Oxford Democrat., 1916-08-22
Better Farm Homes.

Every right thinking farmer is doinG
some thinking on the subject Of Q better
planned farm home. Most farm houses
were built In past days when but little
good foresight was exercised to make
them handy and comfortable homes. W.
have the extremes Of severe heat ir
summer and severe cold in winter to
guard against. Every good farm home
needs convenient water supply, includ
ing hard and soft water with good bath
rooms, one for the family and one for
farm help. But that cannot be safely
installed without furnace heat to keep
pipes from freezing In winter.
In an address before the students OF
Cornell College, Professor l.. q. Bailey
gave some valuable hints on planning q
convenient farm home, which we copy
here:
"By way of concrete suggestions, !
will throw my statements regarding bet
ter farm houses into classified para
graphs. These suggestions apply to
estates of country gentlemen.
81. Plan waterwOrks system with
supply coming from an elevated tank In
the barn or in the attic, from pneumst-
ic tank In the cellar, from . pneumatic
cistern, from q creek, or q we'll, or
spring at an elevation above the house,
or from hydraulic ram.
"2. Plan a compact room arrange
ment that will allow woman with two
or three children to do her work without
servants, and also to have some time for
raadinO and aocial activitv
"3. Consider how hired mau may
occupy a room which has q separate en-
trance from the remainder of the house,
and yet which may be under family con-
troll.
~. Plan the addition of outdoor
sleeping facilities. Add fireplace to
the old farm house.
'5. Place house with an accessible
and attractive back door or work en-
trance.
"6. Plan lighting system either by
acetylene gas, electric light, or other
means that are now available. Extend
this system to the barns II practicable.
Also devise way to heat the house.
81. Plan plain work-room or retir.
ing room for the women of the family.
particularly for the wife and mother.
This should be a retreat room that is
free from the cares and noise OF the re-
mainder of the house, containing per-
haps few books and other means OF
recreation.
''S. Provide an Office that shall be the
business nucleus of the farm plan. This
office should be easy of access, on the
first floor OF the house, rather than in
the attic or In the barn. 1t should have
an outside entrance, as we'll as connee-
ton with the living room.
"9. Figure out system of storage
rooms that will hold the family supplies
and such products as need to be sold or
handled from the residence, assuming
that the family is six persons, and the
place q general farm of one hundred
acres.
40. Plan the sim plest and most COM
pact arrangements OF rooms, 80 as to ac
a family of six persons on q
farm of one hundred and fifty acres.
al. Plan a garden or yard that
shall be real supplement to the house.
I do not now have in mind so much the
raising of vegetables and fruits for the
supply as the providing OF
pleasant outdoor spaces for reading, sit
ting, dining, and the like. Every op-
portunity should be seized to get the
farmer and bis family out of doors, since
contact with nature in hours Of leisure
will add much to the resourcefulness OF
their lives. ."-Hosrd's Dairyman.