story is told of his last moments. When on his death-bed he said to his wife, who was lying near him dangerously ill, 'Oh, my wife, I am going!' 'I will go with thee!' replied she; and they died, it is added, almost at the same moment. FARM, n. s. & v. a. Sax. peopm, provision FARM'ER, n. s. or feeding; Fr. ferme; Goth. and Swed. fara (to cultivate). Ground cultivated, or let out for cultivation; the state of lands let out for culture: to farm is either to cultivate or let out land at certain rates for cultiva tion; hence to let out or bargain for the culture or current expenses of things or persons generally; thus we hear of farming out the poor,' but find, happily, no instance of it: it is also a common phrase among the agriculturalists of some districts that a man farms his own land.' A farmer is the actual cultivator of ground, whether his own or another's; one who rents any thing.

It is great wilfulnes in landlords to make any longer farms unto their tenants. Spenser. The lords of land in Ireland do not use to set out their land in farm, for term of years, to their tenants; but only from year to year, and some during pleasure. Id. on Ireland.

Thou hast seen a farmer's dog bark at a beggar, and the creature run from the cur: there thou might'st behold the great image of authority; a dog's obeyed in office. Shakspeare.

We are enforced to farm our royal realm,
The revenue whereof shall furnish us
For our affairs in hand.

Id. Richard II.

Touching their particular complaint for reducing lands and farms to their ancient rents, it could not be done without a parliament.

Hayward. They received of the bankers scant twenty shillings for thirty, which the Earl of Cornwall farmed of the king.

Camden's Remains.

Nothing is of greater prejudice to the farmer than the stocking of his land with cattle larger than it will bear. Mortimer's Husbandry.

Id.

I entered on this farm with a full resolution, "Come, go to, I will be wise!" I read farming books; I calculated crops; I attended markets; and, in short, in spite of "the devil, and the world, and the flesh," I believe I should have been a wise man. Burns. For gold the merchant ploughs the main, The farmer ploughs the manor; But glory is the sodger's prize; The sodger's wealth is honour. FARM, FARIN, or FERM, (Firma,) in law, signifies a country messuage or district; containing house and land, with other conveniences; hired, or taken by lease, either in writing, or parole, under a certain yearly rent. See LEASE. This in some parts is differently termed in Scotland, it is a tack; in Lancashire, fermeholt; in some parts of Essex a wike, &c. In corrupted Latin firma signified a place enclosed or shut in; whence in some provinces, Menage observes, they call closerie or closure, what in others they call a farm. We find locare ad firmam signifies to let to farm; probably on account of the sure hold the tenant here has in comparison of tenants at will. Spelman and Skinner however, derive the word farm from the Saxon fearme, or feorme, provision; because the country people and tenants anciently paid their rents in victuals and other necessaries, which were afterwards converted into

the payment of a sum of money. Whence a farm was originally a place that furnished its landlord with provisions. And among the Normans they still distinguish between farms that pay in kind, i. e. provisions, and those which pay in money; calling the former simply fermes, and the latter blanche ferme, white ferm. Spelman shows, that the word firma anciently signified not only what we now call a farm, but also a feast or entertainment, which the farmer gave the proprietor, for a certain number of days, and at a certain rate, for the lands he held of him. Thus fearme in the laws of king Canute is rendered, by Mr. Lambard, victus; and thus we read of reddere firmam unius noctis; and, reddebat unum diem de firma; which denote provision for a night and day, the rents about the time of the conquest being all paid in provisions; which custom is said to have been first altered under Henry I.

It might have been expected, that the first essays of improvement on a farm, should have been, to make it both advantageous and delightful; but the fact was otherwise: a small spot was appropriated to pleasure; the rest was reserved for profit only. And this seems to have been a principal cause of the vicious taste which long prevailed in gardens. See GARDENING. It was imagined that a spot apart from the rest should not be like them; this introduced deviations from nature, which were afterwards carried to such an excess, that hardly any objects truly rural were left within the enclosure, and the view of those without was generally excluded. The first step, therefore, towards a reformation, was by opening the garden to the country, and that immediately led to assimilating them; but still the idea of a spot appropriated to pleasure only prevailed, and one of the latest improvements has been to blend the useful with the agreeable even the ornamental farm was prior in time to the more rural; and we have at last returned to simplicity by force of refinement.

The country in the time of our ancestors was neither entirely cleared nor distinctly divided; the fields were surrounded by woods, not by hedges; and, if a considerable tract of improved land lay together, it still was not separated into a number of enclosures. The farms, therefore, most approaching to this character, are those in which cultivation seems to have encroached on the wild, not to have subdued it; those, for instance, at the bottom of a valley where the sides are still overgrown with wood: and the outline of that wood is indented by the tillage creeping more or less up the hill. If the pastures are here broken by straggling bushes, thickets, or coppices, and the scattered trees beset with brambles and briars, these are circumstances which improve the beauty of the place; yet appear to be only remains of the wild, not intended for embellishment. Such interruptions must, however, be less frequent in the arable parts of a farm; there the opening may be divided into several lands, distinguished, as in common fields, only by different sorts of grain. These will sufficiently break the sameness of the space; and tillage does not furnish a more pleasing scene, than such a space so broken, if

the extent be moderate, and the boundary beautiful. As much wood is essential to the imitation of the farms of our ancestors, a spot may easily be found, where turrets rising above the covert, or some arches seen within it, may have the resemblance of a castle or abbey. The partial concealment is almost necessary to both; for to accord with the age, the buildings must seem to be entire; the ruins of them belong to later days: the disguise is, however, advantageous to them as objects; none can be imagined more picturesque than a tower bosomed in trees, or a cluster appearing between the stems and the branches. Pieces of water are also a great additional beauty in such a scene; and all the varieties of rills are consistent with every species of farm. Farming is, however, a serious and very important pursuit with a large portion of our countrymen who can but very slightly regard the mere external beauties of the scene of their labors. In our article AGRICULTURE we have largely discussed the scientific basis and connections of that pursuit; and referred, as we must here do, to that of HUSBANDRY for the practical rules and details of farming. We shall only in this place suggest a few principal considerations on the laying out of farm-lands, the construction of farm-buildings, or farmeries, as they have been called of late, and the keeping of farm accounts; topics, which may with propriety be thus detached from our larger articles.

1. On the Laying out of Farm Lands.-On the supposition of our being able to follow nature in the distribution of farm lands, or indeed in almost any ordinary departure from her dictates, the first object of atation to the proprietor of an estate should be its natural characteristics. He should consider it as in a state of nature, and without inhabitants; observing the elevation and general turn of its surface, whether it consists of mountain, upland, vale, or waterformed land; ascertaining at the same time its soils, the absorbency or retentiveness of the substrata, determining to what uses its several parts are adapted. Having, for instance, determined on the sheep-walk and grazing ground, he should trace the natural and fortuitous lines of the culturable lands; as the feet of steep hills, the ridges of uplands, large rivers, public roads, &c. Where an extent of newly appropriated lands is concerned, he must endeavour to lay them out into what may be termed natural farms, of such sizes as will bring the most permanent rent at the least expense of buildings, yards, separate roads, and fences.

A first object of consideration will now be, the most natural or eligible sites for farm-steads; laying to those which are the most eligible such lands as by natural situation and quality belong to them. The principal requisites of a homestall, for a farm in mixed cultivation, are shelter and water for domestic and farm-yard purposes, with some permanent grass ground below the yards, to receive the overflowings of the dungbasins, that nothing of manure may escape or be lost. If lands lie in a shelving situation, it is desirable to have the home-stead near the midway of the slope; thus having lands above as well as below the yards; so that neither the whole of the

crops, nor of the dung, may require to be drawn against the hill at one time. A dip, or shallow valley, with a natural stream falling down it, and with lands in the lower part of it, which are capable of being converted into watered mowingground, will, speaking generally, prove a desirable site for a home-stead.

An inhabited estate however, with the farmsteads and fences fixed, and the buildings substantial, requires much thought and care to reform as to its general distribution. The lands of different farms often lie scattered and intermixed through circumstances perhaps that were originally unavoidable; through indulgencies to favorite tenants; or through the ignorance or negligence of managers; but something may generally be done towards lessening or remedying this evil; opportunities may be watched, and amicable changes between tenants made. Lands which lie compact and convenient to the home-stall are worth far more to an occupier than those of the same intrinsic value, scattered at a distance; so that by this sort of exchange an advantage may sometimes be secured to two or more tenants at the same time.

Where the farms are too large, or the farmsteads very improperly placed, but the existing buildings are in a substantial state, it requires to be calculated whether the increase of rent, by any proposed alteration of them, will pay for the money required to be laid out in making it, taking into the account the superiority of new buildings. The erecting of an entire range of farm-buildings, with the requisite appendages, is an undertaking which of course demands mature consideration. There are cases, however, in which it may be effected with profit, and many in which it may be done with credit and respectability to those employed.

Where the farms of an estate have been made too small, suitable consolidations should be made, and each of these be colored on the maps as one farm, the alterations being afterwards made as circumstances may direct; preference being ever given to the most deserving managers, and every fair opportunity taken to dismiss the undeserving. By this easy means, giving the most impressive lesson on good management to the tenantry of the estate, the best effects are preduced.

It is to be further remarked, on the subject of laying out farm-lands into suitable tenements, that although compactness of form, and centrality of home-stall are always desirable, they are not the only objects to be attended to. The specific qualities of the lands of the estate are another subject of consideration. If the lands of an estate are naturally adapted to different purposes, as cool strong lands, fit for perennial mowing-grounds, especially if they can be profitably watered, and dry uplands that are suitable for mixed cultivation only; a portion of each ought, according to long-established ideas, to be included in every farm: a principle this, however, which is very often destructive of the compactness of form. A more modern opinion is, that perennial grass-lands are not at all necessary to profitable farming, cultivated herbage and roots being equal to all the wants of modern

husbandry. Nevertheless, where a suit of meadow and pasture-grounds can be properly united with arable lands, it will generally be for their mutual benefit. But this is to be done by a general arrangement, not by making up disjointed farms with lands lying in distinct and perhaps distant parts of a parish, as we not unfrequently see. For the extra carriage of crops and manure, or the unnecessary and injurious drift of stock, and the waste of manure incurred, together with the mischiefs arising from stock being left at a distance from the eye, and the time lost in passing, on every occasion, between distinct parts of a scattered farm, eventually fall on the proprietor. In fact, where an estate consists of arable lands of different sub-strata, so that some parts are retentive of moisture, and others not, it ought to be the aim of the planner to include portions of each in every farm, in order that each occupier may have a regular succession of employment for his teams in a moist season, and in order that, whether the summer prove wet or dry, he may not be destitute either of grass or herbage. In districts of a mixed nature or strata, where a variety of lands are found, this, by due attention, may not unfrequently be done, without much deranging the compactness of the farms.

In the distribution of particular fields, the benefit of having a water meadow below the home-stead has already been pointed out. When this cannot be accomplished, the yardliquor may be profitably expended on a farm garden ground, to be watered by means of parallel trenches, formed across the slope or descent of the ground to receive it; thus conveying the nutritious particles which have escaped from the dung-yards immediately to the fibrils of the plants while growing, or to the base of the soil into which they are required to strike. And, on every farm in which there is not a sufficiency of watered garden ground, a garden field of some acres for the culture of green herbage and roots with the plough, for horses, cattle, and swine, as well as for culinary purposes, ought to be laid out near the farm-yard. A pasturing paddock or two near the house is likewise a requisite appendage to a home-stead.

Where the dairy is a principal object, dairygrounds ought in like manner to be laid out near the house, and open into the lobby, green, or milking-yard. But the meadows, or perennial mowing-grounds, may be laid out at a distance with better effect, as it is always convenient to stack hay in the field; and, if not wanted near the spot, it may generally be brought home, with little inconvenience and expense, as it is wanted. But arable lands cannot lie at a distance from home with propriety; as, in this case, not only the crops and manure require a length of draught, but the time taken up by the plough-teams in passing to and fro, is an inconvenience. Nor should the pasture-grounds for working stock, whether oxen or horses (where these are pastured) be far from the home-stall. But those for store cattle and sheep, woodlands, coppicegrounds, &c., may lie at a distance.

Arable lands must be laid out according, as we have before noticed, to their sizes, the absorbent or retentive nature of their soils, &c. Where

two sets of arable fields can be laid out, the works of tillage and semination will not be liable to be interrupted by a shower, and the stock of the farm, be the season wet or dry, will not be distressed for pasturage. On a large farm, the lands of which are uniformly absorbent, and consequently adapted to the turnip husbandry, it is proper to have more than one set of arabis fields, in order that a sufficient choice of contiguous or near fields may be had, over which to distribute the crop, and thus prevent an unnecessary length of carriage. But on rich retentive lands, in situations where a good supply of extraneous manure can be procured, or where such lands are united with marsh and meadow grounds, to furnish a sufficiency of hay and pasturage, without the assistance of arable land, one set of arable fields may be sufficient: four or five fields or divisions are generally found on a small farm. On those numerous English farms, on which a number of manure-making stock are necessary to be supported by the arable lands, a greater diversity of fields is required. It is in this case necessary that the land should be in a state of cultivated heroage two, three, four, or five years. If the arable rotation occupy four years, therefore, taking three crops of corn with a fallow crop or fallow intervening, the number of arable fields required for one set of lands would be six, seven, eight, or nine. The conclusive argument in favor of large arable fields, is, that where fields are small, much time and labor are wasted by short turnings; and it is now ascertained, that if fields are of a regular shape, and the ridges of a proper length, five ploughs may do as much work as six ploughs in fields of a small size, and of an irregular shape; while every other branch of labor (such as dunging, sowing, harrowing, reaping, and carrying in the harvest), can be executed, though not altogether, yet nearly in the same proportion.' Husb.of Scot. vol. i. p. 41.

Sometimes, in a bleak situation, it will be found requisite to subdivide the arable fields not only for shelter, but for the greater convenience of shifting and separating stock. The shape, even, of an arable field ought not, in all cases, to be thought a matter of indifference. It should be regulated mainly by the water-courses and roads of the farm, as well as by the nature of its lands, the turn of its surface, and its aspect or exposure. A perfect square, or parallelogram, is a desirable shape, if circumstances admit of it. Two sides at least ought to run parallel to each other; and it is equally, or more desirable, that each field should have a uniformity of soil and sub-soil, as on these depend the uses to which it is applicable. Yet, where the natural line of division is irregular, it is improper always to follow its windings. The planner ought rather to draw a judicious line between the two, and the cultivator to alter the qualities of the lands, which happen to be unnaturally severed, by draining, manuring, &c.

The general direction of the fields should be the same as that in which the land ought to be ploughed for a crop. On a level surface, or on one which is gently inclining, the direction of the beds of retentive lands that require to be laid up in round ridges ought to be nearly north and

south; in order that the crops on either side of them may receive equal sun. In this case, consequently, the fences, which form the two longer sides of the quadrangle, should take that direction. But, where the surface is steep, this principle of direction must give way to another of great importance. If the land be retentive, and the soil require to be laid up into round beds, across the slope, the direction of the ridges must be guided by the face of the slope; and the fences, on the general principle, ought to take the same direction; observing, in this case, where circumstances will admit, to let them wind to the right of a person standing on the brink of the slope, and facing towards it; as the beds ought to take that direction for the greater ease in ploughing them. Where the face of a hill is steep, and the land absorbent, the soil requires to be turned downwards of the slope with a turnwrest or Kentish plough; and the fences to be directed by the natural lines of the hill.

The supply of water is the main consideration in laying out grazing grounds, cow grounds, and pasture grounds in general. Wherever good water is found naturally, or can be conveniently brought by art, to that point a pasture ground ought to tend, in order to enjoy the supply as much as possible. In laying out water-meadows, where they are situated on sloping grounds, or the higher sides of which adjoin to upper lands, the main conductor (where a proper fall from the source of the water will admit of it) ought to define the outline of the meadow on that side; and the fence which separates the meadow lands from the dry grounds ought to run immediately along the upper side of the water-course; the two thus becoming natural guards to each other. Within an extended flat, or an extent of gently shelving meadow grounds, belonging to different proprietors, and where deep ditches are required to be sunk on the upper sides of the fences, to drain the lands that lie above them, the plan here recommended would be improper. But in the situations described above it is perfectly eligible, and ought not, in ordinary cases, to be departed from.

The size of fields, it has been observed by a modern writer, must bear some proportion to the strength of the farmer with regard to ploughs and horses. "For instance, where six two-horse ploughs are kept, and where it is difficult, from the nature of the soil, to have the fields of a large extent sufficiently dry, from eighteen to twentyfive English acres are considered to be a convenient size. With twelve horses a field of this extent can always be finished in four, or at the utmost in five days. There is less risk, therefore, of being overtaken by bad weather, and prevented from completing the preparation of the land for the internal crop. When the fields are of too great an extent, in proportion to the stock kept, a considerable interval must occur between the sowing of the first and of the last part; and it will in general be desirable to have each field cleared at the same time in harvest. The harrowing also is done more economically, when the field is sown at once, than in several portions; and where rolling is required, that operation being most effectually done across, it cannot well be

accomplished till the field has been completed. Hence the advantages of having the size of the fields in some degree commensurate to the stock of working animals upon the farm.'

Though on large farms,' continues this writer, fields should, in general, be formed on an extensive scale, there is a convenience in having a few smaller fields near the farm-house for keeping the family cows; for turning out young horses, mares, and foals; for raising a great variety of vegetables; and for trying experiments ou à small scale, which may afterwards be extended, if they shall be found to answer. Where enclosures are too large for particular purposes, and where no small fields, as above recommended, have been prepared, large fields may be subdivided by sheep-hurdles, a sort of portable fence well known to every turnip-grower. In this way great advantage may be derived from the constant use of land that would otherwise have been occupied by stationary fences; and the expense of subdivisions, which, on a large farm, would necessarily have been numerous, is thereby avoided. This fence is perfectly effectual against sheep, though it is not so well calculated for stronger animals. On dry soils, where sheep are generally pastured, it is not unlikely that, by using moveable hurdles, the expense of permanent fences might, in a great measure, be saved.'

In the Code of Agriculture it is observed, that when a whole farm is divided into fields of various sizes, it is difficult to form a plan, so as to suit a regular rotation of crops, or to keep very accurate accounts. Whereas, by having the fields in general of a large size, the whole strength of a farm, and the whole attention of the farmer, is directed to one point; while an emulation is excited among the ploughmen, when they are thus placed in circumstances which admit their work to be compared. Some small fields are certainly convenient on any farm, for grazing and other purposes, to be afterwards explained. On elevated situations, also, the shelter derived from small enclosures is of use.

Sometimes a farm is situated on both sides of a highway; in which case all the fields may be made to open into it, either directly or through an intervening field. Here no private road is wanting, excepting a few yards to reach the farmery. But when, as is most generally the case, the lands are situated at a distance from a great road, and approached by a lane or bye-road, then from that bye-road a private road is required to the farmery, and a lane or lanes from it so contrived as to touch at most of the fields of the farm. In wet and clayey soils, these lanes must be formed of durable materials; but in dry soils, provided attention be paid to fill in the cart ruts as they are formed (by the leading out of dung, or home of corn,) by small stones, gravel, or even earth, the lane may remain green; and being fed with sheep or cattle will not be altogether lost. It is essentially necessary to make a piece of road at the gate of every enclosure, being the spot which is most frequently in use. Without this precaution, it often becomes a mire where corn is thrown down and spoiled in harvest, or if it is attempted to avoid the mire, the gate-posts and neighbouring fence are

often damaged. (Communications to the board of Agriculture, vol. ii.) With good private roads a farmer will perform his operations at much less expense; the labor of the horses will be much easier; a greater quantity or weight of grain and other articles may be more expeditiously carried over them; manure can be more easily conveyed to the fields; the harvest can be carried on more rapidly; and wear and tear of every description will be greatly reduced. (Code of Agriculture, p. 158.) The gates of fields, it has been observed, should in most cases be placed in the middle of that side of the field which is nearest the road; and not in an angle, or at one corner, unless particular circumstances point out this as the preferable mode.

On the subject of fences in general see HusBANDRY. Respecting one conspicuous boundary of some farms, hedge-row trees, a great difference of opinion prevails. While they improve the landscape, it seems to be agreed by the most intelligent agriculturists that they are extremely hurtful to the fence, and for some distance to the crops on each side; and it is evident, that in many instances the highways, on the sides of which they often stand, suffer greatly from their shade. It has therefore been doubted, whether such trees be profitable to the proprietor, or beneficial to the public; to the farmer they are almost in every case injurious, to a degree beyond what is commonly imagined. (Supplement to the Encyclopædia Britannica article AGRICULTURE.) Loch, however, a well informed improver of landed property, is of a different opinion. He says, there is no change in the rural economy of England more to be regretted, than the neglect which is now shown to the cultivation and growth of hedge-row timber. The injury which it does to the cultivation of the land is much exaggerated, especially if a proper selection of trees is made; but even the growth of the ash, so formidable to agriculturists, might be defended on the ground that, without it, the best implements employed in the cultivation of the soil could not be made. It is well known that good hedge- row timber is by far the most valuable both for naval and domestic purposes. Its superior toughness rendering it equally valuable to the ship and to the plough-wright. The value which it is of, in affording shelter, is also of material use; besides, the raising of grain is not the only purpose of life, or the only matter to be attended to, nor the only object worthy of attention. The purposes of war and the national glory, the protection and extension of our commerce, the construction and repair of buildings, and even the enjoyment arising from the rich and beautiful effect produced by such decoration and ornament, are all objects of material importance to the well-being and constitution of a highly cultivated state of society. Even upon the more narrow basis of individual utility, this practice might be defended and recommended; for it is not useless to consider how many families and estates have been preserved, when pressed by temporary difficulties (from which none are exempted), from a fall of hedge-row timber. One of the best legacies, that a great proprietor can

leave his country and his family, is an estate well stocked with such trees.

2. Of the arrangement of farm buildings, and the enclosures of a farmery.-According to Beatson, the first thing to be taken into consideration upon this subject is the nature and produce of the farm: hence may be judged the different kinds of accommodation that will be necessary. Every farm, for example, must have, 1. A dwelling-house; 2. A barn suitable to the extent of arable land in the farm, either with or without a threshing mill, but always with one if possible; and it should be endeavoured to place it so that it may go by water, if a supply can be had; 3. Stables, the dimensions of which must be determined according to the number of horses necessary for the farm; 4. Cow-houses, or feeding-houses, or both, according to the number of cows and cattle, and so on, till the whole accommodations and their dimensions are fixed upon.

Having ascertained these, and the situation for building on being also settled, the ground must be carefully and attentively viewed; and, if not very even, the different levels must be observed, and the best way of conducting all the necessary drains, and carrying off all superfluous moisture. Also the best situation for dung and urine-pits, or reservoirs, which will, in a great degree, ascertain at once where the cattle-houses and stables should be. These being fixed on, the barn should be as near them as possible, for the convenience of carrying straw to the cattle; and the barn-yard should be contiguous to the barn. These main points being determined on, the others will easily be found; always observing this rule, to consider what is the nature of the work to be done about each office, and then the easiest and least laborious way to perform that work, so far as it is connected with other offices. In case this should not be sufficiently explicit, suppose, by way of illustration, the situation of a feedinghouse is to be considered of. The nature of the work to be performed here is, bringing food and litter to the cattle, and taking away their dung. The place from whence the greatest part perhaps of their food and all their litter comes, is the barn; therefore the feeding-house should be as near the barn as possible. If turnips, or other roots, or cabbages, make a part of their food, the most commodious way of giving these must be determined on; whether by having a roothouse adjoining the cattle-house, and that filled occasionally, or by having a place to lay them down in, near the heads of the stall, from whence they are thrown in at holes left in the wall for that purpose. The easiest method of clearing away the dung must also be considered, and the distance from the main dung-pit and urine reservoir. The same general rule being observed in determining on the site of all the other offices or accommodations, together with a careful examination of the ground to be occupied (upon which the arrangement of the offices in a great measure should depend), any person conversant in rural affairs, who attends to these particulars, and can lay down his ideas in a drawing, may easily direct the planning and building of a very commodious set of offices. With respect to the