Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/438

 4141 COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE. 8<€ a SuBSECT. 3. The Farmery considered as a whole. 833. The Farmery, as a whole, may be considered with reference to its situation on the farm ; its extent and character relatively to the size of the farm, and to the kind of culture pursued or of crops raised ; its position relatively to that of the farm house ; the style of its architectural design ; and the materials of its construction. 834. The Situation of every farmery ought, as far as practicable, to be in the centre of the farm ; because this will reduce the labour of carting home produce, and carting out manure, to a minimum. When the surface of a farm is very irregular, or where it consists of the sloping side of a hill, the site of the farmery should be chosen at that point of height in the slope where the extra-labour of carrying home the crop will always be balanced by the extra-facility of carting out the manure; and where, as much as possible, the labour of the two operations may be equalised. The most difficult case for choosing a proper site for the farmery is where the lands lie on the two sides of a valley : here there is ho choice but that of placing the farmery in the valley, and laying out the fences, roads, and even ridges of the fields, in directions athwart the slopes, so as to diminish all the farm labours to the extent of one half of what they would be by ascend- ing and descending in straight lines. All labours with ploughs, carts, or waggons, and even harrowing, and the manual labours of hoeing and reaping, may be diminished on this principle. In laying out farmeries in all old countries which have been long inter- sected by hedges and roads, and the boundary lines of all landed property in which is exceedingly irregular, numerous cases occur where true principles must give way to circumstances ; and all that the Architect can aim at is, after weighing well the argu- ments for and against particular situations, to make choice of that which has a maximum of advantages. Our intelligent contributor, Mr. Main, has paid much attention to this subject, and has sent us the following observations : — " Proximity to a high road, to a natural pond, or to the ^umnoit of a dry knoll, in order to be free from floods, is an advan-