utterly worthless for practical use. There can be
no doubt that the simplest plan of construction, consistent with an
economical expenditure of the material of food for the consumption of
stock, is by far the most preferable.

Another item to be considered in this connection, is the comparative
value of the stock, the forage fed to them, and the labor expended in
feeding and taking care of them. To illustrate: Suppose a farm to lie in
the vicinity of a large town or city. Its value is, perhaps, a hundred
dollars an acre. The hay cut upon it is worth fifteen dollars a ton, at
the barn, and straw and coarse grains in proportion, and hired labor ten
or twelve dollars a month. Consequently, the manager of this farm should
use all the economy in his power, by the aid of cutting-boxes and other
machinery, to make the least amount of forage supply the wants of his
stock; and the internal economy of his barn should be arranged
accordingly, since labor is his cheapest item, and food his dearest.
Therefore, any contrivance by which to work up his forage the
closest--by way of machinery, or manual labor--so that it shall serve
the purposes of keeping his stock, is true economy; and the making and
saving of manures are items of the first importance. His buildings and
their arrangements throughout should, for these reasons, be constructed
in accordance with his practice.

If, on the other hand, lands are cheap and productive, and labor
comparatively dear, a different practice will prevail. The farmer will
feed his hay from the mow without cutting. The straw will be stacked
out, and the cattle turned to it, to pick what they like of it, and make
their beds of the remainder; or, if it is housed, he will throw it into
racks, and the stock may eat what they choose. To do this requires but
one-third, or one-half of the labor which is required by the other mode,
and the saving in this makes up, and perhaps more than makes up, for the
increased quantity of forage consumed.

Again, climate may equally affect the mode of winter-feeding the stock.
The winters may be mild. The hay may be stacked in the fields when
gathered, or put into small barns built for hay storage alone; and the
manure, scattered over the fields by the cattle, as they are fed from
either of them, may be knocked to pieces with the dung-beetle, in the
spring, or harrowed and bushed over the ground; and with the very small
quantity of labor required in all this, such pract