and other conditions being equal) cattle kept on sparred boards will advance in the same proportion as those which have their comfort secured by well-littered beds, whether housed in boxes, stalls, or open sheds.

Whatever plan may be adopted, and on whatever scale the homesteads may be erected, it will always be better to provide several small yards than one or two large ones. Where young cattle are congregated in large numbers, the younger and weaker are sure to suffer, either from a deficiency of food or the attacks of the stronger.

The Stables and Implement Shed.-The stable should be placed as near as possible to the straw-barn and near to the road or entrance. Its arrangement is a matter of considerable importance. It should be well lighted, perfectly ventilated yet free from draughts, and properly drained: the health of the horse depends in a great measure upon attention to these particulars. Ventilation may be secured by building grating or air-brick into the wall at the head of each stall, a few inches above the floor; any direct draught from these gratings may easily be prevented by placing a little litter in front of each. The stable will also be rendered more airy if it is left open to the roof, instead of, as is the usual practice, filling up the space with a loft or tallet for hay.

Mr. Ewart recommends ('Royal Agricultural Society's Journal,' vol. ii. p. 338) that the windows should be fixed at the head of the stalls, instead of in the usual position at the foot. The advantage of this plan is that the light furnished is direct; reflected light being injurious to the eyes of the horse, and frequently causing blindness. Iron fittings are now very generally used, and appear to answer the purpose well.

The stalls should be either pitched or laid with brick on edge; the latter is by far the preferable mode where bricks can be obtained at a moderate price. From front to back of each stall there should be a slight fall, and a gutter running the whole length of the stables, with properly trapped sinks communicating with an underground drain.

The Implement Sheds. These should be placed adjoining the stables and the carpenter's shop, and should be of sufficient extent to shelter the implements.

Manure. On the management of manure Mr. Thompson, in Royal Agricultural Society's Journal' (vol. ii. p. 191),

very great loss of ammonia. It certainly may be watered from a pump or tank, but this would only increase the fermentation so long as the heap was light; and, to meet this difficulty, it has been suggested that it should frequently be carted over. It is certainly possible by carting, or some other mechanical means, to give sufficient solidity to prevent mischief; but when the trouble and inconvenience of carting over a partly decomposed heap, and also the probability of its being neglected in busy seasons, are taken into account, it will probably be found that, in the majority of cases, covered manure-pits would do more harm than good.

"Well spouted farmyards, in which the manure is allowed to accumulate through the winter, and trodden firm by being well stocked, heaps in the field well covered with soil, and loose boxes for cattle and farm-horses, will enable a farmer to keep his manure in first-rate condition; and the importance of these and other similar arrangements cannot be too often or too strongly insisted on."

"The more horse manure," says Mr. Hudson ('Royal Agricultural Society's Journal, vol. ii. p. 287), "is mixed with that of the grazing cattle the better; and the small expense of carrying it into those yards daily will be amply repaid by the improvement in the quality of the manure."

The different yards should have a slight incline towards the centre, with drains leading to a covered tank, so as to prevent the waste of the liquid constituents of the manure.

Water and Steam-power. -On farms conducted according to modern practice, much of the work formerly done by the hand is performed by machinery, and therefore "power," either horse, water, or steam, is an absolute essential.

Horse-power is still frequently used, and possesses this one special advantage, that in wet weather, or at any time when the horses would otherwise be standing idle, employment can be found for them in the home operations; they can also be put on for a short time at any spare interval. But on a farm of 300 acres the power would often be required at times when it would be exceedingly inconvenient to take the horses from other work, and, unless two or more were kept specially for this purpose, the use of either water or steam would be almost unavoidable.

There can be little question of the superiority of water-power, if it can be applied economically as to first cost, and without any serious disadvantage to the homesteads in other respects. It is available at all times, can be applied for a long day's threshing or turned on for half an hour's chaff-cutting with equal facility and no expense, and the machinery is simple, durable, and not likely to cost much in repairs. The farmer who, in arranging his homestead, should not avail himself of water-power-if within his reach, and unattended with any counterbalancing disadvantages-would undoubtedly compromise his own interest.

There are, however, few farms so situated that water-power can be applied without several drawbacks. The stream may be always insufficient in its volume, or fail during dry weather, thus involving the construction of large and costly reservoirs and dams;

or, supposing a sufficient stream to traverse the farm, it might not be available unless the homestead was erected in a low and marshy spot, which would be obviously unwise; or too far from the centre of the farm, which would, to a considerable extent, increase the hauling.

An able paper on the application of water-power, by Mr. Morshead of Liskeard, has appeared in the Journal of the Bath and West of England Agricultural Society,' (vol. iv.), from which the formule for calculating the motive force expressed in horsepower of any stream may be readily obtained. It will be sufficient here to state that to obtain a motive force equal to that of six horses (adopting Watt's standard of 33,000 lbs. raised one foot as the power of a horse), with an overshot wheel, with a fall of six feet, the stream must have a sectional area of about four feet, and discharge 666 cubic feet, or upwards of 4000 gallons, per minute. In general the employment of a lower power than that of six or seven horses is not advisable; if, therefore, the stream be of less volume than that above stated, or if it be liable to much diminution during the summer months, it becomes necessary to make provision for storing a sufficient supply of water by the erection of a dam, and in many cases the construction of a reservoir or pound, and this again in many localities would be liable to silt up, and require much labour to keep it clear. The numerous cases in which water-power has been entirely superseded by steam, and the still greater number in which the latter is used as an auxiliary, tend to prove that there are few cases in which water-power can be applied with unmixed advantage. Supposing steam-power to be employed, a portable engine has many advantages over a fixed one. Equally useful for the home operations, it is available at any part of the farm. The grain crop may be threshed in the field and carried to the granary, or sent at once to the factor, should the state of the markets render it desirable.

There are few districts where the owner of a portable engine may not at least clear the cost of its repairs by letting it out to his neighbours, and this, where the farmer has to make his livelihood from his farm, is a point of some importance.

Again, the obvious tendency of the present day is to substitute steam for horse-power in many even of the field operations of the farm. Competition among implement-makers, and the stimulus of the prizes offered by and the publicity gained at the Shows of the Royal and the various local Agricultural Societies, have already been the means of producing such machines as the draining-plough, the steam-plough, and the traction-engine,which, though perhaps not perfect, and only adapted at present to particular soils, will doubtless be improved upon year by year, and prove only the forerunners of numerous implements which may eventually almost displace horse-labour in the heavier fieldwork.

On the whole then, except in certain situations which are so few that they may fairly be called exceptional, a portable steamengine appears to be the best motive power the farmer can adopt.

Having thus shortly stated the principles which should guide the farmer in the erection of a homestead, we have endeavoured, in the plan now submitted, to point out how they may best be carried into effect; and, to render these more intelligible, we append a short description of the arrangements we propose.

EXPLANATION OF PLANS.

1. The Stackyard. --This is placed in the rear of the barn, but the limits of the plan do not admit of its being shown. Supposing 150 acres of corn to be grown, at 40 bushels per acre, room will be required to stack 750 quarters. A stack containing 20 quarters will generally be found a convenient size, as a machine of ordinary power ver will thresh out two in the day, so that none need be left unprotected during the night.

To contain this quantity, the staddles should be about 12 feet in diameter, so that 35 would be required. These would be arranged in rows to suit the convenience of each particular case, a space of 25 feet being left between each row, and the stacks being placed about 10 feet apart in the row. Staddles of the best description are those of cast-iron with iron framing. A low wall (say 4 feet 6 inches in height) will in most cases be the best fence.

2. The Barn.-A barn of the size shown in the Drawing (25 ft. x 14 ft. 9 in. × 9 ft. 6 in. high) will be found of a sufficient size to stow away from 100 to 125 bushels of wheat in sheaf on the ground-floor. Above would be placed the threshingmachine; and, if considered expedient, a straw elevator, similar to that introduced by Mr. Parsons at Lord Portman's farm at Lambrook, might be fixed; but it is doubtful whether, in a homestead on a small scale, the saving of labour would be such as to render it worth while to incur the cost of such a piece of machinery.

On the same floor should be fixed the cake-bruiser, chaffcutter, and other implements which will be connected with the steam-engine or other power. Under the chaff-cutter we propose to place a chaff-room. If steam-power is employed, the quantity of chaff cut at one time will necessarily be large, and require some special provision; if not, such a room may be used for many purposes.

The straw-barn and hay-house are placed contiguous to and communicating with the barn and near stables between the two