John Scott

“ The current talk now, as when Andrews wrote, is of antiquated farm buildings, unfit for their purpose, and of insufficient accommodation for live-stock. That deficiencies exist in these respects, though more in some districts than in others, is generally admitted. And no farmer now-a-days needs to be told that animals exposed to cold eat more and thrive worse than if better housed and kept warmer: in other words, that shelter and warmth economise food, and are equivalent to an actual shortening of winter. ”

“ The larger choice of building materials now available is a great help towards cheaper construction. Instead of walls and pillars being restricted to stone, brick, or woodwork, other materials such as iron and concrete are now, in many cases, found admirable substitutes, alike in point of fitness, durability, and economy; and the costly and cumbersome roofing tiles, slates, and shingles are now often advantageously superseded by the cheaper and lighter covering of galvanised corrugated sheets, asphalte roofing-felt, rubber roofing, or even the Willesden roofing-paper. ”

“ Another modern necessity is the provision of larger accommodation and better arrangements for preparing and mixing food for cattle. The substitution of covered for open yards also progresses, surely if slowly. And in the changes which are going on, matters affecting the ventilation, lighting, paving, and draining of farm buildings are meeting with the full share of attention which they deserve. ”