-church building&mdash;it is a sacred possession that
-is a part of their life,” and it is an appropriate
-monument to the sturdy religious character of
-the pioneers who stood in the forefront as a
-wall guarding human rights and liberties in
-those stormy
-days of the past.
-The country
-church should
-be as truly a
-part of the farm
-structure as are
-the house and
-barn, located on
-land held in fee
-simple.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page120">[120]</span></p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig32">
-
-<img src="images/illo128a.jpg" class="bordered" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 32. Where horses are kept.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig33">
-
-<img src="images/illo128b.jpg" class="bordered" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 33. Where boys and girls are taught.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page121">[121]</span></p>
-
-<p>The school-house
-also, as well as the church, should form
-a part of the farm above ground. We sometimes
-build parlors for the pictures, and palaces
-for the horses and cattle, and neglect
-the school-house. A city of 12,000 inhabitants
-in central New York has many expensive
-stables, some of them works of art. The
-barn shown in <a href="#Fig32">Fig. 32</a> is not more than half
-a mile from the school-house shown in <a href="#Fig33">Fig.
-33</a>. The beautiful stable might serve as a
-well appointed dwelling house by making a few
-minor changes. While such buildings are being
-constructed, the country school-house, the pride
-of the American, is left to fall into decay;
-or, if rebuilt, it is located too often on a little
-scrap of land which may be almost worthless,
-as though land in America were the most
-precious of all our inheritance. This school-house
-is designed to provide accommodations
-for both farm and city children living in the
-suburbs. The school-house has not a tree for
-shade nor a shrub to admire, situated on the
-commons among weeds and rocks, provided with
-one dilapidated outhouse unscreened by fence or
-tree or vine or shrub, while the stable is surrounded
-with rare trees and shrubs artistically
-arranged and a smoothly shaven lawn. Are
-horses and cattle worth more than boys and
-girls?</p>
-
-<p>To leave the reader to infer that all school-houses
-are like the one shown would be
-misleading. A more pleasing illustration is
-presented in <a href="#Fig34">Fig. 34</a>. Here the meeting-house,
-the school-house, and a bit of the farm are<span class="pagenum" id="Page122">[122]</span>
-shown in juxtaposition, as they were found at
-the meeting of the roads in a shady grove.
-Since moral character should be the foundation
-upon which to symmetrically build intelligence
-and industry, the church may be treated first.
-While taking the photograph, I was struck by
-the inexpensive character of the meeting-house.
-The outside covering was of plain, matched,
-vertical boards, but they were kept well painted
-and therefore looked neat, and the seats were
-entirely comfortable. I judge that here true,
-practical religion finds a congenial home, for a
-long line of comfortable sheds were being built
-to house the horses during the hours of devotion.
-Then, too, the sheds will serve a doubly
-humane purpose, for where the pupils live long
-distances from the school the horse driven in
-the morning will have comfortable quarters until
-the school closes in the evening. A public
-water-trough near by, kept full from a spring,
-gave evidence that this little church and the
-school-house were potent factors in promoting
-civilization. To the right is seen a lad plowing.
-Here, then, in this picture is represented
-the three great corner-stones of civilization upon
-which to build a symmetrical, beautiful superstructure.
-To build on either one alone is to
-insure disappointment; when life is grounded
-on all three the result is practical religion and<span class="pagenum" id="Page123">[123]</span>
-intelligence eventuating in a better understanding
-of the complex soil and the interrelations of
-nature’s modes of action. It means steady and
-effective employment, the abandonment of nomadic
-life, and in lieu thereof a permanent
-home and an abundant supply of the necessaries
-and comforts of life. The Bible, the
-school book, and the plow should all be engraven
-and intertwined in our modern civilization.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig34">
-
-<img src="images/illo131.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 34. School house and church at the corners.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>So far the general characteristics, fitness,
-durability and beauty of the country farm house
-have been discussed and illustrated, together
-with such public buildings as are directly related
-to rural life. But having discussed the
-size, best proportions, and most suitable materials
-for the house, and having put them into<span class="pagenum" id="Page124">[124]</span>
-visible form, the building may be made hideous
-and unnecessarily expensive by careless or ignorant
-treatment of external details.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig35">
-
-<img src="images/illo132.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 35. The sway-back house.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Most of the farmers who now occupy the
-country west of the Alleghanies came from the
-east and brought with them a varied assortment
-of styles of architecture inherited from the
-many European countries from which they or
-their ancestors came. These people, though of
-limited means, had pride and tenacity of purpose,
-and they could not easily change to the
-plain and appropriate exterior treatment of the
-farm house. This inheritance and persistence, as
-shown in the farm houses of the middle states,
-is fitly illustrated by the expensive and heavy
-return cornice, the massive columns, and the
-complicated and ornate entablatures which are
-supposed to adorn an otherwise plain house.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page125">[125]</span></p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig36">
-
-<img src="images/illo133.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 36. The expensive box cornice.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container left w20em" id="Fig37">
-
-<img src="images/illo134.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 37. A plain and durable cornice.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>I have said that there is no place for the
-story-and-a-half house. Here is shown (<a href="#Fig35">Fig.
-35</a>) the results of two serious mistakes; viz.,
-an effort to build a cheap frame of such a form
-that it is almost impossible to tie the building
-together, with the result that the roof is in
-danger of collapsing; and the attempt to
-beautify this cheap structure by over-heavy,
-complicated cornices. An enlarged detailed drawing
-of a typical return cornice is shown in <a href="#Fig36">Fig.
-36</a>. On the right is shown a cross-section outline
-of the members of the cornice. There are
-ten of them. The mouldings are now “stuck”
-by machinery, but these were made by hand,
-and 10 and 8 were formed of two pieces<span class="pagenum" id="Page126">[126]</span>
-each, making twelve members in all. The infinite
-pains and labor in preparing the material
-and placing it cannot be realized
-except by a carpenter who has spent
-weeks and months in sawing out,
-in planing and “sticking,”
-and mitering such an elaborate
-system of useless ornamentation.
-Compare this
-with the cornice, or rather
-projection, of a house (<a href="#Fig19">Fig.
-19</a>) which cost $6,000. <a href="#Fig36">Fig.
-36</a> shows a projecting eave of scarcely one foot.
-The next illustration (<a href="#Fig37">Fig. 37</a>) shows one of
-nearly two feet. The latter is far superior to
-the former in that it is quite as beautiful, is
-inexpensive, and protects the external paint
-and woodwork far more than does the former.
-The piece at the top of the rafter serves to
-cover the projecting cornice, and as a roof-board
-as well, and gives opportunity to place
-the eave trough well outside, which prevents
-damage to the house should it ever leak.
-The frieze board is simple and serves its purpose
-well. It has taken a long time to learn
-that a wooden roof which is at least one-third
-pitch is far more durable than the flat roof
-shown in <a href="#Fig38">Fig. 38</a>. Here the return cornice is
-carried across the entire end of the house, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page127">[127]</span>
-the gable is ceiled with plain matched boards,
-both likely to leak and to rapidly become
-paintless.</p>
-
-<p>Many veranda and porch floors and outside
-doors have no roof over them, or other protection.
-This is poor economy. It would be better
-to reduce the cornice to the fewest possible
-members, if it were necessary to do so, in order
-to secure means to roof the veranda, which, unprotected,
-decays rapidly. Or the money expended
-on the cornice, which results in neither
-use nor beauty, might well suffice for the
-building of an additional room, or to provide
-many conveniences, such as hot and cold water,
-storm sash, and window screens.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig38">
-
-<img src="images/illo135.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 38. The old-time gable end cornice.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page128">[128]</span></p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig39">
-
-<img src="images/illo136.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 39. Framework of a ship.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>When the farmer reached the fertile, treeless
-prairies he was compelled to economize in
-lumber. Some genius soon discovered that the
-best and most scientific method of constructing
-the frame of a house was along the lines of ship
-construction (<a href="#Fig39">Fig. 39</a>): that is, ribs, joined to
-a sill or sills, encircling the entire structure
-and placed at equal distances apart. Two
-keels or sills joined together by joists, straight
-ribs&mdash;joists&mdash;instead of curved ones, a roof
-instead of a deck, and the balloon frame (<a href="#Fig40">Fig.
-40</a>)&mdash;the best of all frames when properly
-constructed,&mdash;was invented. Unwittingly the
-ship construction, slightly modified, was adopted.
-In this frame the westerner departed radically
-from the style of his ancestors, but he could
-not be satisfied with a plain oversail projection.<span class="pagenum" id="Page129">[129]</span>
-He could not afford the heavy box cornice.
-Having succeeded so well on the frame, he set
-about inventing a new style of decoration for
-the projecting eaves, but the cornice was not a
-success. The decorations shown in <a href="#Fig41">Figs. 41</a>
-and <a href="#Fig42">42</a> serve to make hideous many a cheap
-dry-goods-box house, which blisters and cracks<span class="pagenum" id="Page130">[130]</span>
-in the hot prairie winds. These houses sometimes
-receive no paint or one coat, or at most
-two, and in a few years, what with storm and
-sun, mischievous boys and wind cracks, this
-ginger-bread, dog-eared cornice, made of inch
-lumber by the use of scroll saw, looks as
-dilapidated as a college boy after a cane-rush.</p>
-
-<div class="container w35em" id="Fig40">
-
-<img src="images/illo137.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 40. The balloon frame.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w35em" id="Fig41">
-<a id="Fig42"></a>
-
-<img src="images/illo138.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<div class="split5050">
-
-<div class="left5050">
-<p class="caption">Fig. 42.<br />The jig-saw cornice.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="right5050">
-<p class="caption">Fig. 41.<br />
-Too elaborate
-and
-short-lived.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p class="thinline allclear">&#160;</p>
-
-</div><!--split5050-->
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The thought of permanent beauty, as well as<span class="pagenum" id="Page131">[131]</span>
-economy and usefulness, should enter into the
-plans of a house. But what is beauty? I am
-well aware that many of my readers will not
-agree with me, for</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-
-<div class="poetry">
-
-<div class="stanza">
-<span class="verse indent-1">“The standard of beauty ofttimes it doth vary:<br /></span>
-<span class="verse indent0">Two pretty girls are Eliza and Mary.”<br /></span>
-</div>
-
-</div><!--poetry-->
-
-</div><!--poetry-container-->
-
-<p>They may be very unlike, yet both beautiful.
-From the farmer’s standpoint it may be said
-that the chief characteristics of beauty are fitness,
-naturalness and simplicity.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page132">[132]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VIII<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>BUILDING THE HOUSE&mdash;GENERAL LAY-OUT</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>The reader will understand that no attempt
-is made to treat this subject in detail nor
-strictly from the architect’s viewpoint. A casual
-observation will make it self-evident that
-the structures on farms have received little attention
-as to beauty of form, economy of construction,
-or adaptation of means to ends.
-Like many others, I have noted all this and
-have made a somewhat careful study of the
-causes which usually have produced this want
-of harmony, durability, adaptability and economy
-in the construction of rural homesteads.</p>
-
-<p>The many illustrations of detail are designed
-to emphasize underlying principles. Principles
-are always the same: details may be varied to
-suit conditions. While the numerous illustrations
-are meant to explain the details, it is
-believed that they will also give help to a large
-part of the rural population who have had little
-opportunity to secure any adequate instruction
-in the art and science of home building.</p>
-
-<p>Usually the cellar would better be extended<span class="pagenum" id="Page133">[133]</span>
-under the entire house, although it is neither
-wise nor healthy to store large quantities of material
-in it which,
-if not cared for,
-may decay and
-vitiate the air in
-the rooms above.
-If the cellar be
-properly constructed
-there is
-no objection to
-storing family
-supplies of fruit
-and vegetables for the winter in this partly underground
-room. Large quantities of vegetables
-held for future sale should not find storage in the
-house cellar. Now that the floors of houses are
-made tight, often double with paper between,
-and carpets or rugs to cover them, the cold
-no longer enters the cellar through the floor.
-The cellar wall may therefore extend upwards on
-three sides, well above ground, that opportunity
-may be given for the introduction of light and
-air. With only single-glazed cellar windows, no
-building paper, and floors and boarding of unseasoned
-lumber, the pioneer was compelled to
-place the cellar well under ground, or bank the
-walls with manure if the winter’s supply of vegetables
-was to be made secure.</p>
-
-<div class="split5050">
-
-<div class="left5050">
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig43">
-
-<img src="images/illo141.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 43. Cellar under
-the upright only.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-</div><!--left5050-->
-
-<div class="right5050">
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig44">
-
-<img src="images/illo142.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 44. Cellar under
-the entire house.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-</div><!--right5050-->
-
-<p class="thinline allclear">&#160;</p>
-
-</div><!--split5050-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page134">[134]</span></p>
-
-<p>A common form of the foundation for farm
-houses is shown in <a href="#Fig43">Fig. 43</a>&mdash;a main structure,
-reinforced by a wing which, in most cases, has
-no cellar under it. <a href="#Fig44">Fig. 44</a> shows the cellar
-under the whole structure. If the walls of the
-unexcavated wing are placed 3¹⁄₂ feet below
-ground, as they should be in a cold climate, and
-extend 2 feet above ground, it will take more
-stone to construct
-the foundation
-walls of the house
-with a cellar under
-only a part
-than when it extends
-under the
-entire structure.
-The stone saved
-by leaving out the
-wall between the
-two sections of the house will more than
-suffice for building the walls of the wing to
-their full height. In the latter case, it would
-cost slightly more for excavation than in the
-former. Since cellars, when appropriately used,
-are in some respects the most useful and
-cheapest rooms in the structure, there is no
-economy in not placing them under the entire
-house. A cellar may be divided by 4-inch
-brick walls into various rooms, corresponding in<span class="pagenum" id="Page135">[135]</span>
-shape to those above, thereby securing
-for the partitions in the superstructure,
-separate compartments, in order
-that the vegetables, fruit, milk,
-and furnace may be separate
-one from the other.</p>
-
-<div class="container w35em" id="Fig45">
-<a id="Fig46"></a>
-
-<img src="images/illo143.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<div class="split5050">
-
-<div class="left5050">
-<p class="caption">Fig. 45. A footing course
-under the cellar wall.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="right5050">
-<p class="caption">Fig. 46. Showing a layer of
-material to stop vermin.</p>
-</div>
-
-</div><!--split5050-->
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p class="allclear">To prevent rats from entering
-the cellar under the walls,
-either one of two methods may
-be adopted. A footing-course
-projecting beyond the outside of
-the wall arrests
-the rodents,
-for
-having dug
-down to it
-they have
-not sufficient
-intelligence to dig around
-the footing-course (<a href="#Fig45">Fig. 45</a>).
-Or the desired result may
-be accomplished by placing
-a thin layer of refuse broken
-glass against the outside of
-the wall two to three feet
-from the surface of the
-ground (<a href="#Fig46">Fig. 46</a>). Cellars
-would be much improved if they had higher
-ceilings. At least 7 feet should be allowed<span class="pagenum" id="Page136">[136]</span>
-between the cellar floor and the under side of
-the overhead joists. All cellars should have
-concrete floors and plastered ceilings, for both
-warmth and cleanliness. In an extremely rigorous
-climate, the upper angle of the wall should
-be lathed and plastered as shown in <a href="#Fig47">Fig. 47</a>.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig47">
-
-<img src="images/illo144.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 47. Protecting the cellar from frost by plastering across
-the upper corners.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>If the front cellar wall and the greater part
-of the side walls extend 2 to 3 feet above
-the earth, a good sized window (which may be
-single- or double-glazed) can be secured. The
-rear walls should extend not more than one
-foot above ground. If the earth slopes rearward,
-then grade up to the wall until not more
-than two steps will be necessary to reach the
-kitchen floor; it is easier to climb a gentle ascent
-than steps. The front steps are used but<span class="pagenum" id="Page137">[137]</span>
-a comparatively few times, while the rear ones
-are used many times, so it matters little if the
-front of the house is several steps above grade.</p>
-
-<p>It makes a visitor unhappy to know that the
-busy housewife must descend three steps, walk
-forty feet and ascend two steps to reach the
-well platform, then reverse the journey, to
-secure the drink of cold water desired (<a href="#Fig48">Fig. 48</a>).
-The illustration in <a href="#Fig49">Fig. 49</a> shows how the farmer
-solved the difficulty by building an elevated
-plank walk from the kitchen to the well. <a href="#Fig50">Fig.
-50</a> shows how he might have solved it in
-another way.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig48">
-<a id="Fig49"></a><a id="Fig50"></a>
-
-<img src="images/illo145.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<div class="centerblock">
-
-<p class="caption left">Fig. 48. The daily route to the well.<br />
-Fig. 49. A short-cut to the well.<br />
-Fig. 50. An elevated earth walk to the well.</p>
-
-</div><!--centerblock-->
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The hillside wall may be kept dry and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page138">[138]</span>
-cellar free from water by drainage or by backing
-the wall with loose rubble stone, or by
-both (<a href="#Fig51">Fig. 51</a>).</p>
-
-<div class="container w50pc left" id="Fig51">
-
-<img src="images/illo146.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 51. A rubble
-stone backing
-and a drain
-at the bottom.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>The walls should be placed below the frost
-line and have fairly broad
-bases, standing on naturally or
-artificially
-drained
-earth. Perhaps
-no
-part of the
-house structure receives
-so little attention
-as do the
-foundation walls; therefore,
-I shall enter somewhat
-into the details
-of construction. Bricks which have been recently
-burned and those which do not contain considerable
-quantities of moisture should be thoroughly
-wet before they are placed in the wall.
-If the mortar sets too quickly by reason of the
-dryness of the bricks, a strong wall cannot be
-secured, however good the mortar may be in
-which they are laid.</p>
-
-<p>The foundation walls for most houses, however,<span class="pagenum" id="Page139">[139]</span>
-are made of stones laid in mortar composed
-of lime or cement, or a mixture of the
-two, and sand. A large proportion of all the
-sand used for foundation work is markedly
-inferior, and the mortar is usually very imperfectly
-mixed. If water lime is used with the
-sand it is frequently old, and if old, inferior.
-Even the cements deteriorate somewhat with
-age, and the common stone lime is often used
-after it is partially or entirely air-slaked. If
-the binding material be inferior and the sand
-have quantities of fine earth or vegetable matter
-mixed with it, it will be seen how impossible it
-is to secure a strong and binding mortar. Even
-if fresh lime and sharp sand are used, in accordance
-with the usual specifications in building
-contracts, the mortar bond may still be weak by
-reason of careless or imperfect mixing. All
-mortar, even that used for laying stones and
-bricks, should be mixed until a lime film surrounds
-every particle of sand. Plastering the
-outside of the wall below the grade line and
-pointing the wall above cannot make a firm,
-good wall out of one which has been carelessly
-laid or one bedded in inferior mortar.</p>
-
-<p>Chimneys may provide for one or more flues.
-Better draft is likely to be secured when separate
-flues are provided for each stove or heater
-than when one flue serves for two or more<span class="pagenum" id="Page140">[140]</span>
-stoves. The diagram, <a href="#Fig52">Fig. 52</a>, shows three flues
-in one stack or chimney. One is for the furnace,
-another for the fireplace, and another for the
-laundry stove.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig52">
-
-<img src="images/illo148.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 52. Three flues in the chimney, one of them leading from a fire-place.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>All chimneys should have broad footing
-courses, which should rest on solid earth to
-prevent settling. They should not be supported
-by means of brackets (<a href="#Fig53">Fig. 53</a>) or on the tops
-of small cupboards attached to the wall. Chimney
-walls of only 4-inch thickness are not safe;
-if they be double, or 8 inches thick, the number
-of bricks required are increased by more than
-100 per cent, and the cost of the foundation is
-also increased. The heavy walls are objectionable
-by reason of added weight and cost, and
-because of the room they occupy. The introduction
-of fire-clay chimney lining makes it possible
-to construct safe chimneys with 4-inch
-walls. Then, too, the lining costs rather less<span class="pagenum" id="Page141">[141]</span>
-than the extra course of brick, and the completed
-flue is smooth and of uniform dimensions
-on the inside.</p>
-
-<div class="container w15em" id="Fig53">
-
-<img src="images/illo149.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 53. Chimney standing
-on a bracket.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The openings made in
-the frame for the chimney
-are often too small,
-in which case the chimney
-is likely to be “hung”
-on either the joists or
-rafters. There should be
-a clear space between the
-woodwork and chimney.
-If the opening in the
-frame is too small, the
-mason will be tempted to
-clip the brick where the
-chimney passes by the
-wood and then restore the
-chimney to its full size
-when the obstruction is
-passed. This results in
-hanging the chimney on
-some member of the
-frame. Should the foundation
-settle, the wall may part and sparks may
-then easily reach the dry wood in the room or
-at the roof of the house.</p>
-
-<p>It is believed that the farmer, after reading
-these lines, may secure a good wall and one<span class="pagenum" id="Page142">[142]</span>
-which fulfils the specifications, if he watches the
-work carefully as it progresses. If he does, he
-will have a much better wall than the average.
-Since the material and the kind of work desired
-vary so widely, it is not wise to lay down any
-fast rule for the proportions of the binding
-material and sand which may be used. It may
-be said, however, that the proportions vary from
-1 of lime or cement to 2 of sand, to 1 of the
-former and 6 of the latter.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">WOODEN HOUSES&mdash;THE FRAME</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Almost any variety of wood will suffice for
-the frame of the house, provided it does not
-twist and spring out of shape too much before
-or after it is put into the building. Since the
-sills are to be placed on solid, continuous walls,
-they need not be large. The only objection to
-box and small sills is that they may allow too
-easy access of air and rodents from the walls of
-the rooms to the cellar, and vice versa, unless
-the spaces above the sills and between the studding
-are bricked in as high as the top of the
-first tier of joists. A rough floor laid before the
-upright studding is placed is shown in <a href="#Fig54">Fig. 54</a>.
-This first floor should be laid diagonally, for the
-one which is laid immediately upon it should
-not be placed either parallel or at right angles<span class="pagenum" id="Page143">[143]</span>
-to the boards of the first floor, or parallel with
-the joists. A little reflection will reveal the
-reasons for all this.</p>
-
-<div class="container w30em" id="Fig54">
-
-<img src="images/illo151.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 54. The rough floor laid before the studding is erected.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Joists should be bridged. <a href="#Fig55">Fig. 55</a> shows the
-more common method of bridging. The joists
-may be 2 × 8 in small, inexpensive houses, and
-2 × 10 or 2 × 12 in large ones, bridged once in a
-12-foot span, twice in a 16-, and three times in
-an 18- or 20-foot span. The bridging is of the
-utmost importance and should never be omitted,
-as it serves to strengthen the floor joints and
-prevents the disagreeable trembling of the floors
-so annoying in many of the older houses.</p>
-
-<div class="container w25em" id="Fig55">
-
-<img src="images/illo152.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 55. Bridging the joists.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The studding for a balloon frame is either<span class="pagenum" id="Page144">[144]</span>
-2 × 4, 2 × 5 or 2 × 6, and the length desired. The
-2 × 4 studding are too light for an ample two-story
-house, and they
-do not give enough
-thickness of wall for
-the most desirable
-window- and door-jambs.
-The doors are
-not held firmly in
-place, and when they are closed quickly by the
-wind or by children, the plastering is injured.
-Studding 5 inches broad, fortified by outside
-diagonal boarding (<a href="#Fig56">Fig. 56</a>), gives the ideal
-conditions unless the house is unusually large,
-in which case the studding should be 6 inches
-broad. The diagonal boarding costs a trifle
-more in material and labor than the horizontal,
-but it is so much superior that the extra expense
-may well be incurred. Every board forms
-a double brace, one where nailed to the studding
-and one where the siding or “clap boards”
-are nailed to the rough boards and the studs.
-Nothing has yet been discovered which is so
-satisfactory, and which gives such strength and
-protection to the frame as does this preliminary
-diagonal boarding, covered with paper. When
-completed it forms a wall open enough to prevent
-dry rot and tight enough to prevent the
-entrance of wind.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page145">[145]</span></p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig56">
-
-<img src="images/illo153.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 56. A wall strengthened by diagonal sheathing.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The second-story joists rest on stringers or
-light girders 1 × 5 inches, as shown in <a href="#Fig57">Fig. 57</a>.
-If the girder is set flush with the inside of the
-stud, A, the laths must lie directly upon the
-face of the girt. This gives no room for the
-mortar to form clinches behind the lath. This
-5-inch girder swells when the mortar is put on
-and shrinks when it dries, which may result in
-a crack in the wall in the angle near A. Since,
-by reason of faulty construction, there are no
-clinches behind the lath, the plastering becomes
-loosened, and this is likely to be the beginning
-of serious trouble. If the girder is let in so
-that its face is not flush with the inside of the
-stud and then furrowed out with small pieces of
-lath, the effects of the shrinking of the girder
-will be obviated and room will be left for
-clinches behind the lath.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page146">[146]</span></p>
-
-<div class="container w25em" id="Fig57">
-
-<img src="images/illo154.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 57. Second-story joist.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>In windy, cold climates, where lumber is at
-all abundant, a second boarding may be placed
-inside, covered with paper and furrowed out
-with a single thickness of lath to allow, as in
-the former case,
-the formation of
-clinches. There
-is no objection
-to boarding horizontally
-on the
-inside, if the outside
-has been
-boarded diagonally.
-The term “rough boarding” has
-been used, but it should be said that the
-boarding which forms the first covering,
-sometimes called sheathing, should be
-brought to uniform thickness and matched
-or rabbeted.</p>
-
-<p>Wherever greater strength of wall is
-desired than can be formed by a single 2 × 5
-studding, as at the corners, or by a single 2 × 10
-joist, as where partitions are to be placed, it is
-better to spike two or more pieces together than
-to have pieces sawed of the dimensions desired.
-These made-up pieces or timbers are stronger
-than solid pieces of the same character and dimensions,
-since the continuity of the cross-grain
-of the wood is broken in the made-up pieces.<span class="pagenum" id="Page147">[147]</span>
-In the construction of large bridges the timbers,
-where exposed to the weather, are made up of
-smaller timbers, since they are then not only
-stronger but more durable and less subject to
-dry rot than if they are solid (<a href="#Fig58">Fig. 58</a>).</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig58">
-
-<img src="images/illo155.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 58. Construction of a large bridge.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Plates are made up of material 2 inches
-thick and as broad as the studding is wide,
-doubled, with joints mismatched. This most
-valuable principle of building up timbers of several
-thin pieces is a somewhat recent practice.
-Where very large timbers are required, as in
-trussed or self-supporting roofs, the timbers of
-which are not exposed to view, they are frequently
-made up of boards 1 inch thick and as
-broad as the vertical dimensions desired. This
-method is sometimes used in constructing
-timbers for both houses and barns (<a href="#Fig59">Fig. 59</a>).</p>
-
-<p>Roofs of houses are, of necessity, extremely
-variable, as the house is not planned to suit the
-roof, but the roof to suit the house. Flat metal
-roofs of all kinds should be avoided, as far as
-possible, on the farm house, however well they
-may be adapted to buildings in the
-city. Metal roofs are not objectionable
-in themselves, but only
-when they are laid flat on farm
-houses.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page148">[148]</span></p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig59">
-
-<img src="images/illo156a.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 59. A made-up plate, constructed
-of boards.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig60">
-
-<img src="images/illo156b.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 60. Showing the principle of construction
-of <a href="#Fig59">Fig. 59</a>.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page149">[149]</span></p>
-
-<p>The pitch of roofs, like their
-shape, is also variable. Nothing
-below one-third pitch should be
-used except for special conditions.
-In <a href="#Fig38">Fig. 38</a>, page 127, is an illustration
-of the common pitch of
-roofs in fashion fifty years ago.
-Some roofs were even flatter than
-the one shown. The fashion now
-is to construct house roofs with
-nearly or quite half pitch. While
-steep roofs are desirable if made
-of wood, there is some danger
-that the change from the nearly
-flat roof to the steep one will be
-carried too far (see <a href="#Fig13">Fig. 13</a>, page
-95). Various pitches of roofs are
-shown in <a href="#Fig61">Fig. 61</a>. Steep roofs do
-not require as strong rafters,
-thrust less upon the plates, are
-more durable, and are less likely
-to leak than flat roofs.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig61">
-
-<img src="images/illo157.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 61. Pitches of roofs.&mdash;¹⁄₂, ¹⁄₃, ¹⁄₄, ¹⁄₈.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Since roofs are of various pitches,<span class="pagenum" id="Page150">[150]</span>
-they require rafters of various lengths and bevels.
-Farmers and many carpenters have much difficulty
-in getting the length and bevels of both rafters
-and braces. Most carpenters’ squares have so-called
-brace rules stamped upon their tongues.<a id="FNanchor_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>
-These give the length of the brace for the
-shorter and more common runs,<a id="FNanchor_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> but they do
-not give the angles of the ends of the brace.
-Then, too, the length is given in inches and hundredths
-of inches, and carpenters’ squares are
-not divided into hundredths, so this complicated
-brace-rule is as useful as a steam whistle on an
-ox-cart.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a>
-The short end of the square.</p>
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a>
-The perpendicular and horizontal distances covered by the brace.</p>
-
-</div><!--footnote-->
-
-<p>The methods by which the length and bevels
-of any member of a frame which departs from
-any other member at an angle are so easily
-understood that the wonder is that all are not
-familiar with them. For a simple illustration,
-let it be supposed that rafters for a building
-18 feet broad, with one-third pitch, are to be
-laid out (<a href="#Fig62">Fig. 62</a>). The rafter, R, takes the
-form of a brace. The run is 9 feet horizontally
-or half the width of the building, and 6
-feet perpendicularly. If the square be laid upon
-the stick designed for the rafter, as 6 is to 9,
-one side of the square will give the shorter and
-the other the longer angle or bevel (<a href="#Fig63">Fig. 63</a>).
-If the square is laid on 12 times at 9 and 6
-inches, it will give the length of the rafter, for
-12 times 9 is 108, half the width of the building,
-and 12 times 6 is 72, the height of the
-peak above the plates. If the square is laid on
-18 × 12 inches, the proportion is preserved, and
-hence the angles; the square would only have
-to be laid on six times.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page151">[151]</span></p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig62">
-<a id="Fig63"></a><a id="Fig64"></a>
-
-<img src="images/illo159.png" alt="" />
-
-<div class="centerblock">
-
-<p class="noindent">Fig. 62. Laying out a roof.<br />
-Fig. 63. Laying out a rafter.<br />
-Fig. 64. Laying out a timber.</p>
-
-</div><!--centerblock-->
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page152">[152]</span></p>
-
-<div class="container w10em right" id="Fig65">
-
-<img src="images/illo161a.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 65.
-A brace.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Consider a building 20 feet broad and 6 inches
-above one-third pitch. The half of 20 feet
-equals 10 feet, or 120 inches. Seven feet 2
-inches (86 inches) is the height of the peak
-above the plate. It is quickly seen that this
-problem, like the other, can be solved in more
-than one way. If the long end of the square is
-laid on at 20 inches and the short end at 14¹⁄₃
-inches, and this is repeated six times, both the
-bevels and the length will be secured (<a href="#Fig64">Fig. 64</a>),
-for 6 multiplied by 20 equals 120 inches, half
-the width of the building, and 6 multiplied by
-14¹⁄₃ equals 86 inches, the height of the peak.
-Or the long end of the square might be laid on
-at 24 and the short end at 15¹⁄₅ five times, but
-squares are not marked in fifths of inches, hence
-the previous method would be best.<a id="FNanchor_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> The same
-results would be reached by laying the square
-on at 15 and 10³⁄₄ inches; eight steps would
-then be required instead of six. The longer and
-fewer the steps within the limits of the square,
-the better.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a>
-Since the square is laid on, see <a href="#Fig61">Figs. 61</a>, <a href="#Fig62">62</a>, in the same manner as for
-cutting a stair; each one of these spaces is called a “step.”</p>
-
-</div><!--footnote-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page153">[153]</span></p>
-
-<p>If it is desired to cut a brace 3 × 4 feet run,
-3 steps, using the lengths 12 and 16, will give
-both the length of the brace and the bevels
-(<a href="#Fig65">Fig. 65</a>). Take a rafter which has a projection
-requiring a notch to be cut in the lower
-side, and the same rule will apply. The line
-A, <a href="#Fig66">Fig. 66</a>, is horizontal and the face of the
-plate is perpendicular; therefore, the line B
-must be at right angles to A. The only
-thing now to be determined is how deep the
-notch shall be, for it is evident that if the
-line A represents the long end of the square
-and B the short end of the square, the notch
-will fit the plate.</p>
-
-<div class="container w25em" id="Fig66">
-<a id="Fig67"></a><a id="Fig68"></a>
-
-<img src="images/illo161b.png" alt="" />
-
-<div class="centerblock">
-
-<p class="caption left">Fig. 66. Adjusting to the
-plate.<br />
-Fig. 67. The rafter.<br />
-Fig. 68. The rafter trimmed on the outer end.</p>
-
-</div><!--centerblock-->
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page154">[154]</span></p>
-
-<p>That part of the rafter which extends over
-the building may be reduced in size, but usually
-it is well to leave it entire (as in <a href="#Fig67">Fig.
-67</a>) if the house is large. If the lower end of
-the rafter should appear too heavy, it may be
-treated as in <a href="#Fig68">Fig. 68</a>. The bevels at the ends
-of the rafters are the same as at A and B
-(<a href="#Fig66">Fig. 66</a>).</p>
-
-<p>The outlines of a story-and-a-half house,
-which form is most undesirable for various
-reasons, are shown in <a href="#Fig69">Fig. 69</a>. The chambers
-cannot be well lighted or aired. The outlines<span class="pagenum" id="Page155">[155]</span>
-of the room interfere with the placing of furniture,
-and such chambers are far more uncomfortable
-in warm weather than are those in two-story
-houses. It will be seen that the collar-beam,
-C, must be placed so far above the foot
-of the rafters in order to get a fair height of ceiling,
-that it has little binding power, and that the
-building cannot be tied together at the plates
-in the center, since the tie would interfere with
-the door in the cross wall. It will also be seen
-that the second-story joists are so far below the
-plates that their power to hold the building
-together is small. Many of the one-and-a-half-story<span class="pagenum" id="Page156">[156]</span>
-houses have “sway-backed” peaks because
-of this faulty construction. (See <a href="#Fig35">Fig. 35</a>, page
-124, broken-back house.) If story-and-a-half
-houses must be built, then they should be covered
-by roofs having at least one-half pitch, in
-which case the collar-beams could be placed
-relatively lower and the thrust on the plates
-would be very much diminished by the steeper<span class="pagenum" id="Page157">[157]</span>
-roof (<a href="#Fig70">Fig. 70</a>). One-, two-, three- or more storied
-houses are easily and certainly prevented from
-spreading since one tier of joists always coincides
-with the foot of the rafters, to which
-they can be securely fastened. Fortunately, the
-story-and-a-half house is less constructed than
-formerly.</p>
-
-<div class="container w35em" id="Fig69">
-
-<img src="images/illo163.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 69. Outline of a story-and-a-half house.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w35em" id="Fig70">
-
-<img src="images/illo164.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 70. Half pitch and an efficient collar-beam.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page158">[158]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IX<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>BUILDING THE HOUSE, CONCLUDED.&mdash;OUTSIDE
-COVERING, PAINTING</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>That part of the house which of necessity
-must be exposed to the buffetings of snow and
-rain, wind and sun, should be considered more
-carefully than any other part except the foundation.
-If economy demands, the doors, floors,
-bath rooms, and wardrobes may be of plain and
-inexpensive material, for later they may be replaced
-when means justify additional expenditure;
-but if the outside covering be faulty, the
-house is a partial failure from the beginning.</p>
-
-<p>The first principle to be observed is to place
-all projections intended to serve as water-tables
-at somewhat acute angles, for if placed at
-nearly right angles with the sides of the house,
-rains accompanied by heavy winds will certainly
-reach the framework. The water-tables which
-crown the top of the base-board are more exposed
-than those which are higher up, and
-therefore should be steep and rabbeted to prevent
-the water from reaching the sills. The too
-usual method is shown in <a href="#Fig71">Fig. 71</a>. An enlarged<span class="pagenum" id="Page159">[159]</span>
-view of a better style of water-table is shown
-in <a href="#Fig72">Fig. 72</a>.</p>
-
-<div class="container w35em" id="Fig71">
-<a id="Fig72"></a>
-
-<img src="images/illo167.png" alt="" />
-
-<div class="split3367">
-
-<div class="left3367">
-<p class="caption">Fig. 71. A faulty
-water-table.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="right3367">
-<p class="caption">Fig. 72. A good water-table.</p>
-</div>
-
-</div><!--split-->
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p class="allclear">Outside window frame sills which have insufficient
-pitch tend to become water-soaked,
-and not infrequently the lower
-member of the window itself rots by reason
-of the water which drives in and
-remains under the sill of the window for
-considerable periods of time. <a href="#Fig73">Figs. 73</a>
-and <a href="#Fig74">74</a> show perfect and faulty methods
-of construction.</p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig73">
-<a id="Fig74"></a>
-
-<img src="images/illo168.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<div class="split5050">
-
-<div class="left5050">
-<p class="caption">Fig. 73.<br />Perfect construction
-of window sill.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="right5050">
-<p class="caption">Fig. 74.<br />Faulty construction.</p>
-</div>
-
-</div><!--split5050-->
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p class="allclear">The siding of a house for
-various reasons would better be
-put on horizontally, although
-material put on this way, unless
-it is kept well painted, is not so durable
-as when placed vertically. The
-horizontal covering is more
-beautiful, lends itself better
-to the numerous openings, and
-gives better protection from
-cold and wind than does the
-vertical covering. If the building
-is not to be painted, then
-the covering would better be
-placed vertically. Nearly all
-wooden houses are covered with either thin lap-siding
-or inch siding, prepared in various ways
-and known by various names. The inch or<span class="pagenum" id="Page160">[160]</span>
-novelty siding was first introduced in the West,
-and costs but little more than the lap-siding,
-because, being thicker, it can be made of somewhat
-inferior lumber. The novelty or rabbeted
-covering gives greater strength to the building
-and is much more quickly and cheaply put on.
-It may be said that this style of covering is
-extremely faulty if placed on the building in the
-usual way, namely, before the doors and
-windows and corner boards are in position. If
-the same method of placing the material be
-practiced as in placing the lap-siding, then the<span class="pagenum" id="Page161">[161]</span>
-objections to this class of siding disappear to
-a certain extent. The diagram, <a href="#Fig75">Fig. 75</a>, shows
-the novelty, or drop, or O G siding (A), the
-rabbeted (B) and lap-siding
-(C). It will readily be seen
-that if a drop (A) or rabbeted
-(B) siding be put on
-before the window frames
-are placed, as is the usual
-custom, an opening (x) is
-left under the facing of the
-window frame which extends
-through to the studding.
-This permits the
-rain, in a driving storm,
-to pass horizontally along
-this opening to the studding
-and then downward
-along the framework of the
-building. Many instances
-could be cited in which
-these openings have had
-to be filled by triangular
-blocks of wood or putty, and even then the
-water was not entirely excluded.</p>
-
-<div class="container w20em" id="Fig75">
-
-<img src="images/illo169.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 75. Forms of siding.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>This method of covering houses or even barns
-with this new kind of siding is usually disappointing
-and wasteful of material. All that is
-gained is a little more facility and cheapness in<span class="pagenum" id="Page162">[162]</span>
-placing the covering. If it is put on, as it
-should be, after the window and door frames
-are set, it is more difficult and more expensive
-to place than lap-siding.</p>
-
-<p>No way of covering a wooden house has
-been found superior to the one-half inch lap-siding
-with joints tight enough at the frames
-and corners, in conjunction with the paint, to
-make water-tight joints. The lap should not
-be less than one inch, and the nails should be
-so placed that in case of considerable shrinkage
-in the siding the inside will give or even check,
-instead of the outside (z). If made as at y,
-the outside will check. This implies that the
-nails are to be driven rather more than one-half
-inch above the edge of the siding. The
-nails which hold the outer covering should
-either be set and puttied, or the heads should
-be left even with or slightly above the surface
-of the wood, that the paint may cover all parts
-of the nail head. If the nails are driven too
-far in the heads are not fully covered and protected
-by the paint, in which case they will rust
-and present an unsightly appearance.</p>
-
-<p>Some one has said that if a woman’s feet,
-hands, and head are well and appropriately
-clothed, the balance of the dress may be plain
-and simple, and yet she will have an elegant
-appearance. So, if a house has a good foundation<span class="pagenum" id="Page163">[163]</span>
-and a suitable and well-placed roof, the
-balance of the outside may be extremely plain
-and yet it will be beautiful. Some of our
-modern houses rest on unpointed, poorly constructed,
-and narrow foundations, are bedecked
-with peaks, pigeon lofts, and dog-eared cornices,
-and remind one of the suspenderless,
-barefooted darky crowned with a cast-off silk
-hat.</p>
-
-<p>If the foundation is too small and shabbily
-built, no amount of paint and cornice can relieve
-the house from a look of shabby gentility.
-A few brown or cream-colored stones or bricks,
-when placed on the outside of the foundation
-where it shows above ground, will give dignity,
-beauty and a substantial look to the whole
-house. It may do for it what a nickel does for
-one’s shoes.</p>
-
-<p>The roof of the farm house, and for that
-matter of all other houses, should, in the trying
-climate of America, have an ample projection.
-An abbreviated cornice may be admissible if the
-building is constructed of stone which is of sufficient
-density to resist the American tooth of
-time. <a href="#Fig76">Fig. 76</a> shows a section of an abbreviated
-and a well extended cornice. The house
-which has this short-cut cornice stands within a
-few hundred feet of the one with the wide projecting
-eaves. During the past twenty years it<span class="pagenum" id="Page164">[164]</span>
-has been necessary to paint the former twice as
-often as the latter.</p>
-
-<div class="container w30em" id="Fig76">
-
-<img src="images/illo172.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 76. Deep and narrow cornices.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The roof covering would better be of slate or
-tiles, for the time has passed for building temporary,
-make-shift houses, though
-they might have served their purpose
-well in a new and rapidly
-developing country. With
-rare exceptions, the houses
-to be built in the future
-should be permanently
-located,
-well built,
-and of durable
-material. The
-slates which
-compose a roof
-should be not
-more than 8
-inches wide and
-should not be
-put on roofs of
-less than one-third pitch, since they are only
-double-lapped and do not lie as closely, one
-upon the other, as do shingles, which are laid
-triple-lapped. Slate and tile roofs are comparatively
-heavy, and hence require stronger roof
-structures than shingles.</p>
-
-<p>The roof boarding for slate roofs should be<span class="pagenum" id="Page165">[165]</span>
-matched&mdash;tongued and grooved&mdash;and covered
-with paper to prevent cold and draughts of air
-from passing into the attic. Since slates, on
-account of their somewhat rough surfaces, do
-not lie closely together, the wind is likely to
-pass through the cracks in the roof, if there are
-any, and carry snow and rain into the upper
-part of the house; therefore the roof covering
-immediately under the slates should be virtually
-air-tight. The roof boards for a shingle roof
-should be narrow and laid with openings of
-from 1¹⁄₂ to 2 inches between the boards. Rain
-and snow seldom drive up and through the
-shingle roof, and since wooden roofs are more
-likely to rot out than to wear out, the more perfectly
-the shingles are dried out after a storm
-the better. The narrow roof boards and the
-spaces between them allow the shingles to dry
-quickly, and therefore are better than matched
-boards.</p>
-
-<p>The short, or common, shingle of commerce
-is 16 inches long, ³⁄₈- to ¹⁄₂-inch thick at one
-end, and ¹⁄₈ of an inch at the other, and is
-computed at 4 inches wide. A bunch of shingles
-contains one fourth of a thousand. It
-should have 25 double courses and the band
-should be 20 inches long. Not infrequently
-there is a course or two wanting, or the bands
-are an inch or so short. Having this data, one<span class="pagenum" id="Page166">[166]</span>
-can easily determine if the bunch is of legal
-size. A little cheating is not uncommonly done
-by placing the shingles in the bunch loosely.
-This can be detected by examining the bunches
-at the thick ends of the shingles.</p>
-
-<p>Theoretically, 1,000 shingles should cover 10
-feet square, or 100 square feet, known in carpentry
-as “a square,” if the shingles are laid 4
-inches to the weather. Since shingles are usually
-laid 4¹⁄₂ to 5 inches to the weather, 1,000
-shingles should cover about 120 square feet.
-Two-thirds of the lower part of the roof may
-be laid 4¹⁄₂ inches, and the upper third 4³⁄₄ or
-5 inches to the weather, if the roof is not flat.</p>
-
-<p>If shingles are treated with lime water or diluted
-gas tar, or be painted as they are laid,
-the life of the roof may be prolonged. The
-painting of roofs with tar or common earth or
-mineral paints, after they are laid, does little or
-no good in preserving them. Sometimes painting
-is resorted to to make the roof harmonize
-with the color of the sides of the building.</p>
-
-<p>Neither extremely narrow nor extremely wide
-shingles are desirable. Those from 3 to 6
-inches wide, when carefully laid, are satisfactory.
-Each shingle should receive but two nails; one
-is usually enough, and these should be placed
-about ³⁄₄ of an inch from the edges, and about
-1 inch above the point where the butts of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page167">[167]</span>
-next course will come. When the courses above
-are laid upon the shingle having but one nail,
-two or three other nails, which are driven in
-the courses above, will serve to help hold it in
-position. The joints of shingle roofs should be
-double broken: that is, the joints in the shingles
-of one course should not coincide with the joints
-of the first or second course below. Consult
-<a href="#Fig77">Fig. 77</a>.</p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig77">
-
-<img src="images/illo175.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 77. The laying of shingles.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>If two nails be driven in the sides of an unseasoned
-shingle, when it shrinks it is likely to
-split in the middle; and in laying a roof the
-joint immediately above the course under consideration
-is likely to come at or near the middle<span class="pagenum" id="Page168">[168]</span>
-of the shingle, which splits by reason of the
-shrinking. The case is still worse when three
-nails are put in a shingle, for then it is almost
-certain to split in the middle
-and immediately in line with
-the joint in the course above.</p>
-
-<p>Unscientific placing of
-shingles and insufficient mixing
-of mortar results in an
-unsatisfactory house, both inside
-and outside, however good
-the materials may be.</p>
-
-<div class="container w20em" id="Fig78">
-
-<img src="images/illo176.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 78. A veneered
-wall.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">VENEERED HOUSES</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>A most excellent way to
-secure a warm, durable house,
-and one that will require
-the minimum
-of care-taking, is to
-first construct a 4-inch
-wall after the
-balloon pattern, as
-has been previously
-<a href="#Page128">described</a>. To this
-frame, sheathing surfaced on one side is attached.
-The 4-inch brick wall is securely fastened to the
-wooden structure by means of 30-penny spikes,
-one at each studding, which are driven in at
-the top of every seven courses of brick. (See<span class="pagenum" id="Page169">[169]</span>
-<a href="#Fig78">Fig. 78</a>.) A wooden house may also be veneered
-with stone, the veneering being held in place by
-means of metal anchors attached to the boarding.</p>
-
-<p>The foundation needs to be a little stronger
-than for the wooden house, and must be provided
-with a stone water-table for receiving the
-veneering.</p>
-
-<p>In a veneered house, all the lightness and
-dryness of a wooden house are secured on the
-inside and on the outside all the durability and
-solidity of a brick or stone house. When the
-veneering is of hard-burned, cream-colored or
-neutrally tinted brick or brown stone, the effect
-is extremely pleasing. The first cost of such a
-house is somewhat more than an all-wood house,
-but its greater durability and freedom from constant
-repairs makes it no more expensive in the
-end. When one builds such a house and covers
-it with a steep slate roof, he feels that he has
-builded for many coming generations.</p>
-
-<p>It is not necessary to speak in detail of stone
-and brick houses, since such structures are quite
-expensive, and their construction should always
-be placed in the hands of experts. It may be
-well, however, to discuss them generally. The
-cost of building brick houses is nearly twice as
-great as those of wood; stone houses cost more
-than brick houses. The foundations of brick<span class="pagenum" id="Page170">[170]</span>
-or stone structures must be broad and placed
-deep in the ground, to sustain the great weight
-placed upon them. However much pains has
-been taken, the walls of the superstructure often
-crack by reason of the unequal settling of the
-foundation or by unequal strain on the walls,
-due to the window and door openings. Once
-the walls are cracked they become unsightly, and
-cannot well be restored without being rebuilt.
-Unless the windows are extra large the house
-will not be well lighted because of the thick
-walls. (See <a href="#Fig24">Fig. 24</a>, p. 108.) The walls do not
-heat and cool as quickly as do wooden walls,
-hence brick and especially stone houses are likely
-to be damp, since the warm air of the rooms
-tends to part with its moisture when it comes in
-contact with the relatively cool walls. This tendency
-of the walls to condense moisture may
-be obviated by studding and plastering them on
-the inside, but all this adds to the expense.
-Until building material becomes much less expensive
-than it now is, the farmer would better
-build either a wooden or veneered house.</p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig79">
-
-<img src="images/illo179.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 79. Re-siding an old wall.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">OLD HOUSES</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Houses which were built some time ago and
-before building paper and better methods of construction
-were in vogue, are usually too cold<span class="pagenum" id="Page171">[171]</span>
-and often extremely unsatisfactory. The outside
-covering may be warped and cracked and
-too often paintless. Where these conditions
-prevail the house may be re-sided without removing
-the old covering. The window frames,
-corner boards, and like members which receive
-the siding are built out by placing bands around
-the frames and on the corner boards of sufficient
-thickness to receive the new second siding.
-Strong building paper is then placed over the
-old siding, and strips one inch thick and two
-inches broad are nailed immediately upon it and
-over the several studs of the old frame. (<a href="#Fig79">Fig.
-79</a>.) The house is now ready to receive new
-siding. If paper be laid on the floors and a well<span class="pagenum" id="Page172">[172]</span>
-seasoned second floor be laid upon it, they will
-be greatly improved at slight cost.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig80">
-<a id="Fig81"></a>
-
-<img src="images/illo180.png" alt="" />
-
-<div class="split5050">
-
-<div class="left5050">
-<p class="caption">Fig. 80. Faulty gutter or eave trough.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="right5050">
-<p class="caption">Fig. 81. Well constructed gutter.</p>
-</div>
-
-</div><!--split5050-->
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p class="allclear">Eave troughs should be placed outside the
-perpendicular line of the walls to prevent water
-from entering the house should the troughs
-leak or overflow from being filled with ice.
-Eave troughs are frequently made of tin which
-is too narrow, in which case, especially on flat
-roofs, the water will back up under the shingles
-and run over that part of the gutter which lies
-hidden in the roof. The elevation of the front
-edge of the gutter should be at least 2 inches
-below the extreme upper edge of the tin of
-which the gutter is made. (Compare <a href="#Fig80">Figs. 80</a>
-and <a href="#Fig81">81</a>.) Gutters placed at the end of the
-rafters are usually not as durable as those
-placed on the roof, but if carefully put up so
-that they will keep their position they serve<span class="pagenum" id="Page173">[173]</span>
-their purpose well and may be made to give
-additional beauty to the eaves of the roof. The
-conductors which lead the water from the gutters
-to the ground should be made large and of
-corrugated material, that expansion may be provided
-for should they become filled with ice.</p>
-
-<p>What has been said about using too narrow
-tin for gutters is doubly applicable to the valleys.
-Open valleys are better than closed. All
-tin used for gutters or valleys should be painted
-on both sides before it is placed upon the roof,
-and all used about the outside of the building
-should be kept well painted, as it is more economical
-to paint often than to mend leaks.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">PAINTING THE HOUSE</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>After much solicitude and money have been
-expended on the construction of the house, it is
-poor economy to let it suffer for want of paint.
-Not infrequently the house is planned so large,
-or so much is spent on its erection that means
-are not at hand for fully protecting the outside
-with suitable paints.</p>
-
-<p>As to the colors of paints or their combinations,
-little can be said, since tastes and conditions
-are extremely variable. A farm house
-should have its own distinctive features, and its
-own personality, and while it may be similar to<span class="pagenum" id="Page174">[174]</span>
-many other houses it should not be a duplicate
-of any other one.</p>
-
-<p>In manufacturing towns long rows of houses
-are built, each one the exact duplicate of all the
-others in shape, dimensions, and color. The
-effect is abominable. This illustration of exact
-imitation only goes to show how necessary it is
-to have diversity of style in the houses themselves
-and variation in the colors of the paints
-if the maximum beauty of the home and adaptation
-to landscape and site are secured. In
-painting the farm house beauty should not be
-ignored, but beauty may not be compatible with
-durability and necessary economy. The farm
-home may and should be placed in such beautiful
-environment that the paint which covers it
-sinks into comparative insignificance as compared
-to the painting of the city house; therefore
-the elements of economy and durability play
-as important parts in the painting of farm
-houses as does beauty. Even a great, plain,
-two-story white farm house with green window-blinds
-can be made to look beautiful and home-like
-if it has a suitable setting of noble trees.</p>
-
-<p>If the outside covering of the house is placed
-some time before it receives its first coat of
-paint, the wood tends to check and usually becomes
-too dry for applying it. If exposed for
-some days to the direct rays of the sun before<span class="pagenum" id="Page175">[175]</span>
-painting, so much of the oil of the paint will be
-taken up by the wood that there will not be
-enough left to bind the mineral matter of the
-paint to the wood. This is especially the case
-where an attempt is made to complete the painting
-by the application of but two coats, in which
-case, the first or prime coat must contain relatively
-much mineral material and little oil, and
-must be spread thickly if the surfaces are to be
-well covered by the two coats. Not infrequently,
-the outside woodwork is swollen and somewhat
-displaced by rains before the roof is in place.
-Even after it has dried out the ideal conditions
-are not secured. The roof should be placed as
-soon as the siding is completed, or if possible
-before. The carpenter should put on the first,
-or prime, coat as fast as the house is sided;
-that is, the woodwork which has been placed
-from one scaffold or stage should be painted
-from the scaffold before the one above is constructed.
-The corner boards, window sash, and
-frame should receive one coat of paint before
-they leave the shop. The prime coat may be of
-yellow ochre mixed with some white lead, since
-the after painting with the desired color will
-cover the yellow if two coats be applied. Good
-yellow ochre is a most durable paint when properly
-mixed and spread, although it may be said
-that the more white lead used in the prime coat<span class="pagenum" id="Page176">[176]</span>
-the better. Yellow ochre should contain a large
-per cent of iron; when ochres are composed
-largely of colored clay they are inferior. The
-paint for the first coat should, in any case, be
-thin, since the oil which it contains plays an important
-part. This first coat tends, or should
-tend, to fill the wood with oil so that the oil in
-the after coat will mostly remain with the paint,
-and not leave it and pass into the wood, thereby
-destroying its binding force. Too much stress
-can hardly be laid on the necessity of rubbing
-the first coat into the wood by vigorous use of
-the brush. To realize the value of this principle
-one has but to visit a first-class carriage manufactory
-and observe the methods which are in
-use to prepare a carriage body for its final coat
-of dark paint and varnish. In too many cases
-the first coat of paint is mixed too thickly and
-is not pressed into the pores of the wood as it
-should be, in which case the paint may either
-peel or rub off in a few years. The country boy
-dressed in his best black suit often has a
-reminder of this if he chances to lean against
-the outside of the old country church while
-“waiting for meeting to take up.”</p>
-
-<p>All outside painting, with the exception of
-the first coat, should be done, as far as possible,
-in cool weather. Early spring and late fall,
-when flies and dust are not present, are the<span class="pagenum" id="Page177">[177]</span>
-best. If the house is built in the summer, the
-second coat may be put on in the fall and the
-third coat the following spring. The paint of
-the second coat may be a little thicker than that
-of the first, and that of the third a little thicker
-than the second. If the best job is desired the
-paint for all three coats should be mixed thinner
-than is customary, in which case a fourth
-coat will be required the following fall. The
-house will now have a polish similar to the well
-painted carriage body, and, like it, will resist
-moisture and remain good for a long time. If
-a building is to be painted at all it would better
-be painted at the beginning and be kept well
-painted, as it is the more economical in the
-end. Better curtail the size of the house than
-to build it so large that the outside covering
-must be neglected.</p>
-
-<p>The oil used in paints is usually derived from
-the vegetable oil found in flax or linseed. Although
-many other kinds of oils have been
-tried, nothing has been discovered which can
-take the place, in paints, of linseed oil. This
-is most remarkable, for there are many vegetable
-oils which are very similar to this one.
-Linseed oil is expensive as compared with several
-other kinds, hence many attempts have been
-made to find an oil equally as good for painting;
-so far as I am able to learn, none have<span class="pagenum" id="Page178">[178]</span>
-been discovered. Linseed oil in paints, when
-dried, forms a hard, tough, gluey coating which
-serves to bind firmly the particles of paint
-together, and to the wood, and to exclude water
-as no other oil does; hence if any other oil is
-mixed with the linseed oil, it is said to be adulterated.
-At the present time linseed oil is adulterated
-in some cases, and it is believed that
-this adulteration is the chief cause of the lack
-of durability in many of the ready-mixed paints.
-If linseed oil be mixed with other oils which are
-wanting in its valuable characteristic, it is certain
-that such oils will not bind the particles of
-paint together as they should be bound.</p>
-
-<p>At present the only protection is to purchase
-guaranteed pure oil of dealers who are reliable
-beyond peradventure. Outside painting should
-be done with unboiled oil unless, on account of
-the weather, boiled oil must be used to hasten
-drying. In extreme cases a drier (litharge) is
-used. The drying process should not be rapid
-in outside painting, as slow drying promotes
-durability.</p>
-
-<p>The substances mixed with the oil to form
-paints are extremely variable in composition and
-color. Some are good, and are usually relatively
-high priced. Others are inferior and relatively
-low priced. Now that so many brands of ready-mixed
-paints of many tints are in common use,<span class="pagenum" id="Page179">[179]</span>
-it is impracticable to analyze all of them and
-determine their quality so that the inferior may
-be distinguished from the superior. There appears
-to be but two ways out of this serious
-dilemma: use the best brands of the ready-mixed
-paints and await results, or purchase pure white
-lead and zinc paints and pure oil, and tint to
-suit tastes and conditions. Heretofore, to do
-this successfully has required much skill and
-patience, especially if the house was to be
-painted in many colors.</p>
-
-<p>Paints are now so universally adulterated
-that I deem it my duty to call attention to a
-company which virtually guarantees the material
-sold. The National Lead Company makes white
-paints of pure white lead and pure linseed oil.
-It also manufactures pure tinting colors, at least
-the company so advertise, and without doubt
-would be liable for damages should the paints
-prove to be adulterated. Sample tint cards are
-furnished and directions given as to the quantity
-and kind of tinting material to be mixed with
-the white paint to give the desired color. All
-this greatly simplifies painting, and if these
-paints are pure, as represented, the farmer will
-have no difficulty in securing pure paint of any
-tint desired.</p>
-
-<p>The farmer who desires a beautifully painted
-house, and simplicity, may well restrict the<span class="pagenum" id="Page180">[180]</span>
-colors of the paints he uses to two, being careful
-that they are in harmony, one with the
-other, and with the character of the house and
-its surroundings.</p>
-
-<p>The following figures show the composition of
-some common paints (No. 1 was analyzed at the
-Cornell Exp. Sta., the others at the Iowa Station):</p>
-
-<p>I. The paint known as white lead, when pure,
-is a basic carbonate of lead mixed in oil. A
-sample showed&mdash;</p>
-
-<table class="paint">
-
-<tr>
-<td class="pigment">White lead</td>
-<td class="amount">93.62%</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="pigment">Oil and undetermined</td>
-<td class="amount">6.38%</td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<p class="paintremark">There was no evidence of adulteration.</p>
-
-<p>II. White lead&mdash;</p>
-
-<table class="paint">
-
-<tr>
-<td class="pigment">White lead</td>
-<td class="amount">41.12%</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="pigment">Barium sulfate</td>
-<td class="amount">30.29%</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="pigment">Zinc oxide</td>
-<td class="amount">28.59%</td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<p class="paintremark">Adulterated with barium sulfate and zinc oxide. Barium sulfate
-is very heavy; in fact, in nature it is known as heavy spar.</p>
-
-<p>III. Venetian red, dry&mdash;</p>
-
-<table class="paint">
-
-<tr>
-<td colspan="3" class="pigment">Ferric oxide</td>
-<td class="amount">24.12%</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="pigment">Calcium carbonate</td>
-<td rowspan="2" class="brace bt br bb">&#160;</td>
-<td rowspan="2" class="brace">-</td>
-<td rowspan="2" class="amount mid">66.36%</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="pigment">Calcium sulfate</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td colspan="3" class="pigment">Undetermined</td>
-<td class="amount">9.52%</td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<p class="paintremark">Adulterated with calcium carbonate and calcium sulfate. Venetian
-red is ferric oxide, or a natural red oxide of iron. Calcium
-carbonate is chalk or limestone, and calcium sulfate is plaster.</p>
-
-<p>IV. Venetian red in oil&mdash;</p>
-
-<table class="paint">
-
-<tr>
-<td class="pigment">Ferric oxide</td>
-<td class="amount">12.82%</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="pigment">Calcium sulfate</td>
-<td class="amount">3.54%</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="pigment">Barium sulfate</td>
-<td class="amount">63.98%</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="pigment">Oil and undetermined</td>
-<td class="amount">19.66%</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td>&#160;</td>
-<td class="amount"><span class="bt">100.00%</span></td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<p class="paintremark">Adulterated with barium sulfate and calcium sulfate.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page181">[181]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER X<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>INSIDE FINISH, HEATING, AND VENTILATION</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>As a rule, houses are built too quickly.
-The frame timbers are only partly seasoned
-when placed; the rains which fall before the
-house is roofed-in and the dampness caused by
-plastering all conspire to swell and make damp
-all portions of the wooden parts of the structure.
-Formerly, the casings of doors and
-windows and the floors were placed before the
-rooms were plastered; the better practice of
-plastering on “grounds”<a id="FNanchor_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> and placing the woodwork
-after the mortar is dry is now observed
-by the builders of all good houses. In most
-cases even these improved methods of construction
-do not result in securing what is
-wanted&mdash;tight floors and doors and casings
-which will not shrink and warp out of shape.
-Nearly all of this trouble may be traced to
-two principal causes: the lumber which constitutes
-the inside finish may not be thoroughly
-seasoned, or the house may be so damp that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page182">[182]</span>
-finish swells after it is placed. In either case,
-when the house becomes thoroughly dried out
-by artificial heat or otherwise, unsightly and
-dirt-holding cracks will appear. When expensive
-hard wood polished floors are laid, pains
-is taken to provide against shrinkage by
-kiln-drying the floor boards and by laying
-them where the air and sun unite to take up
-extraneous moisture in the rooms and in the
-floor boards used.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a>
-Narrow strips of sufficient thickness to receive the lath and plaster,
-placed on the frame and other places where needed.</p>
-
-</div><!--footnote-->
-
-<p>Comparatively few persons can afford hard
-wood floors, but this fact does not preclude
-having floors without wide cracks, which serve
-to retain dangerous and filthy material. There
-is no reason why tight floors may not be made
-of hard pine or other suitable material, provided
-a little extra pains be taken in their construction.</p>
-
-<p>The laying of the floors should be the last
-carpenter work done in the new house. All
-this implies that a rough, cheap floor has been
-laid when the frame was constructed. The
-rough, diagonally laid sub-floor will cost something
-extra, but it results in so many benefits
-that it should never be dispensed with.</p>
-
-<div class="container w30em" id="Fig82">
-<a id="Fig83"></a>
-
-<img src="images/illo191.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<div class="split5050">
-
-<div class="left5050">
-<p class="caption">Fig. 82. A plain base board.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="right5050">
-<p class="caption">Fig. 83. A complex base board.</p>
-</div>
-
-</div><!--split-->
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p class="allclear">Windows and door frames must have inside
-casings, and baseboards, kitchen wainscoting and
-picture moldings cannot well be dispensed
-with. All these should be of the simplest and<span class="pagenum" id="Page183">[183]</span>
-plainest construction. <a href="#Fig82">Fig. 82</a> shows a cross
-section of a plain baseboard, and <a href="#Fig83">Fig. 83</a> one
-of complex construction. Two styles of facings
-are shown in <a href="#Fig84">Fig.
-84</a>. The one style forms
-lodging places for dirt;
-the other reduces dust catching to the minimum.
-I notice that some of the newer passenger
-coaches, though most elegant, are built
-with smooth inside finish. With the exception<span class="pagenum" id="Page184">[184]</span>
-of the window sills there are no lodging
-places for dust and cinders. The old-fashioned
-doors with thin panels, and numerous
-moldings have been discarded, and those
-as plain and uniform in thickness as a pane
-of window glass, substituted for them. The
-picture molding, as shown in <a href="#Fig85">Fig. 85</a>, may
-serve to support the picture and catch dirt as
-well. The other illustration (<a href="#Fig86">Fig. 86</a>) shows one
-which may serve quite as well for the purpose
-desired without forming a dust shelf. If
-the window sashes are made with plain bevels
-and not molded, and all other window fixtures,
-as stops and the like, are constructed in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page185">[185]</span>
-same way, the labor of keeping the house clean
-will be greatly reduced.</p>
-
-<div class="container w30em" id="Fig84">
-
-<img src="images/illo192.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 84. Two styles of facing.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w08em left" id="Fig85">
-
-<img src="images/illo193a.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption long">Fig. 85. The common
-but faulty
-picture
-moulding.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The wainscoting and the ceilings,
-if they are made of wood, should be
-constructed of wide boards, the cracks
-being covered with beveled battens.
-The old-fashioned, beaded, narrow ceiling
-material is not only difficult to keep
-tinted or varnished, but almost forbids
-cleanliness.</p>
-
-<div class="container w08em right" id="Fig86">
-
-<img src="images/illo193b.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 86. A sanitary
-picture
-molding.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Most stairs are too steep; some
-are little better than ladders and more dangerous.
-The risers in the main stairway should not
-exceed 6¹⁄₂ inches, nor the steps be less than
-12 inches wide. The back stair may have 7 to
-7¹⁄₂ inches risers, and 10- to 11-inch steps.
-The best and most beautiful stair has
-one or more broad landings. The
-spiral or “corkscrew” stair is worst
-of all. The effort to economize space
-by cramping the stair is almost universal.
-The difference between a cramped
-stair and an ample one may not
-amount to more than 12 square feet of
-space, equivalent to the top of a small
-table. True, the children may go up an easy
-stair two steps at a time, but when their hair
-whitens they will bless the man who knew the
-difference between an easy, dignified stair and<span class="pagenum" id="Page186">[186]</span>
-a step-ladder. Diminish the size of a room,
-add a foot to the width of the house, do
-anything rather than cramp the stairway.</p>
-
-<p>As far as possible paint should be kept off
-the inside woodwork. There are but few varieties
-of wood which may not be made smooth; and
-by the use of hard oil, which is really oil and
-varnish mixed together, all woodwork becomes
-beautiful and can be easily cleaned. It appears
-almost sacrilegious to cover the fine grain of our
-native woods with cheap, adulterated paint. If
-some of the woods, such as ash, oak and chestnut,
-be sawed “on the quarter” and properly
-finished, they become more elegant and are in
-better taste than any of the imported high-priced
-woods. The farm house should be plain, substantial,
-and durable, and in many cases there is
-sufficient wealth to make it elegant and even
-refined by decorating the walls with a few fine
-pictures and providing useful books. We judge
-people somewhat by the furnishings of the
-rooms in which they live, and by their appreciation
-of things which are really beautiful and
-useful.</p>
-
-<p>The comfort and elegance of the rooms
-depend quite as much on the plastered walls
-as on their wooden finish. Few things are
-more annoying than poor walls, which may fall
-at any time upon the furniture and rugs, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page187">[187]</span>
-may even endanger the lives of the little ones.
-With quick-lime and sand and an honest and
-efficient workman, a good, durable wall may be
-secured; provided, however, that the joists and
-studding are strong enough to prevent vibration
-when the floors are walked upon or the
-doors are closed quickly.</p>
-
-<p>In plastering, the green-coat finish should not
-be adopted, since poorer walls will inevitably be
-the result than by the scratch-coat method. To
-the new settler on the prairies living in a covered
-wagon, the time consumed in building a
-house was important; therefore the second coat
-of plaster was put on a few hours after the
-first. The pressure required to spread, level,
-and smooth the second coat often disturbed the
-clinches formed by the first coat. The bond of
-these mortar clinches being broken or disturbed,
-the wall was made weak. It is well known that
-if the bond between the lath and mortar is once
-broken after the mortar sets, it never reunites.
-The only safe way to place a wall when the
-common mortar is used is by the scratch-coat
-method. This consists in allowing the first coat
-to become fully dry, having, however, scratched
-the surface of the plaster slightly soon after it
-is put on. When it is perfectly dry the second
-coat is placed, and when this is dry, a third
-(skim) coat may be added, which should be<span class="pagenum" id="Page188">[188]</span>
-but little thicker than whitewash. This leaves
-the wall smooth and nearly white. However,
-many walls are now finished on the second coat
-which is left level but rough, and may be tinted
-by mixing coloring material with the mortar.
-The quality of the wall depends largely upon the
-mixing of the mortar and the amount of firm
-troweling which it receives. The fewer interstices
-between the particles of sand the better. Firm,
-persistent troweling tends to reduce interstices,
-and hence to make the wall firm and strong.
-Plastered walls are much strengthened by being
-painted, and wherever such painting is appropriate,
-as in the bathroom, wardrobe, and kitchen,
-they should receive two coats of light cream
-color or other warm-colored paint.</p>
-
-<p>A new mixture, cement and hair, or wood-fiber,
-has been put on the market, and is likely
-to be used extensively, for when properly used a
-stronger, harder, and more durable wall is secured
-than by using the ordinary stone lime and
-sand mortar. This cement is sold under a variety
-of names, and is usually known by the
-builders under the generic name, adamant or
-adamant plaster. It is put up in barrel packages,
-and sells in central New York from $2 to
-$2.50 per barrel, wholesale. It is mixed in
-small quantities immediately before using, in the
-proportion of one of cement to two of sharp<span class="pagenum" id="Page189">[189]</span>
-sand. One barrel suffices for thirty square
-yards of two-coat work, three-fourth-inch
-grounds being used; seven-eighth-inch grounds
-are required for three-coat work. As mortar
-made of this material sets quickly, the laths
-should be thoroughly wet before the mortar is
-applied, and the rooms should be closed while
-the work is progressing, or the mortar will
-harden too rapidly. Not only plastering mortar,
-but that used for other purposes which depends
-on cement for its binding force, should not be
-allowed to dry out rapidly.</p>
-
-<p>One serious objection is urged against walls
-made of cement mortar,&mdash;it being said that
-they are so resonant as to be annoying. To
-overcome this objection the walls of one public
-building were covered with burlap and painted.
-Notwithstanding the objections raised against
-cement plastered walls, they are likely to come
-into common use, since they are so superior in
-hardness and durability to the old style wall.</p>
-
-<p>Ordinarily, a full year should be allotted for
-building the house, and it should not be occupied
-until it has become thoroughly dried out.
-Perhaps this hint of the unsanitary condition of
-a damp house may be sufficient for the American.
-In Germany the law requires that a new
-house must have been completed a full half year
-before it may be occupied.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page190">[190]</span></p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">HEATING AND VENTILATION</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>In the future as in the past, most farm
-houses, without doubt, will be heated by stoves.
-However, some farmers will desire either an air,
-water, or steam heater. Air heaters are dangerous,
-because if the valves are not properly managed,
-the pipes may become superheated and may
-set the building on fire. They carry fine dust
-into the rooms, and the heat cannot be evenly
-distributed when the house is exposed to the full
-force of the wind, as it usually is in the country.
-The system of heating by means of hot water
-has many objections when used in the farm
-house. The water in the pipes is likely to freeze
-at night in the unused rooms if it is cut off; if
-it is left on, all the rooms must be heated,
-which is frequently not desirable. Then, too,
-heat cannot be secured as quickly in the morning
-as desired, and in case of too much heat,
-the rooms cool slowly unless doors or windows
-are opened. The first cost of placing a steam
-heating plant is expensive, but once in place it
-is most satisfactory. Wherever steam power
-can be used to advantage in the dairy, the steam
-plant might well be placed in one end of the
-summer kitchen or in the wood house, where it
-may be separated from the balance of the room
-by a partition. There is no more danger of<span class="pagenum" id="Page191">[191]</span>
-fire from a boiler than from a stove. The one
-plant which furnishes steam and hot water for
-various purposes, such as churning, sawing wood,
-and pumping water, need not be more expensive
-if it also is made to serve for heating the
-house.</p>
-
-<p>A simple contrivance now in common use,&mdash;when
-several buildings are heated from a central
-station,&mdash;serves to govern the amount and
-pressure of steam introduced into the building.
-The farm steam plant should be situated, when
-possible, below the level of the radiators on the
-first floor, that the warm water from the condensed
-steam may be used again in the boiler
-instead of cold water. In the long run, this
-system would heat the house more cheaply than
-stoves, require less care-taking, and be cleaner
-and more satisfactory in every way.</p>
-
-<p>Much has been written about ventilation; and
-too often the systems applicable to ventilating
-large, overcrowded rooms and public halls have
-been applied to dwellings. However complex
-and difficult the ventilation of large buildings
-may be, the ventilation of a room in a dwelling
-is simple. If there are two or more windows in
-a room, ideal ventilation can be secured by raising
-the lower and lowering the upper sash as
-much as desired. By this method three streams
-of air are allowed to enter or leave the room, as<span class="pagenum" id="Page192">[192]</span>
-there will be openings at the top, bottom and
-middle of the windows. The impure air is
-largely found at the top of the room and at the
-bottom. If, then, the warmer and lighter air is
-allowed to escape at the top, the colder air will
-rush in at the bottom, which will result in keeping
-it moving as water moves when the inflow
-is at or near the bottom of a vessel and the
-outflow near the top. Whenever only one window
-can be secured in the sleeping room, large
-transoms should be placed over the doors into
-the hall. While this method does not ventilate
-as well as the other, it serves to keep the air
-pure in the chamber. When there are many
-rooms situated on one hall, the hall should be
-ventilated by means of windows at its end, or at
-the top of the house. Many farm houses are
-over-ventilated in winter, the cold air entering
-the loose casements until the wash water expands
-and breaks the pitcher. In such cases
-storm sashes are a necessity, and are more economical
-than feather beds or coal in preserving
-a living temperature.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page193">[193]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XI<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>HOUSE FURNISHING AND DECORATION</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>House furnishings do not exist for themselves,
-but as a background for the people
-who live among them. Just as the trees,
-rocks, fields and animals have for their setting
-the green earth and the blue sky, and
-as pictures have a background, a middle distance
-and a foreground, so human beings have
-their setting. If the setting be more striking
-or more elegant than the people for whom
-it exists, they are made uncomfortable and
-overshadowed by it; if meaner and uglier than
-they, the people are belittled by it. How many
-houses there are whose furnishings are much
-more attractive than their inhabitants! A
-woman of superficial education and trivial
-character has the distinction of having the
-most beautiful library in her state; rows on
-rows of the best books, in beautiful bindings, in
-a room of the most artistic design, and nobody
-to read them. The contrast between the woman
-and her environment is pitiful.</p>
-
-<p>The house and its contents should be an outgrowth<span class="pagenum" id="Page194">[194]</span>
-of the tastes, habits and occupation of
-its owners. Farm life in its best aspect is a
-synonym for breadth, generosity, simplicity,
-cleanliness, abundance of sunlight, fresh air and
-good food, the beauty of nature, freedom from
-stiff formality&mdash;these are the things which the
-city dweller envies the farmer. The equipment
-of the house should express this breadth, beauty,
-and freedom of life. It follows from this that
-many pieces of furniture and some kinds of
-decoration which are offered in the shops are
-quite out of place in a country house. Imitation
-is, therefore, a dangerous principle, for it is likely
-to lead to the choice and purchase of articles
-which, however suitable for some other family
-and pretty in themselves, are wholly inappropriate
-in the case of the purchaser.</p>
-
-<p>There are three main considerations which
-should always be taken into account in house-furnishing:
-health, suitability, and beauty. The
-order of these is often reversed to the permanent
-injury of the housewife. The first law of
-hygiene is that nothing can be suitable which is
-not wholesome for those who are to use it; the
-first law of decorative art is that nothing is
-beautiful which is not wholly suitable. If these
-principles should be applied to the furnishing of
-country houses, they would taboo dark, thick
-window draperies, nearly all bric-a-brac, heavy<span class="pagenum" id="Page195">[195]</span>
-upholstered furniture, parlor tea-tables filled
-with delicate (and generally dusty) china, and
-many other things which have been copied from
-the unwholesome and perhaps necessary customs
-of city life.</p>
-
-<p>Taste is a matter of cultivation, as much as
-efficiency or honesty; the habitual application of
-its fundamental principles in one’s own household,
-and the seeing of beautiful things elsewhere,
-are the chief means of its development.
-Man obtained his first conception of beauty from
-the form and color which he saw in the world
-about him, and we have only to apply the principles
-which are there apparent, in order to develop
-good taste. Nature provides an immense
-and comparatively neutral background; Nature
-always makes curves, never angles; Nature
-blends the most sharply contrasting colors together
-in the butterfly’s wing, in the poppies in
-a meadow, and in the feathers of the robin’s
-breast. The greater part of the world is in soft
-colors, browns and grays, dull greens and dull
-blues; the brilliant yellows, reds, pinks, purples
-and blues are always in very small quantities
-against this very large, neutral background.
-Since the furnishings of a house are the setting
-of the people, none of them should be more
-conspicuous than the people. Whatever brilliant
-color there is must be in relatively small quantities<span class="pagenum" id="Page196">[196]</span>
-against a soft background. Nothing either
-in form or color should “stick out.”</p>
-
-<p>If the general principles just laid down be
-applied to the details of house furnishing, we
-shall find that many matters must be changed.
-Since the housewife must usually do her own
-work with very little or, at most, inadequate
-help, everything should be planned to save her
-strength. If we remember, also, that the first
-effort of good housekeeping is to keep dirt out
-of the house, and the second to get it out at
-once, it will appear that carpets are unsanitary.
-It has already been shown that good floors
-are now to be had easily and cheaply. If properly
-painted or finished with oil and wax, they
-form the best foundation for tasteful and cleanly
-housekeeping. Carpets not only keep the dirt
-in the house, but they involve that annual bugbear,
-house-cleaning. Even when the floors are
-old and poor, the space around the edge of a rug
-may be puttied and painted so as to look very
-well when the rug is put down. By rugs, I do
-not mean several little rugs, like oases in the
-slippery surface, or at the doorways to trip the
-unwary, but a good, generous-sized rug which
-just escapes the edges of the heavier furniture
-around the sides of the room; which is substantial
-enough not to roll up, and which is yet
-small enough to be carried in and out by one<span class="pagenum" id="Page197">[197]</span>
-person. If the woodwork and pictures be wiped
-with a damp cloth, the windows washed, the
-floor dusted, and the rug beaten out of doors,
-now and then, no such terrible upheaval as
-house-cleaning usually implies, is necessary.
-Rugs may be had ready-made of ingrain, Japanese
-cotton, and jute, Brussels, and more expensive
-materials, but should always be heavy
-enough to lie flat without fastening and large
-enough to cover the entire portion of the floor
-which is to be walked upon. The uncovered
-space should usually not be wider than one and
-one-half feet.</p>
-
-<p>All furniture that is not actually built into
-or fastened to the wall and floors should be
-easily movable and easily cleaned. This at
-once precludes the purchase of heavy, upholstered
-chairs and large sofas. Wicker and
-rattan furniture, though not so artistic and
-costly as antique wood, is very light, and with
-good removable hair cushions, may be made
-quite as comfortable and far more cleanly than
-upholstered plush and damask. The cushions
-may be beaten at the same time as the rugs, and
-the dust thus taken out of the house. White
-enameled bedsteads and washstands are rapidly
-superseding the heavy wooden ones. It is a
-curious fact that although the persons of a
-family are of various sizes and ages, chairs are<span class="pagenum" id="Page198">[198]</span>
-still bought by the half dozen, without reference
-to the people who are to sit upon them. Even
-in such minor matters as chairs and tea-cups,
-some account should be taken of individuality.</p>
-
-<p>If all furniture be selected with these simple
-principles in mind, i. e., hygienic cleanliness, the
-minimum of labor for the housewife, and the comfort
-of those who are to use it, there remains
-only one other way in which to go astray: it
-may still be superlatively and positively ugly; or
-it may be comfortable, sanitary, easily moved,
-and yet be merely negatively ugly; or it may be
-made decorative by its graceful form, the color
-of its covering, or the carving upon it. The
-first principle of artistic decoration is that it
-must be wholly subordinated to the use of the
-object which it adorns. For instance, windows
-are for two purposes: to light the house and for
-seeing out. If a window opens on a barnyard
-or some unpleasant prospect, you may put up a
-sash curtain of light silk or muslin. Thus you
-obtain light but no view. But if you wish to
-see out of the window, sash curtains are absurd.
-In the ordinary private house, elaborate and
-heavy window curtains are out of place, both for
-sanitary and artistic reasons. Whenever cleanliness
-is a prime object, drapery should be
-movable and washable. Silk and velvet draperies<span class="pagenum" id="Page199">[199]</span>
-are only to be tolerated where there is a
-retinue of maids to keep them clean.</p>
-
-<p>The facility and cheapness of mill-work and
-lathe-work in wood has vitiated the taste of
-Americans to a terrible degree. Nearly all ready-made
-furniture is grooved, machine-carved,
-and ornamented in a way to violate not only
-the principles of beauty, but of strength and
-cleanliness as well. Ornament that does not
-<i>mean anything</i> is not merely commonplace but
-ugly. There are four chairs of different patterns,
-and costing from $1.50 to $15, in the room
-where I sit; all of them have legs. Now, legs are
-intended as a support, yet all these are grooved
-and beaded and hollowed out in spots, so that
-twice as much material as is necessary has been
-used to insure support. The ornamentation is
-not pretty, the hollows are inevitably full of
-dust, and they mean absolutely nothing to anybody
-who sees them. On the front crosspiece of
-one large chair is glued a design of leaves in
-oak, by way of ornament. If these had been
-carved out upon a beautiful strip of wood by the
-hand of a cunning workman, they would at least
-have meant a man’s thought and skill. As they
-are, they suggest merely a machine and a glue
-pot, and thousands of others as hideous as they.
-Contrast with this gingerbread furniture the
-plain, substantial colonial chairs and tables and<span class="pagenum" id="Page200">[200]</span>
-sideboards, made of beautiful wood, almost
-without ornamentation, with shapely, slender,
-and strong legs and softly polished by hand.
-Cheapness and quantity have been secured
-by machinery at the expense of beauty and
-strength.</p>
-
-<p>If the principle thus illustrated be true, then
-it follows that patterns of any sort, whether in
-carpets, wall paper, china, or drapery, must be
-very carefully used that they may not be more
-conspicuous than that which they decorate. The
-floor and the wall are the basis both of color-scheme
-and decoration. They are the background
-of the people who are to live there;
-they should, therefore, be rather inconspicuous,
-soft and indefinite in effect, and as becoming
-as possible to the human figures. If the climate
-be sunny and the room well lighted, the walls
-and floor may be dark and rich in effect; if the
-climate be uncertain and often cloudy, or the
-room badly lighted, the effect should be light
-and gay. Color is the chief means of producing
-this result: the walls and floors of living rooms
-should be of soft, neutral brown, yellow, red,
-green, or warm gray tints. Blue, though very
-lovely when carefully used, is cold in effect, and
-seldom satisfactory for living rooms, while the
-blue grays are positively chilling. Yellow in
-paler or richer shades, depending on the lighting<span class="pagenum" id="Page201">[201]</span>
-of the room, is uniformly cheerful and satisfying;
-next to it rank the various terra cotta
-shades. Neither rug nor wall-covering should
-have large, striking designs; if having pattern
-at all, it should rather be of an indefinite,
-wandering design like the Japanese jute rugs,
-or of small inconspicuous conventional design,
-such as may be found in the best Brussels
-carpet.</p>
-
-<p>If the floors, however, be poor and old they
-may be covered very inexpensively with thick,
-strong building paper which comes in beautiful
-tints and the rug may be laid on top of this; or
-with denim on top of newspapers, which is only
-a little more expensive, and which may be had
-in a variety of beautiful shades; or, best of all,
-with matting on top of paper. Matting is
-especially desirable because the dust sifts
-through below, and does not rise easily when
-swept. But the money spent to cover up a poor
-floor would often serve to lay a good new one,
-and this should be done whenever possible.
-For kitchen and, in some cases, for a dining
-room floor as well, nothing is so satisfactory as
-linoleum. It is impervious, warm, soft to the
-foot, easily kept in order by an occasional coat
-of oil, and to be had in agreeable patterns. It
-may also be used like denim, building paper,
-and matting, to cover up bad floors, and as a<span class="pagenum" id="Page202">[202]</span>
-basis for the rug; while more expensive, it is
-also much more satisfactory than anything except
-a good hardwood floor. There is often
-far too great contrast between the furnishings
-of the living room and the parlor; between the
-“spare room” and the family bedrooms. The
-money spent in elegance which is shut up in a
-room rarely used would serve to add much to
-the comfort of the whole family. The guest will
-enjoy the hospitality offered all the more if not
-treated too ceremoniously.</p>
-
-<p>The furnishing of the living room should always
-include several easy chairs, a good lounge,
-a place for books and magazines, and a thoroughly
-good reading lamp. If it can be afforded,
-a small room off the sitting room for
-writing and study is very desirable. It should
-contain book shelves, a large writing table or
-desk, and a good lamp. But if the extra room
-cannot be had, the desk and book shelves may
-be placed in the parlor. There should certainly
-be some place where the children may study or
-any member of the family may read and write
-uninterrupted. It is as irksome to write without
-proper appliances as to bathe without proper
-facilities.</p>
-
-<p>The furniture and decorations of bedrooms
-can scarcely be too simple; the walls may be
-lighter and gayer than those of living rooms.<span class="pagenum" id="Page203">[203]</span>
-Blue and white or pale green and white may be
-used as color-schemes for very sunny bedrooms,
-yellow or pink and white for less sunny ones.
-One or two single, white, enamelled iron bedsteads,
-a washstand, a bureau or a chest of
-drawers with glass above, two or three low, light
-chairs, and a table or desk at which one may
-write, is an ample furnishing, if there be a good
-closet or wardrobe. The rug need be only large
-enough to cover the space in front of the bed,
-bureau, and stand, if the floor be well matched
-and painted or oiled. A bedroom should give
-the impression of spotlessness and comfort;
-everything should be washable or cleanable; unless
-used also as a sitting room, it should not
-have a superfluous article in it. Mats, bric-a-brac,
-even many pictures, are quite out of
-place.</p>
-
-<p>Since cost, styles and tastes differ so widely
-in different localities, no detailed directions can
-or should be given that will be generally applicable.
-If the principles illustrated in this chapter
-be correct, they will serve to guide and to
-develop the taste of many different kinds of
-persons.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page204">[204]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XII<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>CLEANLINESS AND SANITATION&mdash;WATER SUPPLY
-AND SEWAGE</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Filth and disease have gone hand in hand
-from the beginning of the world; but only during
-the last quarter-century have we known the
-true cause of infection, and why it is so closely
-associated with dirt. The danger of uncleanliness
-lies in the existence of certain microscopic
-organisms belonging to the vegetable kingdom,
-known popularly as microbes or germs, but more
-properly as bacteria. Bacteria, like the plants
-with which we are more familiar, thrive in moisture
-and moderate heat, but differ from them in
-many respects. Some of the more striking
-differences are structure and method of reproduction,
-many of them possessing the faculty of
-growing without sunlight. Bacteria are composed
-of minute masses of vegetable matter
-which vary from one ten-thousandth to one-thirty
-thousandth of an inch in length, and they
-reproduce by simple division. This process of
-multiplication may occur as often as once in
-half an hour; thus immense numbers may develop<span class="pagenum" id="Page205">[205]</span>
-in a very short time. Under conditions
-unfavorable for growth, some species may form
-within their interior dense masses which are called
-spores. These resemble the seeds of higher
-plants in their function of distributing the species
-and in preserving life through intervals of
-time unfavorable for continuous multiplication.</p>
-
-<p>Bacteria may be classified in several ways,
-but for the discussion of cleanliness and sanitation,
-the simplest division is into the harmless
-and the injurious. The harmless forms live
-mostly on dead organic matter, causing nitrification,
-fermentation, and putrefaction; they
-break down the more complex organic compounds
-into simpler ones, so that they can be
-used again as food for plants. Familiar examples
-of this are seen in the decay of meat
-and vegetables. This class is more numerous,
-much hardier than the other, and comprises an
-overwhelmingly large proportion of the bacteria
-in nature.</p>
-
-<p>Bacteria are found almost constantly in water,
-in soil, and in air. Consequently they are present
-in all our food, except that which has been
-heated to kill them. Certain bacteria are normal
-inhabitants of the mouth, throat and intestines,
-while others find suitable conditions for
-growth on the skin and in the accumulation of
-substances excreted in the perspiration.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page206">[206]</span></p>
-
-<p>Owing to the short time which has been devoted
-to the study of bacteria and their functions,
-closer attention has been paid to the
-harmful or pathogenic bacteria because of their
-relation to human health. This one-sided study
-of bacteriology has blinded us to the beneficent
-action of many bacteria, and has caused us much
-unnecessary fear of their presence in food.</p>
-
-<p>The harmful bacteria cause disease either indirectly
-through poisons which they excrete in
-food products, or directly by poisons or toxins
-which they form when living within the body.
-Although harmless bacteria are everywhere present,
-the pathogenic or harmful varieties are
-ordinarily much less numerous. It should be
-understood, however, that many of the so-called
-harmless bacteria are the cause of certain decompositions
-of vegetable and animal matter
-with the formation of substances which are
-detrimental to health. This is illustrated by the
-occasional cases of meat, fish, and oyster poisoning.
-The pathogenic bacteria, such as those
-of tuberculosis, typhoid fever, diphtheria, and
-the like, constitute, as has been already stated,
-a small number of species. These are disseminated
-through various channels, such as the milk
-and the water supply, and by persons directly.
-When they are introduced into dirty and unwholesome
-homes, they find in the filth suitable<span class="pagenum" id="Page207">[207]</span>
-conditions for their multiplication, with the
-usual consequence of causing more or less disease
-in the family. The human body possesses
-more or less power of resistance to bacteria, but
-if these natural forces cannot overcome their
-invasion, they in turn will be successful and
-produce disease.</p>
-
-<p>Once infected with disease-producing bacteria,
-a house should be renovated from attic to cellar,
-and subjected to the action of agents possessing
-the power of destroying the pathogenic organisms.
-Numerous means are employed to kill
-bacteria, among them being the use of disinfectants
-in the form of liquids or gases, and the
-application of heat. The list of chemical disinfectants
-is long, but owing to their cost, a relatively
-small number are available for the disinfection
-of houses. The use of carbolic acid,
-copperas, whitewash, and the fumes of burning
-sulfur are familiar disinfectants used for this
-purpose. Among the disinfectants which can be
-applied directly to wounds, to prevent suppuration,
-are weak solutions of corrosive sublimate
-and of carbolic acid.</p>
-
-<p>The greater number of bacteria, pathogenic
-or harmless, which do not form spores, are destroyed
-by a temperature of 155 degrees Fahrenheit
-for twenty minutes. Very few resist the
-boiling point; thus water may be made safe by<span class="pagenum" id="Page208">[208]</span>
-boiling, and milk by Pasteurizing at 155 degrees
-for twenty minutes. Cold merely checks the
-growth of bacteria, but, ordinarily, does not destroy
-them. Sunlight and fresh air are especially
-unfavorable to them; therefore the house
-should be sunny, and beds, bedrooms and living
-rooms thoroughly aired. If there be no organic
-matter to serve as nutriment for them, they cannot
-multiply; therefore the body, the clothing,
-and the dwelling should be kept as clean as
-possible. For this reason the first test of good
-sanitation is the immediate removal of all waste
-matter from the house, and the first preventive
-of disease is personal cleanliness.</p>
-
-<p>In <a href="#Page74">Chapter VI</a> suggestions have been made
-concerning the site, location, and drainage of
-the farm house. The kind, number, and convenience
-of the sanitary appliances, such as hot
-water boilers, closets, lavatories, and baths, are
-chiefly dependent upon the water-supply. If
-there be an abundance from a town water-main,
-or from a windmill or house-tank which will
-give some pressure, the problem of plumbing is
-comparatively easy; but if there be no such
-supply, it becomes far more difficult. A good
-water supply <i>in the house</i> is of the first importance;
-therefore, for several reasons, plumbing
-conveniences lessen the work of the housewife
-by half, they encourage the practice of that<span class="pagenum" id="Page209">[209]</span>
-virtue which is “next to godliness,” and if
-properly arranged they do away with many sanitary
-dangers. Personal cleanliness is irksome
-enough with every convenience for washing and
-bathing. When there is no convenience except
-a wash basin and a quart or two of hot water,
-habitual cleanliness is practically impossible.
-In this respect town and city life have an immense
-advantage over rural life. A woman who
-had moved from town to country for the sake
-of her husband’s health, was asked how she
-liked it: she said, “It is delightful, but I sometimes
-think I cannot endure it on account of
-this nasty privy and no bath-room.” Cleanliness
-of the skin is hygienically far more important
-than cleanliness of clothing. In athletics
-and gymnastics, the bath following the
-exercise is considered an essential part of their
-hygienic value; how much more necessary, then,
-is opportunity for frequent bathing, where the
-family, both in and out of doors, do daily
-manual labor which causes much perspiration,
-and which is often very dirty! The recent
-movement in cities to provide public bath-houses
-for the poor in tenements should not outstrip
-the farmer’s effort to obtain equally good
-facilities.</p>
-
-<p>If there be a sufficient water supply available,
-there should be in every house a hot water<span class="pagenum" id="Page210">[210]</span>
-boiler of at least twenty gallons capacity, attached
-to the kitchen range, to supply hot water
-for laundry work and bathing; a kitchen sink
-and a bath-tub, each with hot and cold water
-faucets and waste pipe to sewer or cesspool;
-and a water-closet. These are the essentials;
-but, if possible, a stationary wash stand and two
-laundry tubs, with hot and cold water pipes,
-should also be provided. In the farm house it
-will save expense and many steps for the housewife,
-and will encourage frequent use, if all
-these be located on the first floor; the boiler in
-a cupboard in the wall of the kitchen, which
-may be shut in summer and opened in winter;
-the sink in the kitchen, or if preferred, in a
-pantry between the dining room and kitchen;
-the bath-room and stationary washstand in a
-room either opening out of the kitchen or out
-of the family bedroom, or out of a rear passage;
-the water-closet should be in some well
-ventilated space, on an outside wall, where the
-noise of the fixture will be as little heard as
-possible. It should have an outside as well as
-an inside entrance. It is customary to place
-the closet in the bath-room, but this often interferes
-with the general use of the washstand
-and bath-tub by the family, and should be
-avoided. The nearer all plumbing fixtures are
-to each other, the less expensive they are to<span class="pagenum" id="Page211">[211]</span>
-put in; therefore in planning the first floor, this
-point should receive special consideration.</p>
-
-<p>Certain general principles apply to all plumbing,
-and may serve to test the various kinds of
-fixtures offered for sale. All foul and effete
-matter should be immediately and completely
-removed from the house; any back current of
-foul air into the house should be prevented, and
-any communication between the sewer or the
-cesspool and the water supply should be made
-impossible. Fixtures should be as simple in
-construction as possible and easily accessible.
-Pipes were formerly enclosed in the walls, but
-in the finest new buildings in cities, are now
-placed altogether in sight, and painted the color
-of the walls, or of the woodwork. The sewer
-pipe, on reaching the level of the ground, should
-pass directly out of the house, and should never
-be carried along under the first floor of the
-house. In the southern states and on the
-Pacific coast, pipes may run on the outside of
-the house, thus fulfilling ideally the principle
-that waste matter should be removed from the
-house as soon as possible. A few years ago
-there was much controversy over the placing
-of vent pipes in traps and in branches. Gerhard
-and the older sanitarians advise a complicated
-and elaborate use of them, but Putnam
-and the more recent authorities consider thorough<span class="pagenum" id="Page212">[212]</span>
-ventilation of the soil pipe at top and
-bottom quite sufficient. The material of fixtures
-should be good (not extravagant), and the
-workmanship should be of the very best. The
-efficiency of any sanitary convenience depends
-almost as much upon the care with which it is
-put in as upon its material and style. But of
-all the principles of sanitary plumbing, probably
-the most important is frequent and thorough
-flushing, if possible with hot water. Any fixture
-will become foul and dangerous if there is
-not water enough and under sufficient force to
-scour it out thoroughly.</p>
-
-<p>Having laid down certain principles which
-apply to plumbing fixtures generally, we may
-now consider these fixtures more in detail.
-Pipes should be rather heavy. Waste pipes are
-generally too large, and therefore do not scour
-well; they need be only three to four inches in
-diameter for one or more closets in an ordinary
-house, and from one to one and a-half inches
-for washbowls, sinks, and tubs; they should
-always be of uniform size, i. e., “full-bore”
-throughout. Soil pipes should never run level,
-but as nearly as possible at a uniform slope of
-not less than one foot in fifty.</p>
-
-<p>The kitchen sink may be of white porcelain,
-enameled iron, painted iron, or granite ware, any
-of which materials are serviceable and desirable;<span class="pagenum" id="Page213">[213]</span>
-or of wood, lined with lead, zinc, copper
-or slate, all of which are more or less undesirable,
-because after some use, the water and
-filth is apt to get in between the wood and its
-covering, or because they are not durable. The
-sink should have as little woodwork about it as
-possible, since wood is porous and, therefore,
-collects filth. It should be set open on brackets,
-and not over a dark, moist, dirt-collecting,
-back-breaking closet. Flushing is especially important
-in the case of the kitchen sink because
-of the grease. The best plumbing provides a
-grease-trap outside the house, which may be
-easily cleaned; but whether outside or immediately
-beneath the sink, the trap should have a
-screw-plug, so that it may be frequently cleaned.
-It follows that the kitchen waste pipe should not
-be too large, should have a good incline, and if
-possible no abrupt curves, so that cooling grease
-in the water may not harden on the sides of the
-pipe and finally fill it up. The use of a cheap
-wire screen garbage basket in the sink will prevent
-the small particles of waste from passing
-down the pipe.</p>
-
-<p>Bath-tubs of white earthenware or “porcelain”
-are the most expensive, the most durable
-and very heavy; of white enameled iron,
-are less expensive and heavy, durable if carefully
-used, impervious and cleanly; those of<span class="pagenum" id="Page214">[214]</span>
-copper, tinned and planished, dent easily and
-the tinning wears off, but are fairly durable and
-still less expensive; those of wood-fiber are not
-very common, but are impervious, light and
-cleanly.</p>
-
-<p>The stationary washstand bowl and top are
-usually of marble; the outlet of the bowl
-should not be smaller than the wastepipe; the
-trap should be near the bowl, and have a screw
-plug, so that obstructions may be easily removed.</p>
-
-<p>There is an immense variety of water-closets;
-those should be especially avoided which have
-moveable machinery in connection with the
-bowl, such as the pan, valve, and plunger
-closets. Some of these are very inexpensive,
-but they are objectionable, either because they
-rust and accumulate filth, or because they get
-out of order easily. The forms of closets without
-movable machinery in connection with the
-bowl, that is, in which the machinery is connected
-with the flushing cistern, such as the
-hopper, the siphon-jet, and the washout closets,
-are to be preferred. Any washout or hopper
-closet bought from a responsible firm is likely
-to give satisfaction, if thoroughly flushed and
-kept in order.</p>
-
-<p>Stationary laundry tubs are of less importance
-than these other plumbing fixtures, since
-there are several excellent washing machines the<span class="pagenum" id="Page215">[215]</span>
-use of which does away with the necessity for
-them. If one must choose between the two, the
-washing machine will be most useful; but if one
-wishes to have laundry tubs also, they come in
-porcelain, soapstone, granite, and wood, the
-latter being the least desirable.</p>
-
-<p>If the water supply be limited, as when a
-tank is supplied by pumping from a cistern,
-the hot water boiler, the bath-tub, and the
-stationary washstand may be arranged almost
-as easily as when there is an abundance of
-water; but it may be necessary to substitute the
-dry-closet for the water-closet.</p>
-
-<p>When no tank supply is available, and all
-water must be carried from a cistern or from
-the well in the yard, the cost of plumbing is
-very small and the discomfort very great. Warm
-water must be supplied chiefly from a reservoir
-at the back of the range, thus making frequent
-bathing very inconvenient, even if a regular
-bath-tub be provided. If, however, a cesspool be
-built in the yard, the kitchen sink, the slop-hopper,
-the bath-tub, and the laundry tub may
-have waste pipes to it. Such waste pipes save
-just half the work, for the water has to be carried
-only to the fixture, not away from it again.
-It thus seems worth while to have the fixtures,
-even though they serve only half their purpose.
-A slop-hopper with pipe to the cesspool, on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page216">[216]</span>
-same level and near the kitchen, for waste wash
-water, etc., from the chambers, saves many steps,
-and is far more sanitary than throwing slops on
-the ground outside the house or carrying them
-to the outhouse.</p>
-
-<p>The chief problem is the outhouse, or privy
-vault. There is no more disgusting or unsanitary
-feature of rural life than this ill-smelling,
-dirty hole in the ground, from which the filth
-permeates the surrounding soil, and may contaminate
-the water supply. Much discomfort
-and some digestive ills arise from the necessity&mdash;especially
-for women&mdash;of going a considerable
-distance in cold weather and at night, to
-such places. The closet should, therefore, be as
-near the house as is compatible with decency,
-and should be reached by a covered walkway.
-If properly built and regularly disinfected and
-cleaned, it need be neither disgusting nor unsanitary.
-The wooden house should never be
-papered nor carpeted, but should be painted or
-whitewashed yearly and kept scrupulously clean.
-The habitual use of ashes or dry earth in the
-receptacle and an occasional application of some
-disinfectant, such as copperas or chloride of
-lime, is necessary. If drawers are used in the
-privy, they may be hauled out frequently by
-horse; and with the liberal use of road dust, no
-offense arises. The writer knows a country<span class="pagenum" id="Page217">[217]</span>
-house in which dry-earth closets are under the
-house-roof, and yet there is no unpleasantness.
-Since the well is so easily contaminated by the
-seeping through the soil of manure and human
-waste matter, it is of the utmost importance that
-the privy vault should be below the source of
-water supply and as far as possible from it. In
-the following pages the details of construction of
-the privy vault are given, the relative location
-of it, and the water supply.</p>
-
-<p>Plumbing fixtures, like all other mechanical
-contrivances, to be efficient, require to be kept
-in perfect order. Frequent, thorough flushing
-with hot water whenever possible, and disinfection
-of the closet and the sink, are especially
-desirable. If all fixtures be set “open” and all
-pipes in sight, any leakage may be easily detected
-and remedied. If the pipes be painted
-with white lead, the defect will be discovered by
-the discoloration of the paint.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">WATER SUPPLY AND SEWAGE</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Water in abundance for the domestic animals
-should be provided by means of artificial pools
-or lakes, situated on land higher than the barns,
-but if they must be placed below the level of the
-buildings, aermotors or windmills may be easily
-made to elevate it to any reasonable height. It<span class="pagenum" id="Page218">[218]</span>
-is difficult to explain why more miniature lakes,
-in which to store water for all except culinary
-purposes, are not constructed. In <a href="#Fig7">Fig. 7</a> it is
-shown how easily these pools may be made
-without expensive stone dams, and after the
-fashion of those constructed in many of the
-southern states.</p>
-
-<p>Wells, in many places, must be deep, and
-then often furnish but a meager supply of water,
-while cisterns large enough to supply all wants
-are expensive. In addition to artificial lakes,
-wells, and cisterns, there are often streams, or
-best of all, springs, to be drawn upon. In any
-case, a full and continuous supply of water
-should be provided before buildings are constructed
-if annoyance, loss, and unnecessary labor
-are to be obviated and the best sanitary conditions
-secured in the house. Unless the water
-is brought into the house under a constant pressure,
-one or more storage tanks should be provided.
-They should be placed at such elevations
-as will secure at least some pressure on the first
-floor above the cellar. The storage tank may
-have a capacity of from one to five barrels, and
-may be constructed of rough or planed two-inch
-planks and lined with galvanized iron, if the
-water is to be used for culinary purposes; if not,
-it may be lined with lead. The tank, which may
-be of any shape desired, may be placed on supports<span class="pagenum" id="Page219">[219]</span>
-near the ceiling of the bath-room, or the
-room which contains the commode, or at one
-end in the upper part of the clothes-press; provided,
-however, that the discharge pipe is made
-so large that under no contingencies will the
-tank overflow. If the house is fairly large and
-the cistern capacious, sufficient water may be
-pumped into the tank from the cistern in a few
-minutes to supply all wants for the day. From
-the tank it will flow by gravity into the hot
-water boiler and to all other points desired
-which are not above the tank. If water be
-raised by means of an aermotor, a storage tank
-will still be necessary, as the wind may fail to
-operate the motor for an entire day. By whatever
-means water is secured, the supply should
-be ample at all times. Springs and wells in the
-middle and northern states, and cisterns in the
-southern states will, in most cases, serve to supply
-the potable water needed, but these are too
-often inadequate to supply the large demand
-for water made by the animals, and the extra
-demand for water in the house made by cleaner
-and more sanitary methods of living.</p>
-
-<p>In using water in the household, it becomes
-mixed with a great variety of organic substances
-which pollute it, and which tend to putrefaction
-and decay. As these various organic substances
-break down, numerous compounds are produced,<span class="pagenum" id="Page220">[220]</span>
-many of which endanger not only health but life
-itself; it is therefore evident that all soiled water
-should be removed from the house immediately
-and by the shortest practical route. But what to
-do with the polluted water after it has been removed
-from the rooms, becomes one of the most
-difficult problems of modern civilization. The
-first thought is to empty this sewage into streams
-and lakes; but those living on the streams and
-in the cities must secure their water-supply from
-these sources. It is evident, then, that the
-streams should not be polluted. The next
-thought is to distribute the sewage over the
-land, but this method is usually an expensive
-one, and seldom can enough sandy land be secured
-to absorb and filter the vast quantities of
-sewage which modern conditions make necessary.</p>
-
-<p>On the farm the same difficulties are presented,
-and the problem to be solved differs in
-degree rather than in kind. If dry-earth closets
-are used on the farm, there is still the kitchen
-and laundry sewage to be provided for. While
-disposing of this, provision may also be made
-for the night-soil, thus obviating two systems of
-removing waste from the house. However, the
-earth-closet will reduce the amount of liquid
-sewage and increase the temptation to discharge
-it into the streams which, above all things,
-should be avoided. If porous or sandy lands can<span class="pagenum" id="Page221">[221]</span>
-be found within reasonable distance of the dwelling,
-and yet not too near to it to endanger
-health or pollute the water supply, a cesspool
-may be constructed. A hole some ten feet in
-circumference and ten to twelve feet deep, dug
-in the earth, walled with stone without mortar,
-may serve for catching and filtering the sewage.
-On top of the wall, which should not reach the
-surface of the ground by about two feet, lay two
-pieces of railroad iron, and on these place large
-flat stones, covering all with dirt, providing,
-however, for ventilation by
-means of a 4-inch iron
-pipe, which should be long
-enough to reach a little
-above the surface of the
-ground when all is completed.</p>
-
-<div class="container w25em" id="Fig87">
-
-<img src="images/illo229.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 87. Plan of a cesspool.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>If the soil is not as porous
-as is desired, lay several
-tile or stone drains at
-a depth of three to five feet,
-and extend them from the
-cesspool some distance out
-into the field or grounds
-beyond. (<a href="#Fig87">Fig. 87</a>.) These
-drains should have free outlets, and the longer
-they are the better. At the outlet of the drains
-plant willows or some other water-loving, fast-growing<span class="pagenum" id="Page222">[222]</span>
-trees. These will take up and utilize
-vast quantities of liquid and decomposed solids,
-and if the household is of only ordinary size
-no nuisance will result.</p>
-
-<p>If water is limited and the dry-earth closet
-must be adopted, then the cesspool for the
-kitchen and laundry liquids need not be made so
-large as described, but may be built in the same
-manner. The dry-earth closet may be built as
-follows: Construct a privy of suitable size, 5 to
-20 feet from the most convenient rear door, and
-connect it by a covered walk to the house. The
-small building should be placed not less than
-two feet above the ground, on a good, tight wall,
-which should extend under three sides of the
-building, the other side to be furnished with a
-hinged door. Secure a large, iron-top, dump
-wheelbarrow, which may serve to hold all fœcal
-matter. This may be emptied weekly or monthly
-into a nearby trench, previously prepared. A
-few shovelfuls of earth thrown upon the excreta
-will effectually arrest any offensive odors
-which might otherwise arise. Before the ground
-freezes in the fall dig a trench of sufficient
-length to contain the fœcal matter during the
-winter. In cold weather the barrow may be
-inverted over the trench, and by the application
-of a few quarts of hot water to the iron bottom
-the frozen material will be released. When the<span class="pagenum" id="Page223">[223]</span>
-ground thaws, the accumulated matter may be
-covered. While the material is frozen there will
-be no danger from it. It should be said that
-this trench would better be dug near a row of
-trees or other strong-growing perennial plants.
-These will quickly take up the products of the
-night-soil which might, in rare cases, tend to
-contaminate the soil-water. If but little of the
-night-soil be deposited in one place, the earth
-and plants&mdash;two most efficient disinfectants&mdash;may
-be trusted to preserve good sanitary conditions.
-However, pains should be taken to discover if,
-by any possible means, the sewage may find
-its way into the well. An intelligent inspection
-of the soil, the stratification of it and the rocks,
-will reveal the direction which the soil-water
-takes; but if the cesspool and the drains are
-placed some distance from the dwelling, no contamination
-will take place under any circumstances,
-since the amount of sewage is so small
-and the power of plants and soil to take up the
-dangerous products of sewage is so great.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page224">[224]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIII<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>HOUSEHOLD ADMINISTRATION, ECONOMY, AND
-COMFORT</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>In colonial times, before so many of the
-household operations were transferred to shops
-and manufactories, women were producers almost
-as much as men; but in modern times
-women are more and more concerned with how
-money shall be spent. The woman is still a
-producer when she cooks an egg, mends a garment,
-or sweeps a room; but the question of
-how much or how little can be had out of the
-family income has become relatively more and
-more her concern. In Europe, far more than in
-the United States, attention is given by the
-women to the economical expenditure of the
-family resources. A provincial French girl is
-trained from her childhood for household duties.
-She assists her mother not only in order to
-learn the finer arts of housewifery, but especially
-the judicious expenditure of money. The
-French husband leaves the apportionment of the
-family income almost wholly to his wife’s discretion.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page225">[225]</span></p>
-
-<p>There can be no doubt that the prosperity of
-the family depends quite as much on the wise
-use of the income as upon the size of that income.
-The first essential of good household
-management is that the housewife should know
-definitely how much there is to spend. Nothing
-is more productive of marital discontent than
-the habit which many husbands have of doling
-out money to the wife at irregular times and in
-indefinite amounts. It destroys the wife’s self-respect,
-it places her in a degraded position
-before her children, and it removes all incentive
-to thrift. It not infrequently supplies a powerful
-motive for deceit. If the wife is inexperienced,
-unwise, or extravagant in the use of
-money, so much the more reason why the husband
-should patiently and firmly teach her how
-to spend, both for her own sake and that of the
-family welfare. An arrangement by which the
-wife controls the expenditure of a certain portion
-of the income is very easy whenever the
-man receives a salary or regular daily wages.
-A regular income tends to develop thrift and to
-teach people to avoid debt; but there is always
-a tendency to live up to the limit of it, and the
-margin for saving and for extra pleasures is always
-small. Salaried people seldom get deeply
-in debt, but they as seldom become very rich.</p>
-
-<p>On the other hand, whenever the family income<span class="pagenum" id="Page226">[226]</span>
-is irregular, as from farming and most
-other kinds of business, the problem of household
-financiering is much more difficult and requires
-both greater self-control and better judgment.
-It is usually possible for such families
-to determine upon a definite minimum amount
-which may be counted upon for ordinary living
-expenses. The margin above this may vary
-widely, but if the scale of living be habitually
-adjusted to come within the minimum income,
-there will be no terror of debt. The expenditure
-of the surplus, when it comes, becomes a
-unique and unexpected pleasure. Whatever the
-plan adopted for distributing the family income,
-the wife should have at her command and
-should be expected to live within, a definite
-share of the income.</p>
-
-<p>After the minimum expenses of the family
-have been determined, the next most important
-question is how and when they shall be paid
-out. Cash payments are much to be preferred.
-They have two advantages: whoever pays cash
-asks no favor of the tradesman, and commands
-the best quality at a given price. The tradesman
-who lends money by allowing the payment
-of bills to be postponed, must pay for his goods
-and must have interest on the money necessary
-to carry on a credit business. He must necessarily,
-therefore, reimburse himself by charging<span class="pagenum" id="Page227">[227]</span>
-a higher price, or by giving a poorer article.
-It should never be forgotten that credit costs
-something. The cash customer is always considered
-a good customer, and can always have
-the first choice of the market, and favors if any
-are desired. Whenever monthly or quarterly
-bills are run, the debtor is apt to acquire a
-most dangerous habit&mdash;the habit of spending
-now, to pay at some future time. The more
-remote the time, the more dangerous the habit.
-It is evident that the oftener bills are paid, the
-less likelihood there is of mistakes and deceit.
-If bills must be run, it should never be for
-longer than a month, and prompt payment of
-them is a solemn obligation. The article should
-be done without rather than the seller asked
-to wait for his money. Whatever plan the
-housewife adopts will be conditioned by the
-customs of the locality in which she lives and
-by the habits of the local tradesman.</p>
-
-<p>Women waste much time and energy in buying
-things one by one; they spend in this way,
-too, much more than they realize, and then they
-wonder where the money has gone. China,
-linen, and the stock of clothing necessary for
-changes of season, should be bought by the set,
-or quantity, marked and prepared for use at
-regular intervals. Women buy a collar or two,
-a pair of stockings, a bit of ribbon, a bread<span class="pagenum" id="Page228">[228]</span>
-plate, a few glasses, etc., and then are surprised
-that they seem to have very little for the
-money. Unless the housewife be really poor, or
-unless the money be doled out to her irregularly,
-it will invariably pay to buy in quantity
-things which are not perishable, and which the
-household wears out and, therefore, habitually
-needs. Handkerchiefs, stockings, underclothing,
-china, drinking glasses, cost less by the dozen
-and half-dozen than by the piece. Lamp chimneys
-are continually broken, toilet paper and
-soap used up, yet very few housekeepers realize
-that they waste both time and energy, beside
-suffering inconvenience, when they buy these
-one at a time. Buying piecemeal is demoralizing,
-as well as wasteful, because it is unsystematic.
-Successful housekeeping involves attention
-to numberless details; if by periodic instead
-of incessant attention some of these can be
-disposed of in the mass, there will be immense
-saving of energy.</p>
-
-<p>Many housekeepers will object to this, either
-because it involves the immediate expenditure
-of a larger sum of money for one class of articles,
-or because, not having more wholesome
-social and intellectual interests, they find recreation
-in wandering from store to store, or counter
-to counter, pricing much and buying little; or
-because they love to find “a bargain.” The instinct<span class="pagenum" id="Page229">[229]</span>
-to get something “cheap,” that is, to get
-something for nothing, or, more properly, to get
-more than we pay for, lies very deep in human
-nature. Because women have usually lived from
-hand to mouth, without foresight, it has perhaps
-been exaggerated in them. There are the
-bargain-hunters, and there are the bargain-scorners;
-both are doubtless equally illogical.
-When an article is phenomenally cheap, it is so,
-usually, either because too many of its kind are
-on the market, or because the seller is sacrificing
-a normal profit to draw general custom,
-or because the people who have produced it
-have done so at less than a decent living wage,
-or because it is going or gone out of fashion.
-Good buyers are rightfully suspicious of bargains.
-No one should be willing to buy or use
-articles which have been produced at starvation
-wages under wretched sanitary conditions. It
-is never good economy to buy things which are
-gone out of fashion unless one is quite <i>satisfied
-to be out of fashion</i>. If the article offered on
-the bargain counter be of good quality, and in
-staple use in the household, it is often well
-worth buying. Flannels, linens, sometimes
-woolen dress goods of inconspicuous patterns,
-may be bought at the end of the season much
-cheaper than at the beginning, and are a good
-investment if one has money to spare and is<span class="pagenum" id="Page230">[230]</span>
-sure what is going to be needed by the family.
-Over against the money saved in securing a bargain,
-must always be reckoned the time and
-energy used in finding it, and the risks that its
-quality may prove inferior, or that it may be
-unsuitable when finally used. If a woman has
-nothing better to do with her time and strength
-than to hunt bargains, there is nothing further
-to be said; but if she has, it is usually more
-economical and more satisfactory to buy the
-articles needed for definite use at a reliable
-place and at a fair price.</p>
-
-<p>All the suggestions that have been made
-imply accurate knowledge on the part of the
-housekeeper. A thoroughly trained housekeeper
-of long experience may possibly keep all the
-household detail in hand without keeping books
-of account, but it is absolutely impossible for
-the inexperienced or unsystematic housekeeper
-to do so. The mental training involved in keeping
-an accurate account of family income and
-expenditure is as valuable as a course in mathematics.
-For her own self-discipline, as well as
-for the better distribution of the family income,
-every housekeeper should keep an itemized account.
-Until she can balance her account accurately
-at the end of every month she has not
-learned the a b c of thorough housekeeping.
-After having learned to do this easily, she may,<span class="pagenum" id="Page231">[231]</span>
-perhaps, allow herself a very small margin for
-those “sundries” which have not been put down,
-and which would waste valuable time to hunt
-out. Every housewife knows by experience that
-it is not the regular meat and grocery bills that
-eat up the income; if adequate care is taken of
-them, they can be reduced to a definite scale
-and kept there; but it is the incidentals. A system
-of accurate accounts will speedily show how
-many of these are extravagant or unnecessary.
-Book-keeping is a bugbear to most women,
-chiefly because the system which they undertake
-is too complicated. The simplest form is the
-best. Any blank book may be used; put down
-on the right hand side everything bought; on
-the left side all money received; at the end of
-the week or month the total sum of the right-hand
-column plus the money still on hand
-should equal the total of the left-hand column.
-If it does not, some item has been omitted or
-not accurately entered. It is better in the beginning
-to balance the account at least once a
-week, for then inaccuracies can be more easily
-traced. The secret of success is to put down at
-the time of the transaction what has been received
-and spent. When the account has been
-balanced, a second step is much more interesting.
-In another book or in the back of the
-day-book, if it be large enough, open several<span class="pagenum" id="Page232">[232]</span>
-accounts on separate pages, as follows: groceries,
-meats, fuel, clothing, subscriptions and
-charities, incidentals, etc. Copy each item from
-the day-book into its proper account; at the
-end of a month or year, by adding up these separate
-accounts, the housewife can tell exactly
-what proportion of the income has been spent
-for each class. Mr. Lawes, the famous English
-agriculturist, when traveling in America, was
-able to quote accurately the cost of the various
-items of expenditure in his own house.</p>
-
-<p>Economy is a relative, not an absolute thing.
-Economy of money is often wastefulness of
-life, yet extravagance, on the other hand, is a
-serious cause of human degeneration. With the
-exception of poor management, poor service is
-probably the most wasteful factor of all in the
-household, yet there are conditions in which
-poor service is certainly less wasteful of the
-family resources, than none at all. The end of
-housekeeping is the health, comfort, and
-serenity of the family. The two main factors
-in producing this result are the family income
-and the mother’s strength and energy. Saving,
-however desirable, is merely an incidental end.
-The mother’s intelligence, therefore, if she be
-in command of her fair share of the income,
-must be used to save not only money but her
-own resources. The lack of nutritious, palatable<span class="pagenum" id="Page233">[233]</span>
-food and of nursing in illness, the lack of service
-when the mother is weakened by labor and
-child-bearing, is sometimes economy with most
-disastrous results. Health and serenity are worth
-more to the family than houses and a bank account.
-A good education given to an intelligent
-child is worth ten times its cost saved up
-for him to inherit in middle life.</p>
-
-<p>Every device, therefore, which saves the housewife’s
-energy is a true economy. A clothes-washing
-machine, a cabinet table, a slop-hopper
-for kitchen and chamber waste-liquids, are all
-obtainable and of special value in saving labor.
-In planning the kitchen, economy of steps in
-reaching water and fuel should be considered.
-China should be kept either in wall cupboards
-opening on one side into the dining-room, on
-the other into the kitchen, or in a pantry between
-dining-room and kitchen. Kitchen utensils
-need no longer be of black, heavy, ugly
-iron, but of granite ware, nickel plate, and
-aluminum; they may be placed in shelves close
-to the range, or hung along the wall beside it.
-A dumb waiter or hand elevator, from kitchen to
-cellar, saves much going up and down stairs.
-The height of sinks and work-tables should be
-adapted to that of the woman who works over
-them. A tall stool&mdash;a clerk’s stool&mdash;in the
-kitchen allows the housewife to sit while doing<span class="pagenum" id="Page234">[234]</span>
-some kinds of work. Distances between sink,
-range, dishes, and store-room, should be as
-short as possible, while the ventilation and lighting
-of the kitchen should be particularly good.
-Every step up and down from kitchen to shed,
-or kitchen to cellar, is an extra drain on the
-overtaxed woman. Small, cheap contrivances,
-such as dish-mops, iron dish-cloths, pan-scrapers,
-small scrubbing-brushes, wire screen
-garbage-pans, and many others, lighten the work
-and make it possible for the housewife to be
-more dainty in her personal appearance.</p>
-
-<p>In no respect does farm life differ more from
-city life than in the kind of food provided and
-the method of serving it. The farmer’s table is
-loaded down with a great abundance and variety
-of food, all placed on the table at once, and
-often rich and indigestible. The city table has
-half as much, both in variety and quantity,
-served daintily in courses. The city housewife
-provides variety from meal to meal, seldom repeating
-any dish, except the staple ones, more
-than once or twice a week; the rural housewife
-puts a large variety of the same things on the
-table at every meal. Abundance of well cooked,
-appetizing food there should be, but variety
-from meal to meal, and from day to day, is far
-preferable to excessive variety at any one meal.
-Not only is it better for the digestion to eat of<span class="pagenum" id="Page235">[235]</span>
-a very few kinds of food at one meal; but, since
-novelty stimulates appetite, any particular dish
-will be more appetizing if not served too frequently.
-The farmer’s family, while very economical
-in the expenditure of money, is often
-very wasteful of food. Vegetables, fruit,
-chickens, pork raised on the farm, seem to cost
-no money, but they cost much vital energy, which
-is quite as valuable. The value of milk, butter,
-and eggs is recognized, because it is customary
-to sell them in town; but the cost in the labor
-of those who raise and those who prepare food,
-is often overlooked. The farmer’s table is thus
-not only overloaded, but really extravagant.
-Here, again, quality is more desirable than variety;
-simplicity should accompany abundance.</p>
-
-<p>Since rural life involves a certain degree of
-isolation, the family must keep in touch with
-the world chiefly through literature. Even at
-the sacrifice of some of the rich variety of food
-on the table or of new clothes, books and papers
-should be provided. The local newspaper is apt
-to contain little beside local gossip; it should be
-supplemented with an agricultural paper and a
-family journal, a housekeeping magazine, a children’s
-magazine, if there be children, and other
-general magazines if they can be afforded. But
-better than the general magazines, would be the
-gradual purchase of the standard works of history,<span class="pagenum" id="Page236">[236]</span>
-travel, poetry, and fiction. A musical instrument,
-a small library, and interesting games
-will do more than admonition to keep young
-people at home. Children naturally want a good
-time; if it is not provided for them at home
-they will go to other and perhaps less desirable
-places to get it.</p>
-
-<p>With the increase of appliances, and with the
-added social and intellectual demands, country
-as well as city life is becoming more complicated
-and exacting. The housewife, whose physical
-strength is scarcely equal to the demands of
-housekeeping and child-bearing, must develop
-her intelligence and whet her judgment. She
-must find easier and wiser ways of doing the
-necessary drudgery, and make brains do an increasing
-part of the labor formerly accomplished
-by muscle.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page237">[237]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIV<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>THE HOME YARD</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>The yard, as well as the house, should be
-planned. It should be convenient, neat, handsome,
-restful. It will need planting with trees,
-shrubs, herbs and grass; but these things
-should not be scattered promiscuously over the
-place, for then they mean nothing. Every plant
-should have some relation to the general plan
-or design of the place.</p>
-
-<p>The first thing to consider in the making of
-a fit setting for the house is to lay out the plan
-or design; the last thing is to select the particular
-kinds of plants to be used. The place
-should be a picture. It should be one thing,
-not many things. If the design is correct and
-the planting is well done, all parts will be in
-harmony and the place will appeal to one as a
-whole. If the bushes and trees are scattered
-promiscuously over the yard, then there is no
-central idea and the attention is fixed upon the
-details rather than upon the place. <a href="#Fig88">Figs. 88</a>
-and <a href="#Fig89">89</a> illustrate these contrasts.</p>
-
-<p>The one central thought or idea in home<span class="pagenum" id="Page238">[238]</span>
-grounds is the house. Therefore, make the
-house emphatic. Let it stand out boldly, as in
-<a href="#Fig89">Fig. 89</a>. Keep the center of the place open.
-Do not clutter it with trees, flower beds and
-other distracting things.</p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig88">
-
-<img src="images/illo246a.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 88. The common or nursery type of planting.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig89">
-
-<img src="images/illo246b.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 89. The proper or pictorial type of planting.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page239">[239]</span></p>
-
-<p>If the house is to be made emphatic, give it
-a flanking. Plant trees or bushes, or both, on
-the sides. Back it up, also, with trees. If it
-sets in front of a
-natural wood or an
-orchard, the effect
-is better. If the
-country is bare and bald behind
-it, plant tall trees there.</p>
-
-<div class="container w20em" id="Fig90">
-
-<img src="images/illo247.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 90.
-A modest
-and direct
-driveway.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Make as few walks and
-drives as possible. They are
-always unsightly and expensive.
-Let them lead to their destination
-by the most direct curves. Do not
-make them crooked; for crooked
-walks and drives are expensive. Gentle curves
-are more retired and modest than awkward
-and laborious ones. <a href="#Fig90">Fig. 90</a> shows a good, easy
-curve. If possible, place the walk or drive at
-the side, rather than in the center: avoid cutting
-up the lawn.</p>
-
-<p>Most of the planting should be in masses.
-Plants present a bolder front when standing
-together. A group is one thing; scattered
-shrubs are many things, and they divert and
-distract the attention. By massing, one secures
-endless combinations of light and shade, of
-color, and of form. Against the mass-planting,
-flowers show off best; they have a background,<span class="pagenum" id="Page240">[240]</span>
-as a picture has when it hangs on a wall. One
-canna or geranium standing just in front of
-heavy foliage makes more show than do a dozen
-plants when standing in the middle of the lawn;
-it is more easily cared for, and it does not
-spoil the lawn. A flower bed in the middle of
-the sward spoils a lawn, as a spot soils the
-table-cloth. Flowers at the side, or joined to
-the other planting, are a part of the picture;
-in the middle of the lawn they are only a spot
-of color and mean nothing except that the
-grower did not know where to put them.</p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig91">
-
-<img src="images/illo248.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 91. A good house; but the home is only half built.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Take these suggestions to heart. Consider
-which you like the better, <a href="#Fig91">Fig. 91</a> or <a href="#Fig92">92</a>. Consider,
-also, how <a href="#Fig92">Fig. 92</a> would look if plants were
-scattered all over the yard.</p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig92">
-
-<img src="images/illo249.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 92. A house and a home.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Plants are difficult to grow in little holes in<span class="pagenum" id="Page241">[241]</span>
-the sod. The grass takes the moisture. They
-are always in the way. The yard in <a href="#Fig92">Fig. 92</a> can
-be mown with a field mower. The bushes take
-care of themselves. If one dies, it matters
-little: others fill the gaps. If pigweeds come up
-amongst them, little or no harm is done. They
-add to the variety of foliage effect. One does
-not feel that he must stop his cultivating or
-sheep-shearing to dig them out. In the fall,
-the leaves blow off the open lawn and are held
-in the bushes; there they make an ideal mulch,
-and they need not be removed in the spring. In<span class="pagenum" id="Page242">[242]</span>
-front of this shrubbery a space two or three feet
-wide may be left for flowers. Here sow and
-plant with a free hand. Have sufficient poppies
-and hollyhocks and pinks and lilies and petunias
-to supply every member of the family and every
-neighbor. Against the background they glow
-like coals or lie as soft as the snow.</p>
-
-<p>Fill in the corners of the place. Round off
-the angularities. Throw a mass of herbage into
-the corner by the steps (<a href="#Fig93">Fig. 93</a>):
-then you will not need to saw off
-the grass with a butcher knife.
-Plant a vine and some low plants
-along the foundations.</p>
-
-<div class="container w25em" id="Fig93">
-
-<img src="images/illo242.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 93. The corner by the steps.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>When these main or fundamental
-things are
-considered, then
-some of the incidental
-things may
-be considered. If
-you are fond of
-some particular
-plant, as the hydrangea,
-plant it in
-some prominent
-place in front of
-the shrub border.
-You may want a
-tree to shade a<span class="pagenum" id="Page243">[243]</span>
-window or a porch: plant it. You may want
-a pile of odd stones and relics: put them in the
-back yard, or at the side, where you may enjoy
-them unmolested. You may have any kind of
-plant you want, only put it in the right place.</p>
-
-<p>Have an eye to the views. Build your house
-with reference to them, if you can. Do not
-plant so as to hide the good ones. Plant heavily
-in the direction of offensive views. Plant so as
-to obscure the barnyard; or else move the barnyard
-back of the barn, or clean it up. Leave
-the front of the barn open: you want to see it
-from the house.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">HOW TO DO THE WORK</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>The lawn, then, is the first consideration. It
-is the canvas on which we are to paint a picture
-of home and comfort. In many cases the yard
-is already level or well graded and has a good
-sod, and it is not necessary to plow and re-seed.
-It should be said that the sod on old lawns
-can be renewed without plowing it up. In the
-bare or thin places, scratch up the ground with
-an iron-toothed rake, apply a little fertilizer, and
-sow more seed. Weedy lawns are those in which
-the sod is poor. It may be necessary to pull
-out the weeds; but after they are out the land
-should be quickly covered with sod or they will<span class="pagenum" id="Page244">[244]</span>
-come in again. Annual weeds, as pigweeds and
-ragweed, can usually be crowded out by merely
-securing a heavier sod. A little clover seed will
-often be a good addition, for it supplies nitrogen
-and has an excellent mechanical effect on
-the soil.</p>
-
-<p>The ideal time to prepare the land is in the
-fall, before the heavy rains come. Then sow in
-the fall, and again in early spring on a late
-snow. However, the work may be done in the
-spring, but the danger is that it will be put off
-so long that the young grass will not become
-established before the dry, hot weather comes.</p>
-
-<p>The best lawn grass for New York is June-grass,
-or blue-grass. Seedsmen know it as <i>Poa
-pratensis</i>. It weighs but 14 pounds to the
-bushel. Not less than three bushels should be
-sown to the acre. We want many very small
-stems of grass, not a few large ones; for we
-are making a lawn, not a meadow.</p>
-
-<p>Do not sow grain with the grass seed. The
-June-grass grows slowly at first, however, and
-therefore it is a good plan to sow timothy with
-it, at the rate of two or three quarts to the
-acre. The timothy comes up quickly and makes
-a green; and the June-grass will crowd it out in
-a year or two. If the land is hard and inclined
-to be too dry, some kind of clover will greatly
-assist the June-grass. Red clover is too large<span class="pagenum" id="Page245">[245]</span>
-and coarse for the lawn. Crimson clover is
-excellent, for it is an annual, and it does not
-become unsightly in the lawn. White clover is
-perhaps best, since it not only helps the grass
-but looks well in the sod. One or two pounds
-of seed is generally sufficient for an acre.</p>
-
-<p>At first the weeds will come up. Do not pull
-them. Mow the lawn as soon as there is any
-growth large enough to mow. Of course, the
-lawn-mower is best, but one can have a good
-place without it. Perhaps a hand lawn-mower
-(one with large wheels and not less than 16-inch
-cut) can be used to keep the sward close just
-about the house; then the field-mower may be
-used now and then for the remainder. Here is
-another advantage, as I have said, of the open-centered
-yard which I have recommended; it is
-easily mown. It would be a fussy matter to
-mow a yard planted after the fashion of <a href="#Fig88">Fig. 88</a>;
-but one like <a href="#Fig89">Fig. 89</a> is easily managed.</p>
-
-<p>The borders should be planted thickly. Plow
-up the strip. Never plant these trees and
-bushes in holes cut in the sod. Scatter the
-bushes and trees promiscuously in the narrow
-border. In home grounds, it is easy to run
-through these borders occasionally with a cultivator,
-for the first year or two. Make the edges
-of the border irregular. Plant the lowest bushes
-on the inner edge toward the house.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page246">[246]</span></p>
-
-<p>For all such things as lilacs, mock oranges,
-Japan quinces, and bushes that are found along
-the roadsides, two or three feet apart is about
-right. Some will die anyway. Cut them back
-one-half when they are planted. They will
-look thin and stiff for two or three years; but
-after that they will crowd the spaces full, lop
-over on the sod, and make a billow of green.
-Prepare the land well, plant carefully, and let
-the bushes alone.</p>
-
-<p>We now come to the details,&mdash;the particular
-kinds of plants to use. One great principle will
-simplify the matter: the main planting should
-be for foliage effects. That is, think first of
-giving the place a heavy border-mass. Flowers
-are mere decorations.</p>
-
-<p>Select those trees and shrubs which are the
-commonest, because they are cheapest, hardiest
-and most likely to grow. There is no farm
-so poor that enough plants cannot be secured,
-without money, for the home yard. You will
-find the plants in the woods, in old yards, along
-the fences. It is little matter if no one knows
-their names. What is handsomer than a tangled
-fence-row?</p>
-
-<p>Scatter in a few trees along the fence and
-about the buildings, particularly if the place is
-large and bare. Maples, basswood, elms, ashes,
-buttonwood, pepperidge, oaks, beeches, birches,<span class="pagenum" id="Page247">[247]</span>
-hickories, poplars, a few trees of pine or spruce
-or hemlock,&mdash;any of these are excellent. If the
-country is bleak, a rather heavy planting of
-evergreens about the border, in the place of so
-much shrubbery, is excellent.</p>
-
-<p>For shrubs, use the common things to be
-found in the woods and swales, together with
-roots, which can be had in every old yard.
-Willows, osiers, witch-hazel, dogwood, wild
-roses, thorn apples, haws, elders, sumac, wild
-honeysuckles,&mdash;these and others can be found
-in abundance. From old yards can be secured
-snowballs, spireas, lilacs, forsythias, mock
-oranges, roses, snowberries, barberries, flowering
-currants, honeysuckles, and the like.</p>
-
-<p>Vines can be used to excellent purpose on
-the outbuildings or on the porches. The common
-wild Virginia creeper is the most serviceable.
-On brick or stone houses the Boston ivy
-or Japanese ampelopsis may be used, unless the
-location is very bleak. This is not hardy in
-the northern parts of the country. Honeysuckles,
-clematis and bitter-sweet are also attractive.
-Bowers are always interesting to children;
-and actinidia and akebia (to be had at
-nurseries) are best for this purpose.</p>
-
-<p>If a regular flower garden is wanted, place
-at the side or rear of the place, where a liberal
-piece of land can be devoted to it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page248">[248]</span></p>
-
-<p>Into these native shrub borders, throw some
-color from nursery-grown bushes if you choose.
-Mix in spireas, weigelas, roses&mdash;anything you
-like. A rare or strange plant may be introduced
-now and then, if there is any money with
-which to buy such things. Plant it at some
-conspicuous point just in front of the border,
-where it will show off well, be out of the way,
-and have some relation to the rest of the planting.
-Two or three purple-leaved or variegated-leaved
-bushes will add much spirit and verve to
-the place; but too many of them make the
-place look fussy and overdone. You can have
-a botanic garden of your own, even though you
-do not know the name of a single plant; and
-your home will be a picture at the same time.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page249">[249]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XV<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>A DISCUSSION OF BARNS</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Modern agriculture requires large and commodious
-barns and other structures to house the
-crops, the animals, tools, and implements.
-Especially is this true when mixed farming is
-conducted in an intensified and economical way.
-In early days one or, at most, two low barns
-of 30 by 40 feet were supposed to supply all
-shelter accommodations required for a farm of
-one hundred acres. At the present time, on the
-same farms, may often be seen a barn 60 by 80
-feet and double the height of the old structures,
-with a wing one-half of the capacity of
-the main barn to which it is attached, this
-single structure providing more than six times
-the cubic space of two of the old barns. One
-sizable farm in Tompkins county, New York,
-had, for many years, a single barn 30 by 40
-feet with 14-foot posts. It now has a barn
-which provides more than fifteen times the room
-of the old one, and yet it is scarcely large
-enough to house the animals and crops of this
-modest farm.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page250">[250]</span></p>
-
-<p>Naturally, the questions arise, are these large
-structures necessary, and what changes in agriculture
-have taken place to create a need for
-such mammoth structures? They are necessarily
-expensive, and too often dwarf and belittle
-the house when placed near it.</p>
-
-<p>Modern advanced farmers secure nearly or
-quite double the average yield of crops of their
-grandfathers. This is an indisputable fact, notwithstanding
-the hue and cry about the decadence
-of the rural population. The facts are
-that some are farming much better than the
-older generations and some much worse. Much
-of the good land is producing more bountifully
-than ever before, and some of the poorer lands
-have been so badly managed, and have become
-so depleted in their productive power as to be
-nearly worthless, and should be thrown out of
-cultivation and left to recuperate until unborn
-generations require them. More live stock is
-kept now than formerly. The number of milch
-cows, horses, and mules in the United States increased
-more than 50 per cent between 1870 and
-1890, and other cattle increased during the
-same period 150 per cent. Notwithstanding this
-fact, the live stock on many farms has been
-greatly diminished.</p>
-
-<p>Then, too, progressive farmers believe it to
-be economy to provide shelter for animals and<span class="pagenum" id="Page251">[251]</span>
-crops, manures and implements. The old custom
-of stacking the hay and grain, of allowing
-the farm animals to toughen in the winter’s
-blast in field and barnyard, and the manures to
-leach and bleach under the eaves of the building
-has, in part, been abandoned and better
-methods substituted. These new methods require
-better, larger, and more commodious farm
-barns. The modern and humane thought is, to
-make all of the animals as comfortable, according
-to their needs and conditions, as is their
-owner in his well appointed house, and to protect
-everything that is worth protecting from the
-storms.</p>
-
-<p>There are two fairly distinct methods of constructing
-farm buildings: the concentrated and
-the distributive. The one aims to provide the
-room needed by one or two large structures;
-the other by means of many detached small
-buildings, each, where practicable, devoted to a
-special purpose. The last method was the outgrowth
-of the conditions which usually prevailed
-in a new country. First came the rude house
-and the log stable. The stable was followed by
-the modest barn, usually of the regulation size,
-30 by 40 feet, with 12-, 14-, or, in rare cases,
-16-foot posts. As the arable land increased
-another barn was built, then a shed, then a
-wagon-house; followed by a corn-crib, a chicken-house,<span class="pagenum" id="Page252">[252]</span>
-a pig-pen, and later a sheep-barn, cow-barn,
-a hay-barn, all the room in the first and
-second barns being by this time required for
-grain. Outside the grain districts the buildings
-were modified to suit conditions, but the practice
-of constructing many small structures was
-not changed.</p>
-
-<p>The buildings were erected without any comprehensive
-plan as to the farmstead as a whole.
-This necessitated many fences, gates, yards, and
-a maze of muddy byways in which the dock
-and other weeds, discarded implements, and the
-flotsam and jetsam of the farm found opportunity
-to grow or to rot. Do what one might,
-the farmstead could never be made to look neat
-and tidy. Not infrequently, twelve to fifteen
-separate structures may be seen on a farm of
-eighty acres. The farmers who own these structures
-are not to be criticised too severely. They
-inherited the method of building and often the
-buildings, and no one, so far, has deigned to
-give them help by treating such plebeian subjects
-as the improvement of unsightly stys,
-stables, sheds, and barns.</p>
-
-<p>If the concentrated method be adopted, in
-case of fire all is swept away; if the distributive,
-some of the buildings may be saved.
-There are so many things to be gained, however,
-by adopting the concentrated method that<span class="pagenum" id="Page253">[253]</span>
-construction would better be along this line and
-then trust to the insurance company to make
-good the losses by fire, should any occur. Compare
-<a href="#Fig114">Figs. 114</a>, <a href="#Fig119">119</a>.</p>
-
-<p>Farm laborers receive fully double the wages,
-except in harvest time, which they did fifty
-years ago; therefore, the barns should be planned
-with the view of economizing labor. This can
-best be secured by rearing a single structure,
-rather than several, for it is evident that if the
-live stock, tools, implements and provender be
-placed in juxtaposition, economy in performing
-the work about the buildings will be secured.
-However, it is often convenient to have a separate
-building open on one side for storing farm
-wagons and heavy implements and tools.</p>
-
-<p>Grain, hay and stover are all unloaded most
-economically by means of slings and hay fork,
-operated by horse-power, but the unloading by
-horse-power implies high barns, with mows
-measurably unobstructed by timbers. Economy
-of space also implies deep mows, since a mow
-twenty feet deep holds more than two mows ten
-feet deep. High, large buildings require far
-less outside boarding and roof than small, low,
-detached buildings which contain, together, the
-same storage capacity. Economy in construction
-and maintenance, convenience of temporarily
-sheltering and removing manures, ease of<span class="pagenum" id="Page254">[254]</span>
-carrying on work in the building, and beauty,
-all indicate the wisdom of adopting the concentrated
-method in the construction of farm
-barns.</p>
-
-<p>Efforts have been made to economize in barn
-construction by adopting the octagon form. This
-form secures a greater enclosed area for a given
-surface covering than the square or rectangular
-form. But all of the angles in the frame are
-more expensive to make than are right angles.
-It requires more labor and time to saw off a timber
-at an angle of 35 degrees than at right
-angles. True, this form lends itself to a roof
-structure free from obstructing timbers, but, on
-the other hand, it does not give opportunity for
-the placing of convenient tracks for elevating
-the provender. So far the pros and cons may
-be said to balance. It is only when the attempt
-is made to divide the octagon structure into
-stables and rooms, compartments and mows,
-that its inconvenient shape is fully realized.
-Everything is out of square. The divisions form
-obtuse and acute angles, or arcs of a circle,
-almost without number. All this implies extra
-expense in the internal construction and usually
-a great waste of space. The illustrations of
-these barns have a certain charm difficult
-to resist, but some of the most intelligent
-farmers who have made a study of the octagon<span class="pagenum" id="Page255">[255]</span>
-barn and have used it, decide that rectangular
-barns are much to be preferred. Some
-who have built octagon barns speak well of
-them, but this might naturally be expected. A
-woman generally speaks well of her husband
-after she has secured him, however faulty he
-may be.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">LOCATION</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>The location of the proposed structure should
-be considered with the most painstaking care
-before entering upon the construction of a new
-building or the remodeling of an old one. Too
-often a single idea dominates the location. Some
-thirty years since I decided to erect a large
-basement barn. The house, a modest, comfortable
-structure, was located at a suitable distance
-from the highway, on a gentle slope. To
-utilize the highway for driving the animals to
-and from pasture, and to save the use of the
-fourth of an acre of land and the building of
-some twenty rods of fence, the barn was located
-nearer the highway than the house. This necessitated
-locating the barnyard between the highway
-and the barn. I never discovered this foolish
-mistake till years afterwards, when age and
-study had improved my judgment and opportunity
-had been given for wide observation and
-comparison. Now when I revisit the farm it
-is<span class="pagenum" id="Page256">[256-<br />257]<a id="Page257"></a></span>
-all too plain as to where the barn should have
-been located. This large barn made the house
-appear much smaller than before, and from one
-approach the farm had the appearance of being
-untenanted, as the barn hid the house. It is
-humiliating, but how could I have known better
-at that time of life, with ideas of barn building
-inherited and with neither book nor teacher to
-guide me?</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig94">
-
-<img src="images/illo264a.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 94. Too many barn roofs, and too near the house.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig95">
-
-<img src="images/illo264b.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 95. How these barns may be moved and concentrated.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The barn should be located far enough from
-the house to prevent the aromas of the stables
-and kitchen from mingling, and at such a distance
-as not to seriously endanger either one, if
-the other should be destroyed by fire. If possible,
-the barn should be on lower ground than
-the house, that no wash or seepage from it may
-tend toward the house, and for other sanitary
-reasons. The lower level will assist to make the
-barns inconspicuous. One hundred feet is the
-minimum distance which should intervene between
-these inflammable and expensive structures,
-except in a very cold climate, where the house
-and the barn may be connected by a covered
-way. See <a href="#Fig94">Figs. 94</a> and <a href="#Fig95">95</a>. This way need not
-be expensive, and should be so constructed that
-it can be pulled down in a few minutes in case
-of fire. It need not be high, and the roof might
-pitch but one way and be composed, in part at
-least, of glass. If the entire roof was of glass<span class="pagenum" id="Page258">[258]</span>
-one side of the covered walk might well be used
-in the spring for growing early vegetables. If
-the manure be properly cared for at the far end
-of the barn, good sanitary conditions would be
-preserved.</p>
-
-<p>The refuse of the stables, if left exposed at
-the barns in the summer, forms breeding
-ground for flies, which reach the house if it be
-near. The substitution of electric street cars, for
-horse cars which necessitated numerous stables,
-has noticeably diminished flies in the cities.
-There should be room between the house and
-barn for a score or more of large trees, which
-may serve, in part, to screen each building from
-the other in case of fire, to shade the walk between
-the two buildings, and, in part, the barn
-itself. No tree is better adapted for this purpose
-than the white elm. The open barnyard
-should, wherever possible, be discarded, for it
-tends to increase the wasting of manures and
-the cost of getting them to the field; to the
-multiplication of fences and flies, and to unnecessary
-exposure of animals. Why not substitute
-paddocks or small fields of a few acres for the
-wasteful, expensive barnyard? If the animals
-need exercise they should take it at suitable
-times in closely-sodded fields, or covered yards,
-rather than in confined barnyards filled with a
-mixture of straw, mud and manure. A few<span class="pagenum" id="Page259">[259]</span>
-acres near the barn might be surrounded with a
-woven wire fence, which would serve admirably
-for an exercising yard. The sod on this small
-area might become seriously injured in a year or
-two, but the field would be enriched by the droppings
-of the animals. The field in such case
-could be plowed and the wire used to enclose
-another paddock. But it will be many years before
-the open barnyard can be, or will be, entirely
-abandoned. What may, and should be
-done immediately, is to place it at the rear,
-instead of at the front of the barn, and to cease
-using it for baptizing manures, and as a storage
-area for miscellaneous odds and ends. If some
-change is not made, the farm boy may find a
-chamber window from which a more restful and
-inspiring view may be secured than from the
-one through which he now views daily the evidences
-of thriftlessness and waste.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">PLANNING THE BARN</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Make a good study of many barns at short
-range; note what features are good, what
-faulty, what useless; by this means much will
-have been learned and many mistakes will be
-avoided. Decide approximately the capacity
-which will be required. First, draw a rectangular
-diagram of the barn, then proceed to<span class="pagenum" id="Page260">[260]</span>
-the proposed location and take a seat; make
-a most careful study of the approach, the incline
-of the land, note where fences and gates
-will be necessary, where and how the water is
-to be introduced&mdash;in fact, take in the whole problem
-of the environment of the proposed structure.
-Then imagine that you see the barn, and
-that you have just arrived from town some
-stormy night with your wife and baby; in imagination
-help them out of the carriage. Imagine
-you have a span of young, restless horses
-which you have driven to get them used to city
-ways before selling them. That will make you
-think of a platform onto which the family may
-step from the carriage while you are holding the
-colts. Consider how many big doors you will
-have to open before the colts are made comfortable
-for the night. Are the democrat wagon and
-the colts to be kept on the same floor, or one
-up-stairs and the other down? Or is the carriage
-in one building situated four rods from
-the horses? How many gates and doors have
-you opened and closed since you arrived?
-Think it all over, and then go to the house and
-talk it over with your wife, for some day she
-may drive to town, and on her return find that
-both you and the farm hands are in the field,
-and that there is no one to help her put the
-team away. After imagination has pictured the<span class="pagenum" id="Page261">[261]</span>
-conditions which are likely to prevail, then
-begin to cautiously modify the rectangular diagram;
-surround it with dotted lines, which may
-represent roads, fences, gates, lanes, and adjunct
-buildings. Then take a rest; lay the
-sketch away for a time; study barns in the
-neighborhood; council with the wife again, for
-she may have to go to the barn often. After a
-year of faithful and intelligent planning you may
-be able to place a well digested rough sketch
-of the proposed structure in the hands of a
-draughtsman.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">WATER SUPPLY</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>It would seem to be unnecessary to repeat
-the axiom, “No water, no plant or animal life,”
-but so many buildings, both public and private,
-are located and constructed before the problem
-of supplying an ample, perennial supply of potable
-water is solved, that it seems necessary to
-briefly treat this subject.</p>
-
-<p>Several public institutions with which I have
-been familiar have erected expensive structures
-before supplying water for them. Three and
-sometimes five separate attempts were made to
-furnish water for the use of the plant, none of
-which were entirely successful.</p>
-
-<p>The amount of water needed and the conditions
-under which it must be secured are so<span class="pagenum" id="Page262">[262]</span>
-variable that few specific directions can be
-given. One simple, certain and cheap way of
-securing water for the barn is usually neglected.
-In some sections of the South, by reason of
-peculiar geological formations, the practice of
-constructing pools or storage reservoirs has become
-common. A slight depression or draw or
-swale is selected and dammed by using the earth
-from the bottom of the proposed pool and from
-the higher land adjoining. No stone or wood
-is necessary to support the dam. The only precaution
-necessary is to have a broad base (see
-<a href="#Fig7">Fig. 7</a>), and to provide sufficiently large outflows
-or spillways, one on either end of the dam, that
-the pool may never rise higher than within two
-feet from the top of the dam. The surface soil,
-if it contains much vegetable matter, should be
-scraped off a strip three to four feet wide and
-as long as the dam, and the depression filled
-with earth&mdash;clay is best&mdash;that contains little or
-no organic matter. If the bottom of the dam
-where it meets the normal earth is constructed
-with sods, or other material which will decay,
-in time the water will find its way through the
-porous earth.</p>
-
-<p>The pools of the South, to which reference
-has been made, sometimes have an extreme
-depth of 12 to 15 feet, and may cover a fraction
-of an acre or several acres. I have known one<span class="pagenum" id="Page263">[263]</span>
-of these pools to furnish water for a hundred
-head of cattle during a long continued drought.
-It is difficult to explain why more pools, lakes
-and fish ponds are not constructed. Possibly
-the reasons are that there is a prejudice against
-them, and well there may be, since they are
-usually so shallow that the water becomes impure,
-and since it is not generally realized that
-a substantial dam can be erected by the use of
-earth alone. If it is thought advisable not to
-allow the animals to go to the pool, it may be
-fenced, since it is not expensive to lay a pipe
-in the dam, when it is being constructed, on a
-level with the bottom of the pool, the outer end of
-the pipe being furnished with a ball and cock
-to regulate the flow of water into the trough.</p>
-
-<p>Usually it is not advisable to build cisterns
-for storing water for barn use, since they are too
-expensive if built as large as needed. A cow requires
-from forty to eighty pounds of water daily
-in the summer. If sixty pounds be taken as the
-average, it will be seen that it would require a
-cistern of three hundred and fifty barrels capacity
-to supply a herd of fifty animals for
-one month. In some cases the water of a stream
-or well may be so highly charged with the products
-of magnesian limestone as to produce
-goitre, in which case soft water should be supplied
-for the horses.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page264">[264]</span></p>
-
-<p>Streams or springs are often available for
-summer, but they seldom supply ideal water
-conditions in winter. Young animals, and especially
-cows in milk, should not be required to
-drink water at a low temperature or be forced
-to travel long distances for it in cold weather.
-The only really satisfactory method of supplying
-the domestic animals with water is to bring it
-into the barn, and if the water in the pipes is
-not under pressure, a small storage tank may be
-placed in a mow and surrounded by straw.
-Such storage tank may be built, if small, out of
-rough 2-inch plank, spiked together, or, if
-large, of 2- by 4-inch scantling, spiked flatwise
-one upon the other; in both cases the tank is
-lined with galvanized iron. All barns provided
-with steam boilers should also be provided with
-a few small steam pipes leading to the water
-boxes, that the drinking water of the animals
-may be raised in winter to 98° Fahr.</p>
-
-<p>Animals do not relish lukewarm water in the
-winter, but they really enjoy hot water. The
-economy and safety of using hot drinking water
-will justify the expense of providing it. This is
-especially true in the winter dairy and when
-horses have severe winter work. An overheated,
-tired horse may drink all the hot water he desires
-without danger. Water taken into the
-stomach at 40° Fahr. must absorb heat enough<span class="pagenum" id="Page265">[265]</span>
-from the system to raise it to about 99°. To
-do this food must be burned, as literally as
-coal is burned in the boiler to heat water.
-It requires more units of heat to raise a pound
-of water one degree in temperature than any
-other substance except two or three of the gases.</p>
-
-<p>There are now so many styles of really good
-air motors or wind mills, that water from wells
-may be pumped at a minimum cost into storage
-tanks. There is no longer any excuse for pumping
-water by hand for any considerable number
-of animals, nor for compelling them to seek
-water in cold weather at some distant stream.
-As has been said, there are many ways of securing
-a supply of water for the barn. The details
-of accomplishing the results desired are
-many, but the result should always be the same:
-an abundant supply of water within the barn
-under more or less pressure. If this is not secured
-the plans of a barn, as a whole, are unsatisfactory.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page266">[266]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVI<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>BUILDING THE BARN&mdash;THE BASEMENT</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Squaring the foundation site is a simple
-operation, yet few are able to perform it, and
-it is seldom that a surveyor is at hand. Buildings
-are so generally placed with their fronts
-parallel to the highway or the private way, that
-the road may be assumed to be the base line.
-Four stakes set in the middle of the road,
-as shown in <a href="#Fig96">Fig. 96</a>, establish the base line,
-from which is measured the distance from the
-road at which it is desired to place the building.
-The stakes A and B should be placed farther
-apart than the width of the front of the building;
-they are connected by a line which is parallel
-to the road and forms the permanent base
-line. Next the stakes C and D are placed, and
-also connected by a line. With a 10-foot pole,
-six feet are measured off on either line, beginning
-at the intersection of the lines, and eight
-feet on the other line. If the line C to D is at
-right angles to the line AB, the 10-foot measure
-will just reach from 6 to 8, since 6 multiplied
-by 6, plus 8 multiplied by 8, equals 100,<span class="pagenum" id="Page267">[267]</span>
-and the square root of 100 is 10. Should the
-10-foot measure be longer than from 6 to 8,
-the stake D is moved to the left until the pole
-reaches from 6 to 8; if the measure is too short
-to reach from 6 to 8, the stake is moved to the
-right. All of these measurements should be
-gone over two or three times, as in moving the
-stake the lines may stretch or shrink. Either a
-pin or a pencil mark may be used to indicate
-the measurements on the lines at 6 and 8.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig96">
-
-<img src="images/illo275.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 96. Locating the barn.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>If the building is to be 26 feet deep, that
-distance is measured on the line CD and the
-same distance from the line AB. Stakes are
-then driven and a line drawn from E to F, and
-in like manner a line is drawn from G to H.
-The work is verified by squaring the last angle
-as in the first case. The eight dots represent<span class="pagenum" id="Page268">[268]</span>
-stakes driven in even with the surface of the
-ground, at just 10 feet from the corners. Since
-it will be necessary to remove the lines before
-the horse scraper can be used in excavating,
-and as the construction stakes at the corners
-will be disturbed, the short stakes become
-necessary that the lines may be restored as the
-work proceeds and the excavation kept square
-and true. It will be seen that a line drawn
-from A to B will restore the base line, and in
-like manner the other lines may be quickly
-reproduced. It will be necessary, too, to restore
-these lines before the foundation wall is begun.
-By “plumbing” downward from the restored
-lines, other lines may be placed in the bottom
-of the excavation, which will be duplicates of
-those first drawn.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig97">
-
-<img src="images/illo277a.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 97. The original incline or slope is too steep.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig98">
-
-<img src="images/illo277b.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 98. The original slope is not steep enough.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">EXCAVATION</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Barns are now usually built with a basement
-story. This implies that the building is to be
-placed on more or less sloping ground, in which
-case the removal of some earth will be necessary.
-The basement story should extend well
-above ground, to economize construction and to
-secure dry walls and floors. It is a great mistake
-to place animals in cellars. The dotted
-line in <a href="#Fig97">Fig. 97</a> shows an incline rather too<span class="pagenum" id="Page269">[269]</span>
-steep; and in <a href="#Fig98">Fig. 98</a> one that is not steep
-enough. It is better to place the barn where
-wanted, even if the incline has to be changed,
-than to place it in an unhandy position that
-the best slope may be secured. It is not difficult
-to construct a basement barn on level or
-nearly level land. In the latter case, all of the
-basement walls may be of wood, since provision
-can be made for a driveway to the second floor
-by means of a retaining wall built some ten or
-twelve feet from the barn; the space between
-the wall and the barn may be bridged (<a href="#Fig99">Fig.
-99</a>). Cast-off steel or iron rails form durable
-and excellent sleepers for such a bridge, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page270">[270]</span>
-plank being kept in place by spiking two-inch
-pieces, one on either end on top of the bridge
-plank. In case no
-retaining wall is
-built, and the earth
-lies immediately
-against the basement
-wall (<a href="#Fig100">Fig. 100</a>), dampness
-may be largely
-prevented from
-reaching the stable
-and the animals by building a second wall across
-the side or end of the barn, inclosing a space
-or room for roots immediately under the driveway.
-The floor over this root-cellar should be
-deafened to prevent frost entering from above
-(<a href="#Fig101">Fig. 101</a>). The second wall will remain comparatively<span class="pagenum" id="Page271">[271]</span>
-dry, since no damp earth rests against
-it. This location of the root-cellar makes it convenient
-for unloading the roots through trap
-doors in the floor, which are kept partly open
-for a time after the roots have been put in,
-to prevent them from heating.</p>
-
-<div class="container w30em" id="Fig99">
-
-<img src="images/illo278a.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 99. Bridge into the barn.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig100">
-
-<img src="images/illo278b.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 100. An embankment entrance, with retaining walls holding
-the corners.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig101">
-
-<img src="images/illo279.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 101. Deafening or packing the floor, to keep out cold.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">WALLS</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>The foundation walls for barns need not
-necessarily extend below frost, if the earth is as
-dry as it should be; for a slight settling of the
-building does not result in injury, as in the
-plastered house. All that is necessary is to
-make the walls broad and strong and to have
-them well drained.</p>
-
-<div class="container w25em" id="Fig102">
-
-<img src="images/illo280.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 102.
-Good and faulty construction in a wall.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Masons understand the necessity of bonding
-stone walls, and know how to perform the
-work; but too often they are careless, and therefore
-need to be supervised. In <a href="#Fig102">Fig. 102</a>, a well
-bonded wall is shown at the left end, and one
-imperfectly bonded at the other. If the wall<span class="pagenum" id="Page272">[272]</span>
-should chance to pull endwise a crack would
-appear to the right of the dotted line, since in
-the seven layers shown there is but one stone,
-A, that has sufficient
-contact to
-bond the two
-stones upon which
-it rests. The wall
-should also have
-its face and back
-side tied together
-or bonded, or it
-may split apart
-near the middle.
-Two walls, one of
-which is properly
-bonded, the other
-is not, are shown
-in <a href="#Fig103">Fig. 103</a>. One
-layer only of stone
-can be shown in the diagram, but it will readily
-be seen that if the course which is placed on the
-one shown is laid like it,&mdash;that is, if the faulty
-bonding near the back side be continued for
-several courses&mdash;the wall will pull apart. The
-small, narrow stones have been placed at the
-back side of the wall, and the good stones in
-the front of the wall; this is all very well,
-but some long stones should reach from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page273">[273]</span>
-back side of the wall to near the face, if the
-bond is made good. No stone should reach
-entirely through the wall, since in cold weather
-the frost will follow through such stones from
-face to rear.</p>
-
-<div class="container w20em" id="Fig103">
-
-<img src="images/illo281.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 103.
-Poorly and properly bonded.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>There is no economy in using mortar which
-is poorly mixed or that which contains too
-much sand and too little lime or cement. If
-the lime or cement, that
-is, the binding material,
-does not come into
-immediate contact with
-every particle of sand,
-then the mortar will be
-weak. If not enough of
-the cement or lime is
-used, the bond will also
-be weak. For stone
-walls <i>not more</i> than four
-parts of sand to one of
-cement or lime should
-be used. If the sand be
-sharp and clean a much
-stronger mortar is secured
-than when it is
-composed in part of rotten sand mixed with vegetable
-matter. If the materials are good and they
-are mixed in the right proportion, still good mortar
-will not be secured unless they be <i>thoroughly<span class="pagenum" id="Page274">[274]</span>
-mixed</i>. The best masons use the least mortar,
-while poor masons are wasteful of it.</p>
-
-<p>The prices given below are not applicable
-to the whole United States, but they may serve
-to decide the relative proportions of sand and
-lime which should be used, and the kind of
-lime which can be used most economically.
-Water lime retails at about eighty cents per
-barrel, and three parts of sand and one of lime,
-if the latter is fresh, should make a strong
-mortar. Water lime deteriorates rapidly with
-age, while the higher priced cements deteriorate
-quite slowly. Stone lime should be fresh and
-in no case air-slaked. It costs about one
-dollar a barrel and may be mixed three of
-sand to one of lime. Rosendale cement costs
-about $1.25 per barrel, and may be mixed four
-to one. Portland cement costs about $3 per
-barrel, and if used instead of the cheaper
-materials named above, may be mixed five to
-one. It should always be used for pointing
-walls and in the construction of cemented
-floors, in which case it should be mixed two
-or three to one. All this presupposes that
-the mortar is so thoroughly mixed that a lime
-film will surround every particle of sand.</p>
-
-<p>The cement and water lime is mixed with
-the sand before it is wet, and this dry mixing
-should be most thorough, as the strength of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page275">[275]</span>
-mortar is largely dependent on the uniform
-incorporation of the cement with the sand.
-This mixing can be much more perfectly done
-when the material is dry than after it is wet.
-Other precautions are necessary. The mortar
-should contain the minimum of water which
-will permit it to work freely, and when the
-mortar is used it should be solidified, that is,
-pushed together by means of a trowel or by
-the material which is laid upon it. In case of
-cement or grout floors, the material should be
-pounded thoroughly. The object of all this is
-to compel each particle of sand to firmly touch
-other particles. The tendency to “water-log”
-mortar, to save labor in spreading it, is too
-common.</p>
-
-<p>If, from any cause, the basement walls must
-be largely of stone, the tendency for them to
-gather moisture may be somewhat overcome by
-plastering them with cement mortar, or studding
-may be placed against the walls upon which
-unmatched boards may be nailed (<a href="#Fig104">Fig. 104</a>).
-The warm air of the stable cannot then reach
-the relatively cold walls, and little condensation
-will appear on the boards, since they are always
-more nearly the temperature of the stable than
-are the stone.</p>
-
-<p>Wooden basement walls are preferable in all
-ways to those constructed of stone, grout or<span class="pagenum" id="Page276">[276]</span>
-brick, wherever the earth does not rest against
-them. An excellent method of constructing the
-walls of the basement story is shown in a
-section of the first story, <a href="#Fig104">Fig. 104</a>. The studding
-should be 2 × 6 inches, with short pieces of
-2 × 4 placed edgewise between them to serve as
-outside nailing girts.</p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig104">
-
-<img src="images/illo284.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 104. Lining the basement wall.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>A broad, steep water-table is placed just
-above the upper end of the studding to receive
-the boarding above the basement and to improve
-the outside appearance of the building.
-After the outside boarding of the basement and
-the window frames are placed, the inside of the
-wall is boarded horizontally with unmatched seasoned
-lumber, and as the boards are being put on,
-the hollow wall space is filled with short straw
-or straw and chaff. This construction has proved
-to be the most satisfactory of any tried. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page277">[277]</span>
-wall is cheap, durable, dry, excludes the cold,
-and still allows a little fresh air to enter the
-stables gradually. Objection has been made to
-this construction on the ground that it harbors
-mice and rats. After having used buildings
-with walls of this character for a quarter of a
-century, I must say that the objection is not
-well taken.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">FLOORS</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>The floor of the first story should be partly
-of wood and partly of cement or of brick.</p>
-
-<p>All voidings of the animals should be
-removed from the stable at least once a day.
-Allowing the manure to drop through gratings,
-with the view of letting it remain there more
-than one day, is decidedly wrong, and any arrangement
-which does not admit of the thorough
-cleaning and airing of the stable daily is objectionable.
-Nor is the practice of washing out
-the stables economical, since it necessitates great
-waste of manure or too great expense in caring
-for and removing the diluted excreta. If the
-floors and stable be well cleaned with shovel and
-broom, and dusted with gypsum, dry earth, sawdust,
-or chaffy material, good sanitary conditions
-will be secured easily and cheaply. While the
-stables are being cleaned and treated they should
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page278">[278-<br/>279]</span><a id="Page279"></a>
-also be aired. The animals meantime should be
-allowed to stretch their limbs, by which it is
-not meant that they should be hooking one
-another around a muddy barnyard, or running
-foot races up and down the lane. On the one
-hand, it may be all well enough for those who
-sell animals at fabulous prices and have long
-bank accounts, to procure water-proof blankets
-for them, and to accompany them on their regular
-daily “constitutional.” The other extreme is
-where the animals are fastened by the head or
-neck by contrivances not always comfortable,
-and left standing for six months without being
-removed from their stall. Is there not a happy
-medium between these two extremes?</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig105">
-
-<img src="images/illo286.png" alt="" />
-
-<div class="illotext w20em">
-
-<div class="centerblock">
-
-<p class="noindent">Top left rooms: 4′ × 10′ and 10′ × 11′.<br />
-Midway width: 10′.<br />
-Over-all width: 32′.<br />
-Bottom left room: 10′ × 11′.<br />
-Width of stalls: 3′ 6″.<br />
-Over-all length: 80′.<br />
-Room central bottom: 3′ × 6′.</p>
-
-</div><!--centerblock-->
-
-</div><!--illotext-->
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 105. Basement cattle stable.<br />
-At the right is a cross-section of the stable, showing the convex cement midway.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Animals are more comfortable on a wooden
-floor than on one built of either brick, cement,
-or asphalt. Notwithstanding this, most of the
-floor of the basement should be constructed of
-more durable material than wood. If the animals
-are kept fully bedded, as they usually are
-not, then it would be best to discard wooden
-floors entirely. <a href="#Fig105">Fig. 105</a> shows a basement floor
-designed for cattle. The part where the animals
-stand is of wood, the balance of hard or
-pavement brick set edgewise on a bed of sand.
-The cement or grout floor may be substituted
-for the brick if desired. If the cracks between
-the bricks in the floor are filled with thin<span class="pagenum" id="Page280">[280]</span>
-cement mortar, the floor becomes water-tight,
-though this is not necessary except in the
-gutters. The ground underneath the wooden
-floor should be leveled and pounded, and
-covered with a thin layer of salt to preserve
-the wood. The plank which forms the side of
-the drip should be of oak or some other
-durable wood. The 2 × 4 pieces to which the
-floor is nailed when first built, need not be
-replaced when they rot, since the dirt underneath
-will be smooth and hard. The large nails
-which fasten the floor to the oak piece at the
-rear and the mangers combined will suffice to
-keep the floor plank in place; the only object
-in placing the nailing pieces at first is to
-facilitate construction. The plank of the floor
-should be of some uniform standard width, as
-8, 10, or 12 inches wide, that repairs may be
-made quickly when the floor gives way.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">STALLS</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>When a dairy of some size is kept, the cows
-may be arranged in double rows. Fifty cows
-could be crowded into a barn 80 × 32 feet. But
-fifty cows of 800 pounds each weigh 40,000
-pounds; and if the stable is ten feet from the
-top of the lower floor to the bottom of the
-upper floor, it would contain only 25,600 cubic<span class="pagenum" id="Page281">[281]</span>
-feet of air space. This is manifestly too little,
-as 1 cubic foot of air space should be allowed
-for each pound of live animal. Many stables,
-in fact most stables, provide but one-half of a
-cubic foot of air space for each pound of live
-animal kept in them; in such case it is impossible
-to keep the air approximately pure or
-the stable decently sweet. To realize what this
-means, suppose a bedchamber be constructed
-for a man weighing 160 pounds. If one foot
-of air space be provided for each pound of
-live weight, the chamber might be built 4 feet
-wide, 7 feet long and 6 feet high. This would
-give 168 cubic feet of air space. If the bedchamber
-be made proportionally as large as
-are most cow stables, its dimensions would be
-3 feet wide, 6¹⁄₂ feet long and 4¹⁄₂ feet high.
-To insure good air in such a sleeping room
-one side of it would have to be knocked out.</p>
-
-<div class="container w15em right" id="Fig106">
-
-<img src="images/illo291.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 106. A swing window for stable.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>If one or two box-stalls and one feed-bin are
-provided in an 80 × 32-foot barn, with 12-foot
-ceilings (<a href="#Fig105">Fig. 105</a>), and room for a hallway,
-3 feet wide, be left at one end of the building,
-it will then accommodate thirty-nine animals.
-Each one would have 800 cubic feet of air
-space, the required amount. The first story of
-most cow stables is about seven feet. It is
-seen how easily the stable may be overcrowded.
-A high story gives opportunity for long windows<span class="pagenum" id="Page282">[282]</span>
-and for placing them well up from the floor,
-and for good ventilation. If the ceiling is to
-be reduced in height, which it well may be,
-the building should be proportionately longer.</p>
-
-<p>A section of a part of the inside of the wall
-with swing windows is shown in <a href="#Fig106">Fig. 106</a>. The
-windows should be of one sash and hung near
-the middle, as shown, by means of a piece of
-iron ³⁄₈ of an inch in diameter and 4 inches
-long. A hole for the reception of the iron, and
-of the same size, is made through the window
-sash and extends into the jambs of the frame
-about one inch. A button on the side of the
-jamb is used to hold the window partly open
-when required. This allows cool air to pass
-in at the bottom and the warm, vitiated air to
-pass out at the top in small, broken streams.
-It will be noticed that in case of a storm no
-rain or strong current of air can reach the
-stable. Usually too few and too small windows
-are provided, through which the manure from
-the stables is not unfrequently thrown.</p>
-
-<p>Some additional ventilators should be provided;
-these may consist of wooden tubes
-extending from the ceiling through the roof,
-so constructed that the foul air may enter
-them. They need not be numerous or large,
-as the windows when slightly open form excellent
-ventilators. Two things should be kept<span class="pagenum" id="Page283">[283]</span>
-prominently in view in ventilation: first, no
-strong draughts of air, or, as a distinguished
-professor puts it, “great gobs of raw air,” should
-be introduced; second, ventilators should
-ventilate both at the ceiling and the floor,
-as in these two places will be found the
-most impure air. Ample air space is most
-economically secured by
-high ceilings, rather
-than by horizontal enlargement.
-The air can
-be kept reasonably pure
-by the introduction, at
-several points near the
-lower floor, of small
-volumes of slowly moving
-fresh air.</p>
-
-<p>Two stairs should
-lead from the basement
-to the second floor in
-all large barns to
-economize time; the
-openings in the upper
-floor had best be provided
-with flap doors,
-which can be left open in muggy, warm weather
-to assist ventilation, or closed in cold weather
-to economize warmth.</p>
-
-<p>Many varieties of stanchion for confining cattle<span class="pagenum" id="Page284">[284]</span>
-in stalls are in use, some really good, but
-mostly defective in one or more respects. It
-would take too much space to describe all of
-the various contrivances and to illustrate them
-and to call attention to their good and objectionable
-points. Some confine the animals too
-closely, others give too much freedom and allow
-them to become soiled; some are too expensive,
-and some are not durable. I shall describe but
-one kind of fastening and manger which, after
-trying numerous patent arrangements, has been
-found to be excellent. It is quite possible that
-there are better ones. The one thing which
-has been learned about stanchions by experimentation
-and observation is that they may
-be so complicated and handy as to be unhandy.</p>
-
-<p>The size and character of the “drip,” the
-comfort and cleanliness of the animals, the ease
-of fastening and unfastening, the noise or quiet
-of the stable, and the effect on the animals,
-should all be considered. While using one
-stanchion, the animals became wild and made
-frantic efforts to pull their heads out when the
-attendant approached to unfasten them. As
-soon as another fastening was introduced they
-became docile. With one stanchion they would
-lie down more frequently than with another.
-With one kind of manger the animals are
-tempted to hook one another, and in reaching<span class="pagenum" id="Page285">[285]</span>
-for food would fall upon their knees and injure
-themselves. Most of the contrivances were not
-easily adjustable, so that when the size, or
-rather length, of the animals varied the standing
-room was either too short or too long.
-Some had posts to sustain the stanchions; these
-intercepted the light and prevented an unobstructed
-survey of the animal. They gave the
-stables a forbidding, dark, prison-like appearance.</p>
-
-<p>The individual stalls should be, for smallish
-animals, 3 feet 6 inches from center to center,
-and 3 feet 8 inches for larger animals. The
-partitions between the animals need extend only
-far enough backward and upward to prevent
-them from reaching each other with their horns.
-When dishorning is practiced the partitions
-may be lower than when it is not.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">MANGERS AND TIES</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>The cross section of a floor and the skeleton
-of a bracket upon which the mangers are built
-are shown in <a href="#Fig107">Fig. 107</a>. The mangers of cattle
-stables should be easily movable. This can be
-accomplished in the following way: Construct
-one more bracket than the number of stalls
-required in the line of mangers. Place one
-of the brackets at the end and one intermediate
-between every pair of stalls; fasten<span class="pagenum" id="Page286">[286]</span>
-them lightly to the floor with nails, which
-should be removed when the mangers are completed.
-<a href="#Fig107">Fig. 107</a> also shows the cross section
-of the brackets, with bottom, front, and back
-side of the manger placed.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig107">
-
-<img src="images/illo294a.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 107. The building of a manger.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w25em" id="Fig108">
-
-<img src="images/illo294b.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 108.
-Newton cattle tie.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The Newton cattle tie (<a href="#Fig108">Fig. 108</a>), though
-rather expensive, has proved most satisfactory.
-It is made of one piece of round, durable
-wood, as ash, about 1¹⁄₄ inches in diameter and
-bent at the corners, and is furnished with a
-flat ring which encircles the bow
-at the middle, to which is attached
-a swivel; to this is
-fastened a rope to encircle the
-animal’s neck, the rope being
-furnished with suitable fastenings
-at the ends. The bows
-are attached to the divisions on a level or a
-little above the animal’s throat when standing;<span class="pagenum" id="Page287">[287]</span>
-when lying down the bow rests on top of the
-manger, which is about 1¹⁄₂ feet lower than the
-ends of the bow. It will be seen that since
-the bow describes an arc of a circle in passing
-downward, it tends to pull the animal towards
-the manger when it lies down, and hence away
-from the soiled drip.</p>
-
-<p>In midsummer window curtains, drawn
-during milking time, serve to quiet the flies
-and the cows, as does also a light spraying of
-the animals with kerosene before they are
-turned out in the morning. A blanket tacked
-over the entrance door to the cow stable will
-brush most of the flies off the cattle as they
-enter.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page288">[288]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVII<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>BUILDING THE BARN&mdash;THE SUPERSTRUCTURE</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>The kind of superstructure best to be
-adopted for the barn depends on many conditions.
-The balloon construction may be used
-for small barns, but large ones naturally require
-large timbers or many small ones, hence the
-old style of frame-work, with some modification,
-is usually adopted. In modern barn
-buildings the main timbers are reduced in
-size, more and lighter braces are used in lieu
-of the large mortised and pinned braces. They
-are cut with smooth, angled ends and spiked to
-posts and beams. A brace of 2 × 4 inches is
-inexpensive, and allows of following the old
-rule of placing a brace in every angle made
-by the principal timbers.</p>
-
-<p>Another modification should be adopted: the
-joists, so far as possible, should rest on sills
-and beams and not be gained into them. It is
-unwise and unscientific to cut gains for the
-reception of the ends of the joists at considerable
-expense, since such gains weaken both
-joists and sills. In most cases the joists may<span class="pagenum" id="Page289">[289]</span>
-be placed on top of the sills, thereby obviating
-the necessity of framing, while preserving the
-strength of sill and joist entire. When it is
-desirable, as it often is in small structures, to
-have the top of the sill or beam coincide with
-the tops of the joists, it is
-cheaper and better to use a
-rather light timber and fortify
-it by nailing upon it
-2 × 4-inch studding (<a href="#Fig109">Fig.
-109</a>), thereby avoiding the necessity of cutting
-gains, while giving additional strength to the
-timber which supports the joists.</p>
-
-<div class="container w25em" id="Fig109">
-
-<img src="images/illo297.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 109. Laying the joist.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The joists in barns should be bridged as in
-houses. That part of the barn floor which is
-above the root-cellar should be deafened, as
-shown in <a href="#Fig101">Fig. 101</a>. Cleats nailed on the sides
-of the joists serve to support the short boards
-which carry the deafening material. The 2-inch
-space between the false and the true floor is
-filled with mortar composed of about five or
-six parts of sand to one of lime or cement.
-If all of the floor driven upon above the basement
-is deafened, it will deaden sound and
-promote warmth in the lower story.</p>
-
-<p>While the balloon frame has been almost
-universally adopted in the construction of houses,
-it is only recently that large barn frames have
-been successfully constructed on the same general<span class="pagenum" id="Page290">[290]</span>
-principles. The plank frame has now been
-so modified and improved that it serves well
-for the largest farm building. All of the frame
-timbers are sawed two inches thick and of variable
-widths, as required. Instead of uniting the
-timbers by means of mortise and tenon, they
-are fastened with wire spikes. This new
-method secures as strong a frame as the old,
-and saves from 30 to 40 per cent of material,
-while the plank frame is more easily and
-cheaply erected than the large timbered frame
-is. The 2-inch frame material can be so
-placed as to direction and position that it will
-secure the maximum of strength with the minimum
-of lumber.</p>
-
-<div class="split5050">
-
-<div class="left5050">
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig110">
-
-<img src="images/illo298.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 110. Barn frame.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-</div><!--left5050-->
-
-<div class="right5050">
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig111">
-
-<img src="images/illo299.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 111. Cross-section of the frame.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-</div><!--right5050-->
-
-<p class="thinline allclear">&#160;</p>
-
-</div><!--split5050-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page291">[291]</span></p>
-
-<div class="container w10em right" id="Fig112">
-
-<img src="images/illo300.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 112.
-Built-up post.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The illustration (<a href="#Fig110">Fig. 110</a>) shows one end of
-a 67 × 97-ft. barn, posts 18 ft. long, recently
-erected at the Pennsylvania Agricultural College.
-A cross-section at one side of the driving floor
-is also shown (<a href="#Fig111">Fig. 111</a>). A cross-section of a
-built-up post is seen in <a href="#Fig112">Fig. 112</a>. It will be
-seen that the building is firmly tied together,
-the roof fully supported, and that no timbers
-obstruct the unloading of provender by horse
-power. This new method of constructing large
-frames is so little known and the principles
-involved are so valuable that I append a foot
-note at the risk of being misunderstood.<a id="FNanchor_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a>
-Since long, large timbers have become expensive,<span class="pagenum" id="Page292">[292]</span>
-it is probable that the plank frame will become
-as common in the near future, in barn building,
-as the balloon frame is in house building.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a>
-Shawver Bros., Bellefontaine, Ohio, furnish models and bills of material for
-plank barns at a low cost.</p>
-
-</div><!--footnote-->
-
-<p>It is frequently convenient to place
-horses or other animals on the second
-floor above other animals, or above a
-covered yard, in which case a tight
-floor may be made as follows (<a href="#Fig113">Fig.
-113</a>): Lay an unmatched, rough inch
-floor; upon this place strong, tarred building-paper,
-with joints well lapped. Saw and
-prepare the 2-inch planks which are to form
-the floors. For every four hundred square feet
-of floor, procure one barrel of hard Trinidad
-asphalt and three gallons of gas tar. A large
-iron kettle may be used for heating and mixing
-the material, which should be in the proportion
-of about one to ten. With an ax remove the
-barrel, and chop off and place in the kettle
-pieces of asphalt until it is not much more
-than one-half full, then add the due proportion
-of gas tar. The kettle should be placed
-in a rude arch and at a little distance from
-the building. By means of a slow fire heat
-the material. When all is ready, dip the hot
-mixture into a galvanized iron pail and pour
-it in a small stream on the paper, spreading
-to the width of the plank intended to be laid,
-by means of a shingle or paddle. Lay the<span class="pagenum" id="Page293">[293]</span>
-plank in the hot material, being careful that
-when it is spiked down the hot asphalt does
-not fly up into the face. Then proceed to lay
-other planks in like manner. Finally pour
-some of the material into the cracks if there
-should be any.<a id="FNanchor_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a>
-A floor laid, as described, seventeen years ago, is still in good repair.</p>
-
-</div><!--footnote-->
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig113">
-
-<img src="images/illo301.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 113. Making a barn floor.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Should the floor become worn in time and
-need repairing, even up the surface by spreading
-thin cement mortar upon it, and upon this
-lay a second plank floor. The cement mortar
-will assist in making the floor water-tight and
-in preventing dry rot. Barn floors which have
-become much worn from driving over them may
-be treated in like manner. Where it seems
-advisable to place cows on the second floor, and
-over a manure cellar, the following plan may be
-adopted: A tight floor, as in the former case, is
-built with drips as shown; a small hole is<span class="pagenum" id="Page294">[294]</span>
-placed between each pair of stalls, through which
-the voidings of the animals may be dropped into
-the story below, the floor of which is concreted.
-The objection might be raised that the manure
-underneath the animals would be objectionable;
-but since the floor of the stable described is
-tight when the openings in the drip are closed,
-and the story below is well lighted and ventilated,
-the objection does not hold good.</p>
-
-<p>As far as possible, horses should stand with
-their heads away from the windows, as draughts
-of air and glaring sunlight are trying to their
-eyes. A few box stalls are convenient, and
-assist in providing the two cubic feet of air
-space which should be allowed for each pound
-of live weight in the horse barn. The stable
-should be so situated that the fumes of ammonia
-arising from it cannot reach the harness
-and carriages, if they are highly polished and
-expensive. The horse stable may often be
-placed on the second floor of the wing, as it
-brings it on a level with the main driving floor
-and near to where the wagons are likely to be
-kept. The story beneath the horses makes an
-acceptable covered yard. An office, which may
-be warmed, and a repair room should be provided
-in one corner of the barn or in a small
-detached building near to it.</p>
-
-<p>If the farm is ample, and large amounts of<span class="pagenum" id="Page295">[295]</span>
-hay and grain are to be stored, instead of building
-a wagon house, the main barn might be
-extended twenty feet, more or less, in length.
-This additional room may be used for carriages
-and light harness in part, and in part for the
-storage of grain, meal, and the like. The space
-underneath this room would serve to enlarge the
-cow stable. The place for washing carriages
-might also be located on the lower floor, where
-it would serve for storing the milk wagon as
-well, and the space above it could be devoted to
-storing hay and the like. Barn windows should
-have small panes of glass, as the cross bars of
-the windows serve not only to hold the glass but
-as fenders also. Since the glass in barn windows
-is likely to be broken, the cost of repairs
-is reduced to a minimum if the panes are small.</p>
-
-<p>A cupola, if it is large and well proportioned,
-may add beauty to the barn and serve to ventilate
-the mows, thereby making them cooler for
-the workmen than they otherwise would be. It
-may also give opportunity for lighting the mows
-and the floors, thereby avoiding the necessity of
-windows at the side of the mows, where they are
-likely to be broken and where they are covered
-as soon as the barn is partly filled.</p>
-
-<p>Hay and grain contain 20 to 25 per cent
-of moisture when stored, and hence tend to
-become warm. The hot, moist air, due to<span class="pagenum" id="Page296">[296]</span>
-this heating, ascends to the roof or cupola
-and forms an easier passage to the earth for
-electrical discharges than the normal air of the
-building does. Thunder storms prevail largely
-about the time barns are filled, hence they
-should be provided with good lightning rods, that
-an easier and safer way may be provided for the
-discharges than by the ascending warm, moist
-air of the building. (See lightning rods, <a href="#Page321">Chap.
-XX</a>.)</p>
-
-<p>Barns not more than sixty feet wide may be
-covered by self-supporting roofs. The curb or
-gambrel form is the best. If the gables are
-clipped, the cost will not be materially increased,
-while the structure will be much improved in
-looks. Barns should have strong, wide, projecting
-roofs; a few extra rows of shingles at
-the eaves will serve to protect the outside covering
-and the framework, and will improve the
-looks of the structure. Should it be decided to
-paint the barn, an ample projection will greatly
-reduce the expense of keeping the paint presentable.
-Financially speaking, it does not pay to
-paint the barn unless the boarding is placed
-horizontally. The boarding of many unpainted
-barns is still in a good state of preservation,
-although they were built more than three-fourths
-of a century ago, and had roofs projecting
-but a few inches over sides and ends. Protected<span class="pagenum" id="Page297">[297]</span>
-by a roof projection of one to two feet,
-rough, vertical barn boards may last for one to
-two hundred years without paint. It may be
-said, then, that properly constructed barns are
-painted to improve their looks and not to preserve
-them. When the barns are well removed
-from the house and virtually hidden by trees,
-they may be left unpainted, but where they are
-conspicuous they should be painted, that the
-barn may not mar the beauty of the home.
-The oxide of iron, which usually has a red or
-reddish tinge, mixed with pure oil, forms a most
-desirable and satisfactory barn paint. (See
-Painting the House, <a href="#Page158">Chap. IX</a>.)</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page298">[298]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVIII<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>REMODELING OLD BARNS</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>It is more difficult to remodel old barns
-than to build new ones. If the attempt be
-made to unite several of the detached buildings
-with the view of making them into one symmetrical
-structure, much study will be required.
-The frames of the old buildings are so strong
-and durable that they should not be thrown
-aside as useless until it is certain that to
-utilize them would be more expensive than to
-tear them down and erect others of new
-material. Those massive oak sills and posts
-and poplar swing-beams have for me a
-meaning and charm which is lacking in the
-light plank and balloon frame constructed of
-knotty, wind-shaken hemlock or some other<span class="pagenum" id="Page299">[299]</span>
-cheap wood. It needs no argument to prove
-that the numerous detached rural buildings so
-often seen on the farm should be remodeled;
-but how? To illustrate, let the buildings shown
-in <a href="#Fig114">Fig. 114</a>, which is from a photograph, be
-taken. Move the four largest buildings to
-some suitable site without taking the frames
-down, and out of the timbers of the other
-structures build a basement story. It will take
-just one-half as much material to board the
-new structure as the four old ones, plus that
-required to fill the gaps where the old structures
-do not join (see plan, <a href="#Fig115">Fig. 115</a>). These
-openings, eight and twelve feet, are all so
-short that the frames may be made continuous
-by means of light pieces of material, which will
-serve for nailing girts. When the old buildings
-have been united, some of the inside posts
-may be in inconvenient positions. If so, trusses
-appropriately placed in the mow story will permit
-the removal of the obstructing post, as
-shown in <a href="#Fig116">Figs. 116</a> and <a href="#Fig117">117</a>.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig114">
-
-<img src="images/illo3067.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 114. The scattered buildings on a farm. The profit of the farm is absorbed in doing the chores.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>If a steep curb roof, which may be self-supporting<span class="pagenum" id="Page300">[300]</span>
-(<a href="#Fig118">Fig. 118</a>), be adopted, the remodeled
-structure (<a href="#Fig119">Fig. 119</a>) will have more than
-three times the available space that the four
-old structures had. It is probable that there
-would be nearly enough dimension stuff in the
-seven other small structures to construct the
-basement story.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig115">
-
-<img src="images/illo308.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 115. Plan for condensing the buildings shown in <a href="#Fig114">Fig. 114</a>.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>But it may chance that no basement story
-is wanted. If so, the building might be arranged
-as before, or two more of the small structures
-might be united to the four larger ones which
-it was proposed to use in the former case. The
-barn would then present a rather low appearance;
-but if the peaks of the curb roof were
-properly treated, that is, clipped (<a href="#Fig120">Fig. 120</a>),<span class="pagenum" id="Page301">[301]</span>
-the structure would not be void of beauty.
-The rebuilt structure, in any case, should be
-placed on continuous walls, not on stone piers.
-If the posts of the old structures are of unequal
-length, the wall which supports those having
-the shorter posts may be built higher than for
-those having the longer posts, provided, however,
-there is not too great a difference in the
-length of the posts of the several small
-structures. If there are four or more feet
-difference, it would then be best to splice the
-short posts.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig116">
-<a id="Fig117"></a>
-
-<img src="images/illo30910.png" alt="" />
-
-<div class="split6040">
-
-<div class="left6040">
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 116. Trussing where a post is removed.</p>
-
-</div><!--left6040-->
-
-<div class="right6040">
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 117.
-A trussed frame, where a post is removed.</p>
-
-</div><!--right6040-->
-
-</div><!--split6040-->
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w30em allclear" id="Fig118">
-
-<img src="images/illo310.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 118. Old style of roof below,
-and new style curb roof above.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page302">[302]</span></p>
-
-<p>The first story
-in most of the old
-barns is entirely
-too low. This may
-be remedied by
-building the outside
-supporting
-walls of the proposed
-remodeled
-building two to
-three feet above
-the level of the
-ground. This will
-add as much to
-the lower story as
-the wall is above
-the ground, less the room required for placing
-the basement floor. If
-treated in this manner the
-old inside sills, sleepers,
-and joists should be removed
-and the inside post supported
-on stone or brick
-piers. All this will give
-opportunity to construct the
-basement floors on the
-ground, or near to it,
-and of such shape and
-material as the new plans<span class="pagenum" id="Page303">[303]</span>
-call for. In this case the floor
-might well be made of grout,
-since lumber is expensive, and an
-effort should be made to build
-permanent and durable structures.
-If stable floors are placed well
-up from the ground and have
-numerous cracks between the
-planks, they are extremely uncomfortable
-for the animals.
-They are, perhaps, the most uncomfortable
-of all floors, as the
-air finds access to the stable
-through the floor, and it is nearly
-impossible to keep such stables
-comfortable in cold weather. Such
-construction of floors is also
-wasteful of manures, tends to
-produce “scratches” and other
-foot and leg diseases in horses,
-and is unsanitary and altogether
-undesirable.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig119">
-
-<img src="images/illo311.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 119. This shows the farmstead in <a href="#Fig114">Fig. 114</a>, after the barns are gathered in.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Finally, it may be said that
-when these separate structures are
-treated in this inexpensive manner
-without added basement, the
-available capacity of the building
-would be double that of the old
-ones, the time of performing the<span class="pagenum" id="Page304">[304]</span>
-work in the barns would be greatly diminished,
-and the discomfort of both man and beast would
-be ameliorated. For the sake of the farm boy
-and for the animal which he cares for, to say
-nothing of economy, beauty and neatness, may
-I not ask those who have these scattered, unhandy,
-uncomfortable barns, to study well the
-illustrations given, which show the old and the
-new arrangement?</p>
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig120">
-
-<img src="images/illo312.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 120. Treatment of the gable.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The accompanying illustration (<a href="#Fig121">Fig. 121</a>) of<span class="pagenum" id="Page305">[305]</span>
-English farm buildings may be of interest,
-though this style of barn and the arrangement
-would not be suitable in America, with its
-rigorous climate and expensive farm labor.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig121">
-
-<img src="images/illo313.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 121. English farmsteading plan.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page306">[306]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIX<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>OUTBUILDINGS AND ACCESSORIES</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>There are various farm buildings which are
-better when more or less detached from the
-main barn; and some of these may now be
-mentioned.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig122">
-
-<img src="images/illo315.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 122. A poultry establishment sufficient for 150 hens.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig123">
-
-<img src="images/illo316.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 123. A moveable coop.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">POULTRY HOUSES</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Until recently comparatively few persons
-have been financially successful in the poultry
-business when large numbers of fowls were kept
-in close quarters, as the many abandoned dilapidated
-yard fences and buildings testify. The
-reason for such failures was due, usually, to
-allowing too many fowls to run in one flock.
-It takes a genius to see and note the conditions
-of each individual animal once daily in a flock
-of several hundred birds. Break the flock up
-into several small ones, each of uniform size
-and character, and the individual fowl may
-then be more easily noted. A single diseased
-bird, if not removed, may serve to inoculate a
-whole flock with some contagious disease. If
-the flock contains but twenty to thirty individuals,<span class="pagenum" id="Page307">[307]</span>
-the chance of discovering a drooping
-bird is greatly increased. This indicates
-that the poultry house or houses should be
-easily divided into rather small compartments.
-Poultry houses usually are about 12 feet wide
-and not more than 30 to 40 feet long. If more
-room is wanted than one house furnishes, another
-structure should be erected some little distance
-from any other one. This will give better
-opportunity to arrange for large runs or yards
-than does one long, continuous building. I have
-yet to see a large poultry establishment furnished
-with yards as large as they should be, and I
-have seen but few yards which were properly
-or fully shaded. The runs should be large and
-relatively narrow, and set to fruit trees. The
-plum is best, and may be set the usual distance
-apart. The trees should be sprayed and cared<span class="pagenum" id="Page308">[308]</span>
-for as in well kept orchards, since the fruit may
-chance to be more profitable than the poultry.
-For the health of the fowls and the welfare of
-the trees, clean culture of the runs should be
-adopted. In the case of poultry buildings, the
-distributive method of construction should be
-adopted rather than the concentrated one. If
-the undertaking is begun with a well matured
-plan, these several small structures may not be
-unsightly when viewed as a whole. An illustration
-is given of a modest poultry plant large
-enough for 150 hens and 500 chicks, provided,
-however, that most of the chicks are
-sold when from three to six months old (<a href="#Fig122">Fig.
-122</a>). These structures are built on grout foundation
-walls to exclude vermin and moisture.
-The floors are of wood, the sills and plates 2 × 4
-inches. The boarding is vertical and double,
-with paper between
-the two boardings.
-The outside boards
-are planed and battened;
-the roof
-boards, which are
-laid close together, are covered with paper and
-then shingled. The windows provide for light
-and, in part, for ventilation. These structures
-are dry on the inside, and the temperature,
-though not always above the freezing point in<span class="pagenum" id="Page309">[309]</span>
-cold weather, is comfortable. The buildings
-might be reduced in number or in size, except
-the brooder house, and yet provide for the same
-number of birds, if movable coops for the smaller
-chickens were provided. The illustration (<a href="#Fig123">Fig.
-123</a>) shows a durable, light, movable coop large
-enough for twenty half pound chicks. The coop
-was designed for use on the lawn. It is inexpensive,
-and protects the chicks from all their
-ordinary enemies, both day and night. It weighs
-but 75 pounds, and can be moved easily by a
-child by means of a strap attached to one end.
-When used on the lawn, the coop should be
-moved and cleaned at least once daily, as fresh
-pasture for the chicks is thereby provided, injury
-to the grass prevented, the lawn being benefited
-by the excrements. The coop shown is 4 × 8 feet
-and 20 inches high, unfloored except the covered<span class="pagenum" id="Page310">[310]</span>
-section, which has a tight floor, and roosts and
-suitable wooden and screen doors. A brood of
-chicks in such a coop would form superior
-facilities for nature-study work.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig124">
-
-<img src="images/illo317.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 124. A large portable coop.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w20em" id="Fig125">
-
-<img src="images/illo318.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 125.
-Bracing the corners
-of the frame.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>When poultry-raising is carried on on a large
-scale, the movable coops might be built 12 × 6
-or 16 × 8 feet (<a href="#Fig124">Fig. 124</a>), the latter the largest
-size which is easily movable without the aid of
-a horse. The corners of
-the sills should be mitered
-and held together by triangular
-pieces (<a href="#Fig125">Fig. 125</a>).
-These coops will be found
-to be entirely satisfactory
-when used in a pasture or
-grass paddock near the
-chicken house. While experimenting
-with them, it was found that the
-birds did better when as many as thirty or more
-chicks were assigned to each large coop than
-when kept in the large, grassless runs.</p>
-
-<p>The following bill of particulars may be of
-assistance in the construction of a lawn chicken-coop:</p>
-
-<div class="centerblock">
-
-<p class="noindent blankbefore75 blankafter75">Sills 1 × 4 inches.<br />
-Posts 2 × 2 inches, 20 inches long.<br />
-Braces 1 × 1 inch.<br />
-Plates 1 × 2 inches.</p>
-
-</div><!--centerblock-->
-
-<p>The covered part of the coop is made of<span class="pagenum" id="Page311">[311]</span>
-³⁄₈-inch matched and beaded hard pine; the
-floor of any light wood ¹⁄₂-inch or ³⁄₄-inch,
-matched, but not beaded.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">PIGGERIES</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig126">
-
-<img src="images/illo319.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 126. Temporary shelter for a brood sow.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>A piggery of any considerable size is the
-most difficult to plan of all farm structures.
-One of two methods may be adopted in the
-East with fairly satisfactory results. If there
-are woods and some pasture land adjoining or
-near to the barns, cheap separate pens (<a href="#Fig126">Fig.
-126</a>), one for each brood animal, may be built
-near the border of the wood or on the edge
-of it. There need be little more than a slanting
-roof, with the triangular corners at the ends
-boarded to keep out the wind. The earth
-forms a most comfortable bed if kept dry and
-covered thinly with leaves or straw. Of course,
-these pens are not suitable for brood animals<span class="pagenum" id="Page312">[312]</span>
-farrowing during the winter months. Where
-but one litter of pigs is raised annually, there
-is little difficulty; if two litters a year be
-desired, the first one should be farrowed in
-April or May, and the other in September or
-October. In either case these cheap detached
-pens may be not only satisfactory, but they will
-serve to fit into a system of pig-raising which
-may be carried on at the minimum of labor
-and expense and supplementary foods. By
-means of a tank or barrel mounted on wheels
-the animals may be fed, either once or twice
-daily, in large troughs placed in the pasture.
-This system presupposes ample areas of grass
-and woodland, which should furnish not only
-a healthful run for the animals but much food
-for them.</p>
-
-<p>Usually the mistake is made of confining
-pigs in small pens, which may or may not have
-attached to them small yards or runs. These
-are always devoid of grass, and offensively
-dusty and filthy a part of the year, and an
-impassable mud hole at other times. Wherever
-circumstances will permit, there should be allotted
-to each brood animal and her offspring
-one-fourth acre of land. Two small fields might
-be provided, one of which would serve for pasture
-ground for all the animals, while the other
-would be used for raising crops for soiling<span class="pagenum" id="Page313">[313]</span>
-the pigs or for other purposes. When the lot
-became fertilized from the droppings of the
-animals and the grass injured, it should be
-plowed, cropped and seeded, the animals being
-pastured meantime in the other field.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig127">
-
-<img src="images/illo321.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 127. Pig pens. At the left is shown a vertical section, with the roof
-over the rear. Yard on the right.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>Cheap but somewhat more elaborate pens
-are shown in <a href="#Fig127">Fig. 127</a>. These may be built
-in detached pairs, or several pens may be
-placed in juxtaposition. Each pen, including
-the small outside yard and feeding floor, both
-unroofed, is 16 × 16 feet. The part roofed is
-8 × 8 feet. After the pigs have attained some
-size, all doors are opened and the entire herd
-may be grazed in one field.</p>
-
-<div class="container w30em" id="Fig128">
-
-<img src="images/illo322.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 128. A more elaborate piggery.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w40em" id="Fig129">
-
-<img src="images/illo323.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 129. Elevation of the house shown in <a href="#Fig128">Fig. 128</a>.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>A better but more expensive piggery, <a href="#Fig128">Figs.
-128</a> and <a href="#Fig129">129</a>, shows five pens, though the plan
-lends itself to a greater or lesser number. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page314">[314]</span>
-area devoted to each bed is 8 × 8 feet. The
-driveway, which also serves for temporary
-storage of manures, is 8 feet wide and extends
-lengthwise through the
-building. The floor of
-the driveway should be
-about one foot lower
-than the feeding
-and sleeping
-floors at the middle,
-and should
-be paved or asphalted.
-(See
-cross section,
-<a href="#Fig129">Fig. 129</a>.) The
-feeding floor upon which
-the troughs rest may be
-4 or 5 feet long, and
-should descend towards
-the driving floor. Ordinary gates are hung to
-the posts which serve, with the boarding, to
-separate the pens. These gates are fastened at
-the other end of the posts which separate the
-feeding compartments. When so fastened each
-brood animal has a bedroom 8 × 8, a receptacle
-for manure 8 × 8, and a feeding floor 4 × 8 feet.
-This arrangement presupposes that most of the
-foods will be fed in the troughs. If, when the
-animals are first placed in the pens, the paved<span class="pagenum" id="Page315">[315]</span>
-portion of the floor be soiled with dirt and water,
-the excreta thereafter will be deposited by the
-animals on this floor and not in the bedroom.
-The pig is really a cleanly animal if it is given
-a few timely sensible hints. When it is desired
-to remove the manure the gates are all swung
-to the right or left, as most convenient, and
-they then serve to fasten all of the animals in
-the bed compartments, and the driveway is left
-unobstructed. One of the outside openings to
-the driveway should also be provided with a
-gate to swing in, as well as an ordinary door to
-swing out. These pens may all be thrown open
-in the summer when it is desired to pasture
-the herd.</p>
-
-<p>The illustration shows a small wing attached
-which may serve many useful purposes. A
-matched upper floor and abundant light and
-ventilation should be provided. The roof story<span class="pagenum" id="Page316">[316]</span>
-may be used for housing some corn in the ear
-and straw for bedding. In cold weather the
-upper floor should have some straw left on it to
-promote warmth in the pens below.</p>
-
-<p>The object in discussing these three styles of
-piggeries has been to emphasize cleanliness,
-economy of labor in caring for the animals, the
-comfort of the animals, prevention of wanton
-waste of manure, and economy in the production
-of healthy swine in piggeries so arranged
-that the animals may be conveniently grazed
-during the summer, and kept reasonably clean
-and comfortable in winter.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">THE SILO</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>The Egyptians, the Romans, and the American
-Indians all stored grain in pits or silos
-which were air-tight, or as nearly so as large
-rude structures could be made. The custom of
-using silos for storing grain in Spain and France
-never became common, though several attempts
-were made to preserve large quantities of grain
-for several years, that the overproduction of one
-year might be kept until there were deficient
-harvests.</p>
-
-<p>The subject of ensilaging green “roughage”
-material attracted attention in the United States
-soon after 1870. As early as 1875, Doctor<span class="pagenum" id="Page317">[317]</span>
-Manly Miles, then connected with the Illinois
-Industrial University, was fairly successful in
-preserving the green tops of broom corn in an
-earthen silo. Interest in the subject of preserving
-green material in silos was widely aroused
-in America by the appearance of a book on
-ensilage, translated in 1878-9. The book was
-published in France in 1877, by M. Auguste
-Goffart.</p>
-
-<p>When the practice of ensilaging green material
-for feeding animals was first introduced
-into the United States there was much discussion
-as to the construction of silos. Many
-advocated building them of stones, brick, or
-grout, though some were built of wood. As a
-rule, they were built either square or in the
-form of a parallelogram, in a few cases octagonal.
-Experience soon showed that the silage
-was preserved better in the wooden silo than in
-those constructed of other material. For this
-reason, and because the wooden silo is most
-cheaply constructed, wood is now in universal
-use for building them.</p>
-
-<p>At first heavy frames were erected which
-were covered with two, three, and even four
-thicknesses of boards. Sometimes building
-paper was placed between the inner and outer
-boards. The octagon and the round silo soon
-supplanted those having square corners. As<span class="pagenum" id="Page318">[318]</span>
-built, too often the walls could not be or were
-not fully ventilated. The thick walls remained
-more or less damp throughout the entire year or,
-if dried out when empty, lack of ventilation
-superinduced dry rot. Cases were not infrequent
-where silos were found to be practically useless
-without rebuilding in four or five years. Where
-everything was at its best, the frequent shrinking
-and swelling of the wood resulted finally in
-so destroying its elasticity that it did not return
-to its normal size when the silo was refilled.
-Since there was no means of tightening these
-silos the air soon entered them freely, which
-resulted in serious loss of fodder. By reason of
-the costliness and defects of stone and grout
-silos, and the failure in many cases of square-cornered
-wooden ones to preserve the material
-satisfactorily, and because of their perishable
-nature, much attention has been given to the
-shape and material of silos.</p>
-
-<div class="container w30em" id="Fig130">
-
-<img src="images/illo327.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 130. The stave silo.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>From all the evidence attainable, the conclusion
-is reached that the round, tall, stave silo is
-best. It is simple in construction, inexpensive
-as compared with most other kinds, and reasonably
-durable. The fact that it dries out fully
-during the summer, thereby destroying all germs
-of decay, coupled with the other fact that at any
-time it can be made tight by means of the
-hoops which serve to hold the staves in place,<span class="pagenum" id="Page319">[319]</span>
-makes the round, stave silo par excellent. The
-staves should be two inches thick and from four
-to six inches wide, bevelled to suit the size of
-the structure. The hoops are usually of round
-galvanized iron one-half inch in diameter.
-They are placed about three feet apart, the
-spaces between the hoops being wider near the
-top than they are near the bottom. The hoops
-are made in sections of variable lengths; the<span class="pagenum" id="Page320">[320]</span>
-ends of each section are furnished with lugs,
-that the hoop may be shortened and the silo
-tightened with ease. The illustration (<a href="#Fig130">Fig. 130</a>)
-shows an emergency silo built of rough green
-hemlock plank unbevelled, hooped with “American
-woven wire fence.” It is 24 feet high, 12
-feet in diameter, cost $35, and has a nominal
-capacity of 50 tons. A flat board roof serves
-to keep out the snow and most of the rain. It
-is placed in the open to test its durability. It
-has been in use one year, and so far it is
-entirely satisfactory, though the staves would be
-better if they had been beveled.</p>
-
-<p>How long will this inexpensive silo last?
-That remains to be determined. Judging from
-other silos of similar construction which were
-erected several years ago, I judge it will last 15
-or 20 years with slight repairs. When left thus
-exposed, will the silage freeze during the winter?
-In extremely cold weather in central New York,
-when the thermometer drops to 10° or 15° below
-zero, the material at the top will freeze. If
-straw be spread over the silage to the depth of
-a few inches, it will prevent the escape of heat
-and freezing. A portion of the straw covering
-is thrown back out of the way, the silage wanted
-removed, and the covering returned. Such precaution
-is only necessary during a few of the
-coldest days.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page321">[321]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XX<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>PROTECTION FROM LIGHTNING</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>A flash of lightning is one of the most
-feared of nature’s manifestations of power;
-and yet by the use of proper precautions its
-ability to injure persons and property can be
-lessened greatly. Speculations as to the nature
-of lightning were vague until Benjamin Franklin
-boldly sent a kite into the teeth of a storm
-and tapped the accumulated electricity in the
-cloud to charge one of his storage jars. He
-connected the cloud with his jar by a wire
-made of a material which he knew would
-conduct the electrical charge, and at the same
-time he took the precaution not to hold the
-end of this wire himself. He introduced between
-the end of the wire and his hand a
-piece of silk cord, which is a non-conductor of
-electricity. Had he taken hold of the end of
-the wire, the charge would have passed through
-him with probably fatal results.</p>
-
-<p>What is lightning? One naturally inquires
-for the reason of this storage of electrical
-energy in the clouds. The explanation is not<span class="pagenum" id="Page322">[322]</span>
-forthcoming&mdash;at least there is none which is
-entirely satisfactory&mdash;but the facts are well
-known. The mass of water-vapor which forms
-the clouds becomes electrically charged just as a
-rubber comb does when rubbed on the hair on
-a dry day, or as an ebonite ruler does when
-rubbed on a cat-skin. Perhaps by contact with
-the air, which is in motion, the particles of
-water become charged, and by the union of
-multitudes of these the clouds are charged to a
-tremendous pressure. Lightning can be produced
-artificially on a small scale by means of
-electric machines, and the results of study of
-these artificial discharges have been to show the
-following facts: The air is not a conductor
-of electricity, but when the electrical pressure
-between two points becomes sufficiently
-great the electric charge jumps suddenly between
-the two points at which the pressure
-exists. It punctures a hole for itself through
-the air. Lightning is the result. This discharge
-is very violent, and it is accompanied
-by a strong smell of ozone, which is only very
-strong oxygen. If one were to examine the
-points of the electric machine between which
-the discharge took place, they might be found
-either hot or cold, depending upon their size
-and the material of which they were made.
-Some materials offer more resistance to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page323">[323]</span>
-passage of the electric charge than others, and
-when a considerable resistance is offered, heat
-is produced in appreciable amounts at the
-places at which the resistance is met. The
-application of this principle will be seen when
-the effects of real lightning are considered.</p>
-
-<p>In <a href="#Fig131">Figs. 131</a>, <a href="#Fig132">132</a>, and <a href="#Fig133">133</a> are shown lightning
-flashes taken by Mr. W. N. Jennings.<a id="FNanchor_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a>
-These flashes are so soon over that without
-the aid of the sensitive photographic plate it
-would be impossible to study them. It will
-be noticed that the path of the charge is not
-straight, but quite irregular; this path being
-that in which there is the least resistance to
-the passage of the electricity. One strange
-phenomenon which is brought out clearly in the
-pictures is that the discharge very frequently<span class="pagenum" id="Page324">[324]</span>
-divides into several branches. This is because
-it finds easy paths in several directions and
-divides into smaller discharges, thus finally
-disappearing.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a>
-These three pictures are drawn, by permission, from photographic illustrations
-by Mr. Jennings in Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 133 (1892).</p>
-
-</div><!--footnote-->
-
-<div class="container w30em" id="Fig131">
-
-<img src="images/illo331.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 131. Horizontal discharge of lightning.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<div class="container w20em" id="Fig132">
-
-<img src="images/illo332.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 132. Meandering discharge.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="container w20em" id="Fig133">
-
-<img src="images/illo333.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 133. Tree-form discharge.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p><i>Protection from lightning.</i>&mdash;Having
-noticed briefly
-something of the nature of
-lightning, the next point to
-be considered is its control,
-so that the dangerous effects
-of a sudden discharge may
-be avoided. It has long
-been known that by repeating
-Franklin’s experiment
-and connecting the clouds
-with the earth, dangerous
-flashes of lightning can be avoided to some
-extent; and this fact has given rise to much
-swindling on the part of the “lightning-rod
-man,” who has frequently imposed on the people
-through their fear of the results of lightning
-bolts. Any person of average intelligence, with
-the knowledge of a few simple principles, can
-put up a rod himself for the protection of his
-barn or dwelling at a very reasonable expense.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">METAL ROOFS</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>It has been noticed that metal roofs protect
-buildings even when no lightning rods are used,<span class="pagenum" id="Page325">[325]</span>
-especially if there are tin or iron water pipes
-running to the ground. Even steam and gas
-pipes are good if connected with the roof.
-Tin and copper roofs are not so common in
-the country as in the city, and this is one of
-the many reasons why city houses are less
-frequently struck by lightning than country
-ones. Copper roofs are not used now as they
-once were on account of the great expense;
-but from the electrical standpoint they are an
-excellent protection to a house in a thunder
-storm. The writer has
-noticed in a room in a
-city house, in which
-steam heat is used, that
-the lightning will come
-in and down on the
-steam pipes without
-doing any harm. If
-one will go into a telegraph
-station during a
-storm he will frequently
-notice the discharges of
-lightning which take
-place through devices
-provided for the purpose,
-and this without the least fire risk.
-This is an illustration of the fact that, if
-properly provided for, the dangerous element<span class="pagenum" id="Page326">[326]</span>
-can be largely eliminated from a lightning discharge.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">PROTECTING WOODEN ROOFS</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>If a metal roof is out of the question, the
-protection of the wooden roof must be provided
-for. Very little attention has been paid in
-this country to the proper erection and maintenance
-of lightning rods. It is not sufficient
-to put up a point in an out-of-the-way place,
-and with a careless ground connection, and then
-expect immunity from lightning. The lightning
-rod will protect a wooden-roofed building if it
-is properly installed; and in order that this
-simple but important piece of apparatus be
-thoroughly understood it will now be considered
-in detail.</p>
-
-<p>In the first place, it should be noted that
-there are two forms of electric discharge or
-lightning which are provided for in equipping a
-building with lightning protection: the brush
-discharge and the disruptive discharge. The
-brush-form is so named because the fine
-streamers of sparks which are emitted have
-somewhat the appearance of a brush. This discharge
-is harmless, and one of the important
-functions of the bunch of points on the upper
-end of the lightning rod is to quietly take from
-the surrounding atmosphere the electricity there<span class="pagenum" id="Page327">[327]</span>
-generated, and thus prevent its accumulation to
-a dangerous extent. Very high towers, such as
-steel windmills, high trees, and steeples do the
-community a good service in this respect. But
-sometimes the discharges cannot be dissipated
-through the brush form, but reach a high pressure,
-and exhibit themselves with great violence,
-producing the booming and crackling noise of
-thunder. This is the second form; and although
-the points may be useful in this case too, yet if
-they are too far apart the discharge may not
-seek them, but may take a shorter path through
-the moist hay from which the hot, damp air is
-rising to the roof and forming another lightning
-conductor. Protection from this can be partly
-provided by the use of several points, not over
-forty feet apart; but in cases in which lightning
-is very violent and frequent, the conductor
-should be run all around the edges of the roof,
-and in several places to the ground.</p>
-
-<p>An experiment made by a noted electrician
-some years ago will illustrate this point: A
-frame was made of iron wire in the shape of a
-barn, the wire representing the edges of the
-walls and roof. The frame was connected to
-the ground, or “grounded,” as the electricians say,
-and then artificial lightning was allowed to play
-upon it from a distance of a foot or more above.
-This gave a model about in proportion to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page328">[328]</span>
-real barn and actual lightning. All the discharge
-followed the wire frame, and did not
-ignite a dummy of gun-cotton which was placed
-inside. The instant that the metal barn frame
-was removed the dummy was struck and burned
-violently. One can draw his own conclusions
-from an experiment of this sort.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig134">
-
-<img src="images/illo337.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 134. Proper adjustment of lightning rods on a barn.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>A barn properly fitted with lightning rods is
-shown in <a href="#Fig134">Fig. 134</a>. The location of the points
-is such that there is not more than forty feet
-between two adjacent ones. The rod projects
-about six feet above the roof, and these projections
-are all connected by means of rod of the
-same form as the vertical conductors. Sharp
-turns are avoided in erecting the conductor, for
-an electric discharge would prefer to go straight
-through the air rather than turn a corner.</p>
-
-<p>It will now be necessary to go into some
-practical details of the construction of lightning
-rods, and the suggestions that will be made
-have been included here because good points or
-rods may not always be readily obtainable.
-Their manufacture is easy and can be performed
-with the limited facilities of a small village. If
-the raw materials have to be bought at a distance,
-this can be easily done by correspondence.</p>
-
-<p>Parts of the system: The equipment will consist
-of three parts&mdash;the conductor and its support,
-the points, and the ground connection.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page329">[329]</span></p>
-
-<div class="container w10em left" id="Fig135">
-
-<img src="images/illo339.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 135. Supporting a rod.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The conductor, or so-called “rod,” first demands
-attention. All metals conduct electricity
-to some extent, but certain ones are very much
-better than others. For example, lead, platinum,
-brass, and iron are poor conductors, which
-is equivalent to saying that they heat up readily
-on the passage of an electric current. On the
-other hand, silver, copper, and aluminum are
-good conductors. In making a lightning rod,
-the best all-round conductor should be used,
-when cost and conductivity are the basis for the
-selection. As an example, take the metals iron,
-copper, and aluminum for comparison. Iron is
-cheapest in price per pound, but its electrical
-conductivity is small, while copper, though more<span class="pagenum" id="Page330">[330]</span>
-expensive, has so much more conductivity that
-to get rid of a certain charge of electricity
-requires much less of it. So with aluminum,
-which has slightly less conductivity and which
-costs more than copper, but which is so light
-that a rod having the same conducting ability
-when made of this metal actually costs less than
-one made of copper, and the price of aluminum
-is constantly lessening, while that of copper cannot
-fall much on account of the limited supply.
-To compare actual figures, call the conductivity
-of copper 100, then that of steel or iron will be
-about 18, and that of aluminum about 60. As
-to relative weights, copper weighs about 550
-pounds per cubic foot, iron or steel 480, and
-aluminum 160. As the prices of these materials
-are constantly varying, it would be impossible
-to say at this time what the relative
-costs would be at any other time; but it can be
-said that on the score of cost there is little
-choice among them. For a number of reasons
-aside from cost, copper is at present the best
-material, and these reasons are: That it is
-smaller than the others for a given conducting
-ability, and thus is more sightly; that it is
-easier to support on account of this small size,
-and that it can be readily soldered to the
-ground plate, which will be considered later.</p>
-
-<p>In addition to the material of the lightning<span class="pagenum" id="Page331">[331]</span>
-rod, its form is a matter of considerable importance.
-The cable forms have been used
-extensively and successfully, but the ribbon or
-flat form is better on account of the smaller cost,
-and because there is a greater area exposed for
-the dissipation of the heat generated by the
-lightning in passing from the points to the
-ground. A rectangular section of three-quarters
-by one-eighth of an inch is recommended.</p>
-
-<p>In supporting the conductor from the wall or
-roof, it should be separated or “insulated”
-from these surfaces. There
-is a slight chance that the lightning
-might leave the conductor if the building
-were wet. A more important
-reason for the use of the insulator
-is that the heat which is generated
-on the surface of the rod when a
-heavy discharge occurs will not be
-able, if supported away from the
-wall, to heat up any inflammable material
-near it. <a href="#Fig135">Fig. 135</a> shows a
-method of support in which one of
-the standard insulators used in running
-electric light and other wires is
-employed. These insulators, which
-are made of porcelain and iron, can be
-screwed into the wood or into a plug driven
-into the joints between the stones very readily.<span class="pagenum" id="Page332">[332]</span>
-The insulator shown is manufactured by the
-General Electric Company, of Schenectady, New
-York, and similar ones are made by other manufacturers
-of electrical materials.</p>
-
-<div class="container w10em right" id="Fig136">
-
-<img src="images/illo341.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 136. Efficient points
-for a lightning rod.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>In order to attract the discharge, the rods
-must project some distance above the roof,
-about 6 feet being the proper height. This
-projection must be supported, and there are two
-ways to do this. The first is to screw or nail
-a piece of timber to the side of the building,
-projecting about 5 feet above the roof. Two
-insulators on this will provide the necessary
-support for the rod. As this might be considered
-unsightly in some places, a neater but
-more expensive method is to use a piece of
-³⁄₄-inch copper, brass or iron rod for the upper
-9 or 10 feet of the rod. This can be easily joined
-and soldered to the copper ribbon and is strong
-enough to support itself in any wind. A brace
-from the vertical to the horizontal rod will provide
-additional support if desired, and will give
-a more substantial appearance. At the point at
-which the horizontal rod passes through a timber
-support, in case such plan is used, a hole
-1¹⁄₂ inches should be bored in the timber to avoid
-any risk of its being burned. In joining the
-horizontal to the vertical rod, the former should
-be bent up at right angles for an inch, and the
-surfaces should then be well cleaned and soldered.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page333">[333]</span></p>
-
-<p>The points for attracting the discharge
-should be made very carefully, and with a view
-to accommodating the brush discharge particularly.
-As a rule, the more
-points in the bunch at the head
-of the rod the better will the
-brush discharge be attracted;
-and for the same reason these
-points should be sharp and
-bright. These facts have been
-determined by experiment, from
-which it has been learned that
-the discharge is quieter and at
-a lower pressure from sharp,
-bright terminals than from others.
-Aluminum wire fulfils the requirements
-for the points better
-than any other metal of reasonable
-cost. Unfortunately this
-metal is difficult to solder, but
-if the directions here given are
-carefully followed there will be
-no difficulty in producing a good
-bunch.</p>
-
-<p>The sketch (<a href="#Fig136">Fig. 136</a>) shows the general construction.
-In the end of a block of copper of
-the dimensions shown, drill a hole ⁵⁄₈ of an inch
-in diameter and 1 inch deep. Cut off a number
-of pieces of aluminum wire, of about ¹⁄₁₆ of an<span class="pagenum" id="Page334">[334]</span>
-inch in diameter, about 4 inches long. This
-wire can be obtained from the Pittsburg Reduction
-Company, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
-These wires must then be filed to sharp points
-on one end, the opposite ends being roughened
-with coarse sandpaper. Push as many of the
-wires into the hole in the block as it will hold
-and bend the points back so as to form a
-brush. Now heat some solder in a ladle and
-pour in around the lower ends of the aluminum
-wires, having first taken the precaution to heat
-the copper block so that the solder will flow
-well. The conductor rod is then soldered into
-a slot filed in the lower end of the block, and
-the bunch of points is complete.</p>
-
-<p>The ground connection is the most important
-part of the whole equipment. With poor ground
-connections, the rods become a menace to a
-building rather than a protection. Examples
-could be cited where buildings were actually
-struck and destroyed, even though “apparently
-properly rodded.” In one case the wire entered
-but two inches into dry soil, while in
-another the lower end was buried in concrete.
-It is absolutely essential that the lower end
-of the rod be connected with moist earth in
-some way, as this is the only method which
-will insure safety. If there are water pipes
-in the building, they should be attached to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page335">[335]</span>
-rod in the basement in addition to the main
-ground connection.</p>
-
-<p>As the charge is to be dissipated in the earth,
-it will be necessary to expose a considerable
-area of metal under ground. If a spring is
-near, the rod should be run to the vicinity
-of the spring and there soldered to the ground
-plate, which should be below the level of the
-surface of the spring. Moist soil is the only
-kind which will conduct electricity, hence the
-insistence on a moist place for the terminal of
-the rod. In case the plate must be planted
-some distance from water, either it must go
-quite deep or it may be placed in a barrel of
-charcoal or coke buried under the surface.
-These materials will hold whatever water they
-receive, and it is a simple matter to wet the
-soil above such a terminal from time to time.
-The plate itself should be of copper and of an
-area of at least 25 square feet, including both
-sides. An old copper boiler, flattened out, makes
-a cheap and effective ground plate.</p>
-
-<p>There is no doubt that many buildings have
-been saved from destruction by means of properly
-installed lightning rods, and it is plain
-that they are not difficult nor expensive to
-install.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page336">[336]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XXI<br />
-<span class="chapname"><i>THE FIELDS</i></span></h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>While it is the primary object of this book
-to discuss the lay-out of buildings and their
-accessories, it would be incomplete if something
-were not said of the general plan of the
-fields themselves.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">FENCES</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>Some ten years since, someone estimated that
-for every dollar’s worth of live stock kept in
-New York another dollar was expended in fences
-to restrain it. It is probable that this estimate
-is below rather than above the facts. Be
-this as it may, the first cost of fences and their
-maintenance is a serious draft on the resources
-of the farmer.</p>
-
-<div class="container w20em left" id="Fig137">
-
-<img src="images/illo346.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 137. The old-time fence system
-on the right; the present condition
-on the left.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>In the pioneer days, when even the best of
-fencing material was so abundant that it was
-burned to clear the land, there was great temptation
-to split the tender logs into great rails
-and construct fences with them. Each winter
-a few acres of land were cleared and each year’s
-clearing was surrounded by a great ten-rail fence,<span class="pagenum" id="Page337">[337]</span>
-which served to discourage some of the larger
-wild animals from destroying the crops. It is
-easily seen why our ancestors in the wooded districts
-fenced the farm into small fields. In some
-cases the surface stones were so numerous on
-the land that the larger ones had to be removed
-to make way for the plow. Naturally
-they were used for constructing fences, for the
-most economical way to get rid of these too
-numerous stones was to make fences of them.
-The haul was short and the fences could be
-increased in width and height until storage
-room was provided for all the rocks which the
-farmer cared to remove. So here, too, the
-temptation was great to fence the farm into
-small fields. The following diagrams show the
-fields and the fences as they were on the old
-homestead, and also as they are at the present
-time (<a href="#Fig137">Fig. 137</a>).</p>
-
-<p>Changed agricultural conditions imply fewer
-fences and the adoption, in part at least, of the
-soiling system. Then, too, the introduction of
-the horn-fly makes a radical change imperative
-in the summering of the dairy. This worst of
-all dairy pests robs the cow of flesh and the
-owner of profit.</p>
-
-<p>Now that the silo is an assured success,
-except under rare conditions, soiling, or the
-partial soiling system, should be adopted on<span class="pagenum" id="Page338">[338]</span>
-many farms, especially in the dairy districts.
-The object should be to provide a continuous
-and full supply of food, and comfortable conditions
-for the animals
-at all times. In May
-and June the pastures
-are succulent and the
-grasses usually abundant,
-and the annoying
-flies are not present.
-When the animals are
-first turned out on the
-pastures the nights may
-be too cold and damp
-for comfort, in which
-case they may be stabled
-and fed a small
-supplemental ration; in
-fact, cows in milk should
-always receive some
-dry, concentrated food
-for the first few weeks
-after they are turned
-out to grass. Often
-the early grass is over-succulent and deficient in
-food constituents to such an extent that the
-cows cannot eat enough to sustain life and produce
-the most profitable quantities of milk.
-When the pastures begin to fail, the flies appear<span class="pagenum" id="Page339">[339]</span>
-and the days are hot, manifestly the animals
-will be most comfortable in the stables in the
-day time and in the pastures at night. This
-system will permit of reducing the pastures
-nearly one-half, and the removal of all fences
-except those which surround the permanent
-pasture land. If it is desired occasionally to
-pasture a part of the unenclosed land, a
-light woven wire fence, which can be easily
-erected and removed, may be constructed. All
-changes in the present system of summering
-animals should be towards smaller areas of
-pasture-land, fewer fences, more comfortable
-conditions for animals, economy of effort, and
-control of food-supplies for the animals at all
-seasons of the year.</p>
-
-<p>In most of the states the laws require each
-farmer to restrain his own animals without the
-aid of the neighbors; hence the road-fence, often
-the most unsightly and ill kept of all the fences,
-may be discarded. How many of the inside
-fences would best be removed depends upon
-circumstances; but certain it is that a more
-rational system of restraining and feeding cattle
-will be adopted than the one now almost universally
-in use. We cannot destroy the hornfly;
-we can remove the useless fences and house the
-animals in stables from which the pestiferous
-flesh- and milk-reducing flies are excluded.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page340">[340]</span></p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">ORCHARDS</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>In some fruit districts the farmers are cutting
-down their orchards, saying that they cannot
-afford to bother with them, and that fruit-raising
-must be carried on in a large way by
-specialists to be profitable. This is tantamount
-to saying that they are not intelligent and
-enterprising enough to manage six or eight
-acres of orchard successfully, while their neighbor
-is competent to care for ten times that
-acreage. The man who owns the smaller orchard
-should, other things being equal, secure a
-relatively larger profit than the owner of the
-large orchard, since he will be able to give
-it more personal attention. The man who overcomes
-the difficulties of fruit-raising is constantly
-adding to his education and power,
-while the man who is appalled with the difficulties
-of orcharding, and falls back on rye,
-buckwheat and oats as money-crops, sinks in
-intelligence and loses courage. The orchard,
-when intelligently cared for, seldom fails to give
-much larger profits than a like area devoted
-to the cereals. As a rule, the most difficult
-crop to raise or the most difficult business is
-the one which brings the most liberal reward
-after the difficulties have been surmounted.</p>
-
-<p>When convenient, the orchard might well be<span class="pagenum" id="Page341">[341]</span>
-set to the north or west of the buildings, in
-most sections of the United States, but not so
-close to them as to prevent a good air passage
-between it and the dwelling. Low-headed fruit
-trees should not be set in the house yard or
-near to it. The trees in most orchards are set
-too close together, and even when set appropriate
-distances apart it will be found to be
-unprofitable, in the long run, to grow two crops
-on the same land at the same time, as wheat or
-oats and apples. Specific directions for the care
-and management of orchards can now be found
-in well written books and bulletins; therefore
-there is no occasion for treating orchards in
-detail here. Suffice it to say that the farmer
-without an abundance of fruits in their season
-is like the lad with empty pockets outside the
-circus tent: lots of fruit and fun, ready to be
-enjoyed by those who have made thoughtful provision
-for the gratification of desires which always
-come, sooner or later. Every farmer should
-grow most of the fruits suited to his soil and
-climate,&mdash;enough to eat and to sell and to give
-to the worthy poor.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">FARM GARDEN</h3>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p>The farm garden should be ample and contain
-not only enough vegetable and small fruits
-for the use of the family, but a surplus to sell<span class="pagenum" id="Page342">[342]</span>
-or to give away. The farmer used to large
-areas is reluctant to undertake anything so
-small as he imagines the garden to be; hence,
-too often he plows it and leaves the planting
-and cultivation of it to the “women folks.” If
-he knew how to manage a garden he would find
-that the half-acre of land devoted to small
-fruits and vegetables could be made the most
-profitable and pleasurable part of the farm.
-Higher remuneration is received for the time
-spent in harvesting the products of a large,
-well kept garden, than in harvesting the cereals
-or milking the cows. It must be said, however,
-that there are good reasons for the
-farmer’s distaste for gardening, for the gardens,
-as usually laid out, necessitate the maximum
-of hand-culture and the minimum of horse-culture.
-The result of such gardens is a minimum
-of products secured by maximum of effort, and
-a resultant surplus of weeds.</p>
-
-<div class="container" id="Fig138">
-
-<img src="images/illo351.png" alt="" />
-
-<p class="caption">Fig. 138. Plan of a home garden.</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>The garden should be about four times as
-long as it is broad, unfenced when possible,
-near to the house, and should be, in miniature,
-a farm with the cereals, grasses, and
-large fruits left out (<a href="#Fig138">Fig. 138</a>). The side
-farthest from the dwelling should be devoted to
-the perennial plants, such as grapes, currants
-and other bush-fruits. Everything should be
-planted in straight rows, with spaces sufficiently<span class="pagenum" id="Page343">[343]</span>
-wide between the rows to admit of horse-hoe
-culture. The grapes and blackberries might
-occupy one row, the raspberries and currants
-a second row, rhubarb, asparagus and like
-plants a third row. The spaces between these
-various fruits should be eight feet, as it is poor
-economy to so crowd vines and bushes as to
-force them to struggle the year through for
-plant-food and moisture. A rod or two of land,
-more or less, virtually amounts to nothing on
-the farm; crowding the plants is only admissible
-in the city or village. Here the plants
-may receive unusual care, and often may be
-irrigated at fruiting time from the city hydrant.
-The rows of ordinary vegetables may be thirty
-inches apart, except in case of such plants as
-onions, lettuce, and early beets. These small,
-slow-growing esculents should be planted in
-double rows. Starting from the last row of
-potatoes a thirty inch space is measured off,
-a row of lettuce planted, and then one foot from<span class="pagenum" id="Page344">[344]</span>
-this a row of beets or onions; then leave a
-space thirty inches wide and again plant double
-rows, if more of the small esculents are wanted.
-The larger spaces may be cultivated by horse-hoe
-and the smaller spaces by hand-hoe. The
-entire garden which is to be planted in the
-spring should be kept fertile and plowed early
-in the spring, leaving that part of it which is
-not designed for immediate planting unharrowed.
-It may be necessary to replow. It certainly
-will be necessary to cultivate several times
-that part of the garden which is used for
-late-growing crops, such as cabbage and
-celery. As a rule, the farmer cannot afford
-to attempt to raise two crops on the same land
-the same year, since labor is everything and
-the use of land nothing; therefore, better prepare
-the ground by two or three plowings for
-the late crops, than to attempt to raise them
-on land which has parted with much of its
-readily available plant-food in producing the
-early crop. Then, too, land which has produced
-one crop is likely to be deficient in moisture,
-while land that has been plowed two or three
-times during the summer and kept well harrowed
-will be moist and contain an abundance
-of readily available plant-food. Early in the
-spring, when the land is cold and often too
-moist, it is best to leave the soil rough for a<span class="pagenum" id="Page345">[345]</span>
-time if it is not to be planted immediately,
-that it may become somewhat dry and warm.
-As a rule, the garden should not be fenced,
-but the chickens should be restrained by fences
-a part of the time; at other times they
-may have free access to the garden, where they
-are often very beneficial in reducing the insect
-enemies.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page346">[346-<br />347]</span><a id="Page347"></a></p>
-
-<h2>INDEX</h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-
-<ul class="index">
-
-<li>Abandoned lands, significance of, <a href="#Page31">31</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Agricultural statistics, <a href="#Page8">8</a>;
-what they do not show, <a href="#Page10">10</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Agriculturists, what they have done, <a href="#Page8">8</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Air space required in cow stables, <a href="#Page281">281</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Anglo-Saxon, cause of superiority, <a href="#Page50">50</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Animal, necessity of exercise for, <a href="#Page278">278</a>;
-voidings, how cared for in stables, <a href="#Page277">277</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Asphalt for stable floors, <a href="#Page292">292</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Bailey, Professor L. H., quoted, <a href="#Page7">7</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Bailey, chap. xiv, <a href="#Page237">237</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Balloon frames, <a href="#Page129">129</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Barns, <a href="#Page288">288</a>;
-basement, location of, <a href="#Page268">268</a>;
-building the basement, <a href="#Page266">266</a>;
-connected by covered way to house, <a href="#Page257">257</a>;
-discussion of, <a href="#Page249">249</a>;
-distance to locate from house, <a href="#Page257">257</a>;
-economy in construction, <a href="#Page253">253</a>;
-excavations for, <a href="#Page268">268</a>;
-high large ones preferable, <a href="#Page253">253</a>;
-location of, <a href="#Page255">255</a>;
-octagonal, discussion of, <a href="#Page254">254</a>;
-planning, <a href="#Page259">259</a>;
-size required, <a href="#Page249">249</a>;
-water supply for, <a href="#Page261">261</a>;
-why large ones are required, <a href="#Page250">250</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Barnyards, open ones objectionable, <a href="#Page258">258</a>;
-paddocks are preferable to, <a href="#Page259">259</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Basement barns, bridging for, <a href="#Page269">269</a>;
-location of, <a href="#Page268">268</a>;
-on level ground, <a href="#Page269">269</a>;
-floors, how to construct, <a href="#Page277">277</a>;
-walls, how to prevent dampness on, <a href="#Page275">275</a>;
-wood preferable to stone, <a href="#Page275">275</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Beauty and utility should be combined, <a href="#Page107">107</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Bonanza farming, cause of decline, <a href="#Page36">36-38</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Brick used in stable floors, <a href="#Page278">278</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Building the barn, chap. xvii, <a href="#Page288">288</a>;
-framing, <a href="#Page289">289</a>;
-horse stables, <a href="#Page294">294</a>;
-lightning rods on barns, <a href="#Page296">296</a>;
-painting the barn, <a href="#Page296">296</a>;
-plank frames, <a href="#Page290">290</a>;
-protecting the root-cellar, <a href="#Page289">289</a>;
-repairing old barn floors, <a href="#Page293">293</a>;
-roof of barns, <a href="#Page296">296</a>;
-stable floors, <a href="#Page292">292</a>;
-windows, <a href="#Page295">295</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Cattle, stanchions for, <a href="#Page284">284</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Cement, Portland, cost and mixing of, <a href="#Page274">274</a>;
-proportion of, to sand in mortar, <a href="#Page273">273</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Changes in houses, considerations, <a href="#Page85">85</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Children, city and country compared, <a href="#Page3">3</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Cisterns as a source of water supply, <a href="#Page263">263</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Cleanliness, and sanitation, water supply and sewage, chap. xii, <a href="#Page204">204</a>;
-bacteria, harmful and beneficial, <a href="#Page204">204-206</a>;
-bath room, <a href="#Page210">210</a>;
-bath tubs, <a href="#Page213">213</a>;
-cess pools, <a href="#Page220">220</a>;
-closets, <a href="#Page210">210</a>;
-disinfectants, <a href="#Page207">207</a>;
-dry-earth closets, <a href="#Page222">222</a>;
-kitchen sink, <a href="#Page212">212</a>;
-laundry, <a href="#Page214">214</a>;
-outhouses, <a href="#Page216">216</a>;
-personal cleanliness, <a href="#Page209">209</a>;
-pipes, <a href="#Page212">212</a>;
-sewage, <a href="#Page219">219</a>;
-water closets, <a href="#Page214">214</a>;
-water supply, <a href="#Page217">217</a>.</li>
-
-<li>College buildings and what they illustrate, <a href="#Page104">104</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Colleges. Land Grant, aim of, <a href="#Page14">14</a>;
-endowment, <a href="#Page14">14</a>;
-data of incomes, <a href="#Page15">15</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Competence, how obtained, <a href="#Page20">20</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Concentration of barns, <a href="#Page84">84</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Counsel at the right time, <a href="#Page69">69</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Country churches, <a href="#Page119">119</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Country life, what it stands for, <a href="#Page74">74</a>;
-what things have no place in it, <a href="#Page74">74</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Country school houses, <a href="#Page119">119-122</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Cows, air space required for, <a href="#Page280">280</a>, <a href="#Page281">281</a>;
-mangers for, section of, <a href="#Page286">286</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Crops, good and poor<span class="pagenum" id="Page348">[348]</span>, <a href="#Page27">27</a>;
-specialized, baleful results of, <a href="#Page33">33</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Dams for artificial pools, how to construct, <a href="#Page262">262</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Decorations inside, <a href="#Page193">193</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Deeds and abstracts, <a href="#Page67">67</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Demolins, M., quoted, <a href="#Page50">50</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Economy, <a href="#Page224">224</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Educating the eye and judgment, <a href="#Page107">107</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Education, by contact with nature, <a href="#Page4">4</a>;
-higher, concentration necessary, <a href="#Page52">52</a>;
-higher, in the past, <a href="#Page13">13</a>;
-industrial, <a href="#Page14">14</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Evolution of high wages, <a href="#Page25">25</a>.</li>
-
-<li>External construction, principles of, <a href="#Page108">108</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Farm buildings, concentrated and distributive, <a href="#Page251">251</a>;
-concentrated system preferable, <a href="#Page252">252</a>;
-examples of mistakes, <a href="#Page89">89</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Farm laborers, wages received by, <a href="#Page253">253</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Farmers’ contribution to economic status of the United States, <a href="#Page9">9</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Farms, selection of&mdash;climatic conditions, <a href="#Page55">55</a>;
-cheap lands, <a href="#Page56">56</a>;
-water supply, <a href="#Page57">57</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Farms overloaded with buildings, <a href="#Page88">88</a>.</li>
-
-<li>“Farming doesn’t pay,” <a href="#Page6">6</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Fences, <a href="#Page336">336</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Fields, the, chap. xxi, <a href="#Page336">336</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Filigree work, not for farm houses, <a href="#Page96">96</a>.</li>
-
-<li>First impressions, <a href="#Page116">116</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Floors, basement, how to construct, <a href="#Page277">277</a>;
-cows to stand upon, <a href="#Page280">280</a>;
-stable, wooden ones preferable, <a href="#Page278">278</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Foundations for buildings, how squared, <a href="#Page266">266</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Foundation walls, properly and improperly bonded, <a href="#Page272">272</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Frost pockets, <a href="#Page76">76</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Furnishing, <a href="#Page193">193</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Garden, farm, <a href="#Page341">341</a>;
-planting the, <a href="#Page342">342</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Gingerbread cornices, <a href="#Page130">130</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Ground floor unhealthy, <a href="#Page77">77</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Gypsum, use of in stables, <a href="#Page277">277</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Heating, <a href="#Page190">190</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Home education suggestions, <a href="#Page48">48</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Home, old (should be preserved), <a href="#Page112">112</a>;
-suggestions for improvement of, <a href="#Page113">113</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Home training, <a href="#Page46">46</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Homestead, improving the old, <a href="#Page114">114</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Horn-fly, reference to, <a href="#Page337">337</a>.</li>
-
-<li>House, building the, chap. viii, <a href="#Page132">132</a>;
-brick and stone houses, <a href="#Page169">169</a>;
-chimneys&mdash;flue linings, <a href="#Page140">140</a>,
-openings for, <a href="#Page141">141</a>;
-excluding vermin from the, <a href="#Page135">135</a>;
-foundations, building the, <a href="#Page138">138</a>;
-mortar for foundations, <a href="#Page139">139</a>;
-protecting from frost, <a href="#Page136">136</a>;
-the cellar, <a href="#Page133">133</a>, <a href="#Page134">134</a>;
-Wooden houses&mdash;the frame, <a href="#Page142">142</a>;
-bridging the joists, <a href="#Page143">143</a>;
-cutting braces and rafters, <a href="#Page150">150</a>;
-diagonal boarding, <a href="#Page144">144</a>;
-girders for second-story joists, <a href="#Page145">145</a>;
-made-up timbers, <a href="#Page146">146</a>;
-old houses, <a href="#Page170">170</a>;
-roofs&mdash;kinds of, <a href="#Page147">147</a>,
-pitch of, <a href="#Page149">149</a>;
-studding, size of, <a href="#Page143">143</a>;
-the story-and-a-half, <a href="#Page155">155</a>.</li>
-
-<li>House furnishing and decoration, chap. xi, <a href="#Page193">193</a>;
-carpets vs. rugs, <a href="#Page196">196</a>;
-decorations, <a href="#Page200">200</a>;
-draperies, <a href="#Page198">198</a>;
-general principles, <a href="#Page193">193-196</a>.</li>
-
-<li>House, location of, <a href="#Page74">74</a>;
-extremes, <a href="#Page75">75</a>;
-on elevated lands, <a href="#Page76">76</a>, <a href="#Page80">80</a>, <a href="#Page82">82</a>.</li>
-
-<li>House of pioneer, where located, <a href="#Page75">75</a>.</li>
-
-<li>House, old farm, an example of a good, <a href="#Page90">90-91</a>.</li>
-
-<li>House sites&mdash;old and new, <a href="#Page84">84</a>.</li>
-
-<li>House sites to be avoided, <a href="#Page82">82</a>;
-near middle of estate, <a href="#Page83">83</a>;
-and highway, <a href="#Page83">83</a>.</li>
-
-<li>House with many gables, <a href="#Page96">96</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Houses, exposed and overshaded, <a href="#Page117">117</a>, <a href="#Page118">118</a>;
-planning, <a href="#Page94">94</a>;
-studying other models, <a href="#Page95">95</a>;
-useless cost of, <a href="#Page95">95</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Houses, farm, not a direct source of income, <a href="#Page87">87</a>;
-mistakes in building, <a href="#Page87">87</a>;
-what they are for, <a href="#Page87">87</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Houses, old farm, <a href="#Page85">85</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Houses, veneered, <a href="#Page168">168</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Household administration, economy and comfort, chap. xiii<span class="pagenum" id="Page349">[349]</span>,
-<a href="#Page224">224</a>;
-a definite income, <a href="#Page225">225</a>;
-bargain-hunting, <a href="#Page229">229</a>;
-cash vs. credit, <a href="#Page286">286</a>;
-economy of health, <a href="#Page232">232</a>;
-keeping accounts, <a href="#Page230">230</a>;
-reading matter, <a href="#Page235">235</a>;
-systematic buying, <a href="#Page227">227</a>;
-the farmer’s diet, <a href="#Page234">234</a>;
-the wife’s share, <a href="#Page225">225</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Improvements on the farm, <a href="#Page59">59</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Inappropriate styles of architecture, <a href="#Page124">124</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Inside finish, heating and ventilation, chap. x, <a href="#Page181">181</a>;
-baseboards, <a href="#Page183">183</a>;
-facings, <a href="#Page186">186</a>;
-finish, hard oil, <a href="#Page186">186</a>;
-floors, <a href="#Page182">182</a>;
-patent mortars, <a href="#Page188">188</a>;
-plastered walls, <a href="#Page186">186-188</a>;
-picture moulding, <a href="#Page184">184</a>;
-stairs, <a href="#Page185">185</a>;
-wainscoting, <a href="#Page185">185</a>;
-Heating&mdash;steam recommended, <a href="#Page191">191</a>;
-systems of, compared, <a href="#Page190">190</a>;
-Ventilation, <a href="#Page191">191</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Land for market-gardening, <a href="#Page61">61</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Lands, cheap, <a href="#Page56">56</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Lawns, <a href="#Page243">243</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Lawyer and the farmer, <a href="#Page73">73</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Lawyer, province of the true, <a href="#Page72">72</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Lawyers, <a href="#Page65">65</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Level country, disadvantages of location in, overcome, <a href="#Page78">78</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Leisure and study, <a href="#Page13">13</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Light and air, <a href="#Page106">106</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Lightning, artificial, <a href="#Page322">322</a>;
-brush discharge, <a href="#Page326">326</a>;
-discharges, <a href="#Page323">323</a>;
-disruptive discharge, <a href="#Page326">326</a>;
-protection from, <a href="#Page324">324</a>;
-protection from by metal roofs, <a href="#Page324">324</a>;
-protection from by steam and gas pipes, <a href="#Page325">325</a>;
-protecting wooden roofs from, <a href="#Page326">326</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Lightning protection, chap. xx, <a href="#Page321">321</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Lightning rods, <a href="#Page328">328-336</a>;
-insulation of, <a href="#Page331">331</a>;
-joints for, <a href="#Page333">333</a>;
-the conductor, <a href="#Page329">329</a>;
-the ground connection, <a href="#Page334">334</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Lime, proportion of, to sand in mortar, <a href="#Page273">273</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Lime, stone, retail price of per bbl., <a href="#Page274">274</a>;
-water, retail price of per bbl., <a href="#Page274">274</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Lumbering, effect of, <a href="#Page38">38</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Manger for cows, cross-section of, <a href="#Page286">286</a>;
-how constructed, <a href="#Page285">285</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Market-gardening, land for, <a href="#Page61">61</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Mistakes in locating, <a href="#Page100">100</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Mortar, amount of water to use in mixing, <a href="#Page275">275</a>;
-how to mix, <a href="#Page273">273</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Nature study, <a href="#Page111">111</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Newton cattle tie illustrated and described, <a href="#Page286">286</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Norris, H. H., chap. xx, <a href="#Page321">321</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Occupation, selection of, <a href="#Page21">21</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Old barns, remodeling, <a href="#Page298">298</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Orchards, <a href="#Page340">340</a>; care of, <a href="#Page341">341</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Outbuildings and accessories, chap. xix, <a href="#Page306">306</a>;
-piggeries, <a href="#Page311">311</a>;
-portable coops, <a href="#Page309">309</a>;
-poultry houses, <a href="#Page306">306</a>;
-the silo, <a href="#Page316">316</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Outside covering, painting, chap. ix, <a href="#Page158">158</a>;
-cornices, <a href="#Page164">164</a>;
-painting the house, <a href="#Page173">173</a>;
-adulterated paints, <a href="#Page179">179</a>;
-analyses of paints, <a href="#Page180">180</a>;
-oils for painting, <a href="#Page177">177</a>;
-roofs&mdash;construction of, <a href="#Page165">165</a>;
-shingles, <a href="#Page165">165</a>;
-shingling, <a href="#Page167">167</a>;
-siding&mdash;novelty and lap, <a href="#Page160">160</a>;
-the projections, <a href="#Page158">158</a>, <a href="#Page164">164</a>;
-the water-table, <a href="#Page158">158</a>;
-valleys, <a href="#Page173">173</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Parents as teachers, <a href="#Page45">45</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Piggeries, <a href="#Page311">311</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Plain cornices, <a href="#Page126">126</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Plan, ground, not adapted to country, <a href="#Page98">98</a>;
-adapted to country, <a href="#Page99">99</a>, <a href="#Page101">101</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Plant-food, natural cheaper than artificial, <a href="#Page62">62</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Pools in level country, <a href="#Page78">78</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Pools in the South, how constructed, <a href="#Page262">262</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Poultry Houses, <a href="#Page306">306</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Quality in farm products, <a href="#Page32">32</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Red River valley soil, nitrogen in, <a href="#Page37">37</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Remodeling old barns, chap. xviii, <a href="#Page298">298</a>;
-combining several old frames, <a href="#Page299">299</a>;
-form of roof, <a href="#Page302">302</a>;
-trussing to eliminate posts, <a href="#Page301">301</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Remuneration in agriculture<span class="pagenum" id="Page350">[350]</span>, <a href="#Page7">7</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Renter and renting discussed, <a href="#Page40">40</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Road to farm, <a href="#Page63">63</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Road fences, may be discarded, <a href="#Page339">339</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Root cellar, location of in barn, <a href="#Page270">270</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Rosendale cement, proportion to mix, <a href="#Page274">274</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Rural life;
-advantages and disadvantages, <a href="#Page2">2</a>;
-greatest advantage of, <a href="#Page5">5</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Rural population, wants and aspirations, <a href="#Page19">19</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Sanitation, <a href="#Page204">204</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Scenery, natural, its value, <a href="#Page58">58</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Schoenfeld, Mr. G., an intensive agriculturist, <a href="#Page22">22</a>;
-his crops and their value, <a href="#Page23">23</a>.</li>
-
-<li>School, district, sketch of a day in, <a href="#Page47">47</a>.</li>
-
-<li>School children, effects of massing, <a href="#Page44">44</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Schools, rural, <a href="#Page43">43</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Sewage, <a href="#Page204">204</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Shadows cast by walls, <a href="#Page106">106</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Ship construction of houses, <a href="#Page128">128</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Silos, <a href="#Page316">316</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Silo, reference to use of, <a href="#Page337">337</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Smith, Mrs. M. R., chap. xi, <a href="#Page193">193</a>; chap. xii, <a href="#Page204">204</a>; chap. xiii,
-<a href="#Page224">224</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Soil and subsoil for house location, <a href="#Page80">80</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Soiling system, referred to, <a href="#Page337">337</a>, <a href="#Page338">338</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Stable floors, <a href="#Page292">292</a>;
-wooden ones preferable, <a href="#Page278">278</a>;
-drip in, how constructed, <a href="#Page280">280</a>;
-how to secure sanitary conditions in, <a href="#Page277">277</a>;
-stanchions for cattle, <a href="#Page284">284</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Stalls for cows, how constructed, <a href="#Page285">285</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Stock on the farms in U. S. in 1870 and 1890, <a href="#Page250">250</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Tillage, cost of, considered in land value, <a href="#Page62">62</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Types of dwelling houses, <a href="#Page109">109</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">VanVleet, D.F., chap. v, <a href="#Page65">65</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Ventilation, <a href="#Page191">191</a>;
-principles of, <a href="#Page283">283</a>;
-secured by swing windows, <a href="#Page282">282</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Ventilators for stables, how constructed, <a href="#Page282">282</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Veranda&mdash;a poor example, <a href="#Page96">96</a>;
-outlook from, <a href="#Page81">81</a>;
-shading, <a href="#Page103">103</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Vistas and views brought into the landscape, <a href="#Page81">81</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Warner, Prof. Amos G., quoted, <a href="#Page3">3</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Walls, stone, how to bond, <a href="#Page272">272</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Water for animals, temperature best in winter, <a href="#Page264">264</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Water supply and sewage, <a href="#Page204">204</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Water supply, artificial pools for, <a href="#Page262">262</a>;
-for animals, should be in barn, <a href="#Page264">264</a>;
-for buildings, <a href="#Page261">261</a>;
-springs and streams, <a href="#Page264">264</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Water, cold, effect upon the animal, <a href="#Page265">265</a>;
-lime, retail price of per bbl., <a href="#Page274">274</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Wells, <a href="#Page71">71</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Wheat, production and cost of, <a href="#Page30">30</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Windows, swing, how constructed in stables, <a href="#Page282">282</a>.</li>
-
-<li>Writing, matters of importance should be in, <a href="#Page71">71</a>.</li>
-
-<li class="startletter">Yard (the house yard), chap. xiv, <a href="#Page237">237</a>;
-driveways and walks, <a href="#Page239">239</a>;
-flowers, <a href="#Page247">247</a>;
-planting, scattered and in groups, <a href="#Page339">339</a>;
-the lawn, <a href="#Page243">243</a>;
-vines and creepers, <a href="#Page247">247</a>.</li>
-
-</ul>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<div class="adverts">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h2 class="book1">CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN
-HORTICULTURE</h2>
-
-</div><!--chapter-->
-
-<p class="center blankbefore75"><b>By L. H. BAILEY</b></p>
-
-<p class="center fsize90 blankbefore75 blankafter75"><b>Of Cornell University, assisted by WILHELM MILLER, and many Expert
-Cultivators and Botanists</b></p>
-
-<div class="container w25em">
-
-<p class="noindent fsize90"><b>FOUR VOLUMES&mdash;OVER 2800 ORIGINAL ENGRAVINGS&mdash;CLOTH&mdash;OCTAVO&mdash;$20
-NET PER
-SET&mdash;HALF MOROCCO, $32 NET PER SET</b></p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<p>This great work comprises directions for the cultivation
-of horticultural crops and original descriptions of
-all the species of fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental
-plants known to be in the market in the United
-States and Canada. “It has the unique distinction of
-presenting for the first time, in a carefully arranged
-and perfectly accessible form, the best knowledge of the
-best specialists in America upon gardening, fruit-growing,
-vegetable culture, forestry, and the like, as well as
-exact botanical information.... The contributors
-are eminent cultivators or specialists, and the arrangement
-is very systematic, clear and convenient for ready
-reference.”</p>
-
-<p class="bookreview1">“We have here a work which every ambitious gardener will wish to place
-on his shelf beside his Nicholson and his Loudon, and for such users of it a too
-advanced nomenclature would have been confusing to the last degree. With the
-safe names here given there is little liability to serious perplexity. There is a
-growing impatience with much of the controversy concerning revision of names
-of organisms, whether of plants or animals. Those investigators who are busied
-with the ecological aspects of organisms, and also those who are chiefly concerned
-with the application of plants to the arts of agriculture, horticulture, and so on,
-care for the names of organisms under examination only so far as these aid in
-recognition and identification. To introduce unnecessary confusion is a serious
-blunder. Professor Bailey has avoided the risk of confusion. In short, in range,
-treatment and editing, the Cyclopedia appears to be emphatically useful:... a
-work worthy of ranking by the side of the Century Dictionary.”&mdash;<i>The Nation.</i></p>
-
-<p><b>This work is sold only by subscription, and terms and further
-information may be had of the publishers.</b></p>
-
-<hr class="sec" />
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-<td class="price">$1 75 net</td>
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-<td class="book">F. H. King’s The Soil</td>
-<td class="price">1 50 net</td>
-</tr>
-
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-<td class="book">Isaac P. Roberts’ The Fertility of the Land</td>
-<td class="price">1 50 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">Elwood Mead’s Irrigation Institutions</td>
-<td class="price">1 25 net</td>
-</tr>
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-<tr>
-<td class="book">F. H. King’s Irrigation and Drainage</td>
-<td class="price">1 50 net</td>
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-<td class="book">Wm. E. Smythe’s The Conquest of Arid America</td>
-<td class="price">1 50 net</td>
-</tr>
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-<td class="price">1 25 net</td>
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-<td class="book">Edward B. Voorhees’ Forage Crops</td>
-<td class="price">1 50 net</td>
-</tr>
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-<td class="price">1 25 net</td>
-</tr>
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-</tr>
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-<td class="price">75 net</td>
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-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">J. F. Duggar’s Agriculture for Southern Schools</td>
-<td class="price">75 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<h3 class="left"><b>On Plant Diseases, etc.</b></h3>
-
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-</tr>
-
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-
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-
-</table>
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-
-<table class="agribook">
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-<td class="book">L. H. Bailey’s Nursery-Book</td>
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-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">F. W. Card’s Bush Fruits</td>
-<td class="price">1 50 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<h3 class="left"><b>On the Care of Live Stock</b></h3>
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-<h3 class="left"><b>On Dairy Work</b></h3>
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-<td class="book">Henry H. Wing’s Milk and Its Products</td>
-<td class="price">1 50 net</td>
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-<tr>
-<td class="book">Harry Snyder’s Dairy Chemistry</td>
-<td class="price">1 00 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">W. D. Frost’s Laboratory Guide in Elementary Bacteriology</td>
-<td class="price">1 60 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">I. P. Sheldon’s The Farm and the Dairy</td>
-<td class="price">1 00 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<h3 class="left"><b>On Economics and Organization</b></h3>
-
-<table class="agribook">
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">L. H. Bailey’s The State and the Farmer</td>
-<td class="price">1 25 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">Henry C. Taylor’s Agricultural Economics</td>
-<td class="price">1 25 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">I. P. Roberts’ The Farmer’s Business Handbook</td>
-<td class="price">1 25 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">George T. Fairchild’s Rural Wealth and Welfare</td>
-<td class="price">1 25 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">S. E. Sparling’s Business Organization</td>
-<td class="price">1 25 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book"><span class="padl4 fsize80">In the Citizen’s Library. Includes a chapter on Farming.</span></td>
-<td>&#160;</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">Kate V. St. Maur’s A Self-Supporting Home</td>
-<td class="price">1 75 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">Kate V. St. Maur’s The Earth’s Bounty</td>
-<td class="price">1 75 net</td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<h3 class="left"><b>On Everything Agricultural</b></h3>
-
-<table class="agribook">
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book">L. H. Bailey’s Cyclopedia of American Agriculture:</td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book"><span class="padl2">Vol. I. Farms, Climates, and Soils.</span></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book"><span class="padl2">Vol. II. Farm Crops.</span></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book"><span class="padl2">Vol. III. Farm Animals.</span></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book"><span class="padl2">Vol. IV. The Farm and the Community.</span></td>
-</tr>
-
-<tr>
-<td class="book"><span class="padl4">Price of sets: Cloth, $20 net; half-morocco, $32 net.</span></td>
-</tr>
-
-</table>
-
-<hr class="sec" />
-
-<p class="center"><i>For further information as to any of the above,<br />
-address the publishers</i></p>
-
-<p class="center highline15 fsize150"><b>THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</b></p>
-
-<p class="center fsize110"><b>64-66 Fifth Avenue<span class="padl6 padr6">&#160;</span>NEW YORK</b></p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<h2 class="book1">LESSONS WITH PLANTS<br />
-<span class="fsize80"><b>Suggestions for Seeing and Interpreting Some of the
-Common Forms of Vegetation</b></span></h2>
-
-<p class="center highline15"><b>By L. H. BAILEY</b></p>
-
-<p class="center fsize90 blankbefore75 blankafter75"><b>With delineations from nature by W. S. HOLDSWORTH, of the
-Agricultural College of Michigan</b></p>
-
-<p class="center fsize90"><b>SEVENTH EDITION&mdash;491 PAGES&mdash;446 ILLUSTRATIONS&mdash;12MO&mdash;CLOTH&mdash;$1.10
-NET</b></p>
-
-<p class="blankbefore75">There are two ways of looking at nature. The <i>old
-way</i>, which you have found so unsatisfactory, was to
-classify everything&mdash;to consider leaves, roots, and whole
-plants as formal herbarium specimens, forgetting that
-each had its own story of growth and development,
-struggle and success, to tell. Nothing stifles a natural
-love for plants more effectually than that old way.</p>
-
-<p>The new way is to watch the life of every growing
-thing, to look upon each plant as a living creature,
-whose life is a story as fascinating as the story of any
-favorite hero. “Lessons with Plants” is a book of
-stories, or rather, a book of plays, for we can see each
-chapter acted out if we take the trouble to <i>look</i> at the
-actors.</p>
-
-<p class="bookreview1">“I have spent some time in most delightful examination of it, and the longer
-I look, the better I like it. I find it not only full of interest, but eminently suggestive.
-I know of no book which begins to do so much to open the eyes of the
-student&mdash;whether pupil or teacher&mdash;to the wealth of meaning contained in simple
-plant forms. Above all else, it seems to be full of suggestions that help one to
-learn the language of plants, so they may talk to him.”&mdash;<span class="smcap">Darwin L. Bardwell</span>,
-<i>Superintendent of Schools, Binghamton</i>.</p>
-
-<p class="bookreview1">“It is an admirable book, and cannot fail both to awaken interest in the subject,
-and to serve as a helpful and reliable guide to young students of plant life.
-It will, I think, fill an important place in secondary schools, and comes at an opportune
-time, when helps of this kind are needed and eagerly sought.”&mdash;Professor
-<span class="smcap">V. M. Spalding</span>, <i>University of Michigan</i>.</p>
-
-<p class="center highline15 blankbefore75"><b><span class="fsize125">FIRST LESSONS WITH PLANTS</span><br />
-An Abridgement of the above<br />
-117 PAGES&mdash;116 ILLUSTRATIONS&mdash;40 CENTS NET</b></p>
-
-<hr class="sec" />
-
-<p class="center highline15 fsize150"><b>THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</b></p>
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-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<h2 class="book1">BOTANY<br />
-<span class="fsize80">An Elementary Text for Schools</span></h2>
-
-<p class="center highline15"><b>By L. H. BAILEY</b></p>
-
-<p class="center fsize90 blankbefore75 blankafter75"><b>TWELFTH EDITION&mdash;431 PAGES&mdash;500
-ILLUSTRATIONS&mdash;$1.10 NET</b></p>
-
-<p class="blankbefore75">“This book is made for the pupil: ‘Lessons With
-Plants’ was made to supplement the work of the
-teacher.” This is the opening sentence of the preface,
-showing that the book is a companion to “Lessons
-With Plants,” which has now become a standard
-teacher’s book. The present book is the handsomest
-elementary botanical text-book yet made. The illustrations
-illustrate. They are artistic. The old formal and
-unnatural Botany is being rapidly outgrown. The book
-disparages mere laboratory work of the old kind: the
-pupil is taught to see things as they grow and behave.
-The pupil who goes through this book will understand
-the meaning of the plants which he sees day by day. It
-is a revolt from the dry-as-dust teaching of botany. It
-cares little for science for science’s sake, but its point
-of view is nature-study in its best sense. The book is
-divided into four parts, any or all of which may be used
-in the school: the plant itself; the plant in its environment;
-histology, or the minute structure of plants; the
-kinds of plants (with a key, and descriptions of 300
-common species). The introduction contains advice to
-teachers.</p>
-
-<p class="bookreview1">“An exceedingly attractive text-book.”&mdash;<i>Educational Review.</i></p>
-
-<p class="bookreview1">“It is a school book of the modern methods.”&mdash;<i>The Dial.</i></p>
-
-<p class="bookreview1">“It would be hard to find a better manual for schools or for individual use.”&mdash;<i>The Outlook.</i></p>
-
-<hr class="sec" />
-
-<p class="center highline15 fsize150"><b>THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</b></p>
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-<p class="center fsize110"><b>64-66 Fifth Avenue<span class="padl6 padr6">&#160;</span>NEW YORK</b></p>
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-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<h2 class="book2"><i>FOR THE STUDENT OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY</i></h2>
-
-<p class="center highline2"><b>By HARRY SNYDER, B.S.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center fsize90 blankbefore75">Professor of Agricultural Chemistry, University of Minnesota, and Chemist
-of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station</p>
-
-<h3 class="left group2">The Chemistry of Plant and Animal Life</h3>
-
-<p class="right fsize90"><b>Illustrated. Cloth. 12mo. 406 pages. $1.25; by mail, $1.35.</b></p>
-
-<p class="bookreview1">“The language is, as it should be, plain and simple, free from all needless
-technicality, and the story thus told is of absorbing interest to every one,
-man or woman, boy or girl, who takes an intelligent interest in farm life.”&mdash;<i>The
-New England Farmer.</i></p>
-
-<p class="bookreview1">“Although the book is highly technical, it is put in popular form and made
-comprehensible from the standpoint of the farmer; it deals largely with
-those questions which arise in his experience, and will prove an invaluable
-aid in countless directions.”&mdash;<i>The Farmer’s Voice.</i></p>
-
-<h3 class="left group2">Dairy Chemistry</h3>
-
-<p class="right fsize90"><b>Illustrated. 190 pages. $1 net; by mail, $1.10.</b></p>
-
-<p class="bookreview1">“The book is a valuable one which any dairy farmer, or, indeed, any one
-handling stock, may read with profit.”&mdash;<i>Rural New Yorker.</i></p>
-
-<h3 class="left group2">Soils and Fertilizers</h3>
-
-<p class="right fsize90"><b>Third Edition. Illustrated. $1.25 net; by mail, $1.38.</b></p>
-
-<p class="bookreview1">A book which presents in a concise form the principles of soil fertility
-and discusses all of the topics relating to soils as outlined by
-the Committee on Methods of Teaching Agriculture. It contains
-350 pages, with illustrations, and treats of a great variety of subjects,
-such as Physical Properties of Soils; Geological Formation,
-etc.; Nitrogen of the Soil and Air; Farm Manures; Commercial
-Fertilizers, several chapters; Rotation of Crops; Preparation of
-Soil for Crops, etc.</p>
-
-<hr class="sec" />
-
-<p class="center highline15 fsize150"><b>THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</b></p>
-
-<p class="center fsize110"><b>64-66 Fifth Avenue<span class="padl6 padr6">&#160;</span>NEW YORK</b></p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<h2 class="book2"><i>NEW BOOKS FOR THE FARM LIBRARY</i></h2>
-
-<p class="center highline2">MR. BOLTON HALL’S</p>
-
-<h3 class="left group2">Three Acres and Liberty</h3>
-
-<p>The author discusses the possibilities of an acre; where to find
-idle land; how to select it, clear and cultivate it; the results
-to be expected; what an acre may produce; methods, tools,
-equipment, capital, hotbeds and greenhouses; other uses of
-land; flowers; poultry and novel live stock; and nearly every
-other imaginable topic of intensive farming in clear, definite
-statements which are easily verified. It is a practical book
-from cover to cover.</p>
-
-<p class="right"><b>Cloth. Illustrated. $1.75 net, by mail, $1.88.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center blankbefore75">By ALLEN FRENCH</p>
-
-<h3 class="left group2">A Book of Vegetables and Garden Herbs</h3>
-
-<p>A Practical Handbook and Planting Table for the Home Garden</p>
-
-<p>This book gives complete directions for growing all vegetables
-cultivable in the climate of the northern United States.
-Besides a description of each plant, its habit, value, and use,
-the book contains detailed cultural directions, covering the
-soil, planting distances, times for sowing, thinning and transplanting,
-fertilizing, picking, winter protection, renewal,
-storage, and management of diseases and pests.</p>
-
-<p class="right"><b>Cloth. 12mo. Illustrated. $1.75 net, by mail, $1.88.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center blankbefore75">By KATE V. ST. MAUR</p>
-
-<h3 class="left group2">A Self-supporting Home</h3>
-
-<p class="fsize90">“Each chapter is the detailed account of all the work necessary for one
-month&mdash;in the vegetable garden, among the small fruits, with the fowls,
-guineas, rabbits, cavies, and in every branch of husbandry to be met with on
-the small farm.”&mdash;<i>Louisville Courier-Journal.</i></p>
-
-<p class="right"><b>Cloth. 12mo. Fully illustrated from photographs.<br />
-$1.75 net, by mail, $1.88.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center blankbefore75">By W. S. HARWOOD</p>
-
-<h3 class="left group2">The New Earth</h3>
-
-<p>A Recital of the Triumphs of Modern Agriculture in America.
-Mr. Harwood shows in a very entertaining way the remarkable
-progress which has been made during the past two generations
-along all the lines which have their focal point in
-the earth.</p>
-
-<p class="right"><b>Cloth. 12mo. Illustrated. $1.75 net, by mail, 1.88.</b></p>
-
-<hr class="sec" />
-
-<p class="center highline15 fsize150"><b>THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</b></p>
-
-<p class="center fsize110"><b>64-66 Fifth Avenue<span class="padl6 padr6">&#160;</span>NEW YORK</b></p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
-
-<h2 class="book1">CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN
-AGRICULTURE</h2>
-
-<p class="center highline2">Edited by L. H. BAILEY</p>
-
-<p class="center fsize90 blankbefore75 blankafter75">Of Cornell University, Editor of “Cyclopedia of American Horticulture,”
-Author of “Plant Breeding,” “Principles of Agriculture,” etc.</p>
-
-<div class="container w35em">
-
-<p class="noindent">WITH 100 FULL-PAGE PLATES AND MORE THAN 2,000 ILLUSTRATIONS
-IN THE TEXT&mdash;FOUR VOLUMES&mdash;THE SET:
-CLOTH, $20 NET&mdash;HALF-MOROCCO, $32 NET&mdash;CARRIAGE EXTRA</p>
-
-</div><!--container-->
-
-<h3 class="left group2">Volume I&mdash;Farms</h3>
-
-<p>The Agricultural Regions&mdash;The Projecting of a Farm&mdash;The Soil
-Environment&mdash;The Atmosphere Environment.</p>
-
-<h3 class="left group2">Volume II&mdash;Crops</h3>
-
-<p>The Plant and Its Relations&mdash;The Manufacture of Crop Products&mdash;North
-American Field Crops.</p>
-
-<h3 class="left group2">Volume III&mdash;Animals</h3>
-
-<p>The Animal and Its Relations&mdash;The Manufacture of Animal Products&mdash;North
-American Farm Animals.</p>
-
-<h3 class="left group2">Volume IV&mdash;The Farm and the Community</h3>
-
-<p>Economics&mdash;Social Questions&mdash;Organizations&mdash;History&mdash;Literature,
-etc.</p>
-
-<p class="bookreview1">“Indispensable to public and reference libraries ... readily comprehensible
-to any person of average education.”&mdash;<i>The Nation.</i></p>
-
-<p class="bookreview1">“The completest existing thesaurus of up-to-date facts and opinions on
-modern agricultural methods. It is safe to say that many years must pass
-before it can be surpassed in comprehensiveness, accuracy, practical value,
-and mechanical excellence. It ought to be in every library in the country.”&mdash;<i>Record
-Herald, Chicago.</i></p>
-
-<hr class="sec" />
-
-<p class="center highline15">Published by</p>
-
-<p class="center highline15 fsize150"><b>THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</b></p>
-
-<p class="center fsize110"><b>64-66 Fifth Avenue<span class="padl6 padr6">&#160;</span>NEW YORK</b></p>
-
-</div><!--adverts-->
-
-<hr class="full" />
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-
-<h2>Transcriber&#8217;s Notes</h2>
-
-<p>The language used in this e-book is that used in the source document; inconsistent, unusual and archaic spelling,
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-
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