The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1886-01-21
RURAL ECONOMY.
Suggestions on Laying Out
Farms in Advance of Making
Permanent Improvements.
How the Credit System Interferes with the
Prosperity and Happiness of West
ern Farmers.
Working to a Plan.

efn T arm6rS
Working to a Plan.
No person sets out to erect an ex
: pensive house without first deciding or
adefinite plan, having drawings prepar.
ed, and a careful estimate made of the
cost of construction. Before an engi-
neer goes to work to build a bridge over
q river he makes a survey of the banks.
examines the places where supports are
to be erected, and accurately measures
the space that is to be spanned. He
then considers what kind of a structure
he will erect, being guided somewhat
by the uses to which the bridge is to be
put. Having determined this matter
in his mind, he makes a drawing of the
bridge or paper, that he and others may
see what kind of an appearance it pre-
sents. The drawing is made to a scale,
one inch representing a certain number
of feet. An architect draws the plans
for a dwelling or other building in a
similar way. In our great furniture
establishments persons are constantly
employed in producing on paper designs
for bureaus, dressing-cases, sideboards,
and desks. In all mechanical operations
designs are first sketched and then
working models are made. The plans
for cemeteries and public parks, includ-
ing the walks, drives, and bodies of
water, are all made on paper before
any of the ground is disturbed. Gener-
ally the location of all the trees to be
planted is marked on the plan. The
workmen have something to guide them
in all their operations.
The proper laying out of farms so as
to insure convenience in working, econ
omy in fencing, and so as toehave- them
present a pleasant appearance, has re-
ceived very little attention in this coun-
try. Scarcely any farmer in commenc-
ing to improve a new place works in
accordance to any well-matured plan.
The new settler, on a piece of raw
prairie, breaks the lot of land that can
be most easily plowed and puts in a
have the sides straight. He puts up a
house for temporary occupancy where
it happens to be most convenient. He
digs some wells where he thinks water
can be reached within a few feet of the
surface. On the approach of water he
erects a stable for his horses and some
sheds for his cattle and sheep. The
proper location for them receives very
little thought. The cold winds during
the winter suggest to him the propriety
of establishing some shelter belts. He
accordingly obtains some young trees
of the varieties that can be bought for
the least money, and sets them out to
the windward of the building he has
erected. The next year he begins to
feel the want of fruit. He accordingly
buys some apple trees, currant and
gooseberry bushes, and plants them on
the land he first plowed, as there is no
other ground prepared. This year he
breaks some more land, selecting a
piece that can be plowed easily, and
which gives promise of producing a
good crop of corn.
AS the years 90 by more land is plow-
ed, more trees are set out, and more
buildings erected. Likely more wells
are dug, and a portion of the land sur
rounded by a fence so as to form a past
ure. 1t is often the case that the fences
were not built on the line, owing to the
fact that the exact boundaries of the
farm were not ascertained. They were
made to conform pretty nearly with
the fences on some farm in the vicinity.
1t is not unfrequently the case that the
fences first built on farms have to be
moved when an accurate survey is made,
involving the loss of much material and
the expenditure of considerable labor.
1t sometimes happens that a farmer
finds he has planted fruit trees on land
that does not belong to him, or has set
out rows of forest trees, designed to
afford protection from the wind, at q
distance from his boundary line. At
length the farmer concludes that he is
not pleased with the appearance of his
place. He also finds that the location
of his buildings is not convenient. He
discovers that his fruit trees are not
where he would prefer to have them.
He notices that his wells are not where
they should be for supplying water for
the horses, the farm, or the pasture.
He %perceives hat much fencing could
have been saved had he plowed a strip
of land round the entire length of his
farm; instead of small pieces of irregu-
lar shape. In fact, he Is dissatisfied
with nearly everything he has done by
way of making improvements.
Quite likely he visits some farm that
was laid out and improved in such a
way as to present a fine appearance and
to be convenient to manage andresolves
to remodel his own. He now sees the
of having a definite plan and
one. He finds, however, that
he can derive but little advantage from
the money and labor that he has ex-
pended. He has several buildings, but
none of them are of the character he
desires. Thay appear to be too good to
tear down, are difficult to reconstruct,
and are not of a shape that additions
be made to them with economy.
He has forest and fruit trees, many of
them of large size, but they are not of
the varieties he desires, and they do not
stand where they would be of the most
value for use or ornament. They are
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