FARM. In the present state of agriculture, a man who takes a farm of 200 acres of arable land, or land partly arable and partly good pasture, will require from 16001. to 20001. ; and it is not the interest either of the landlord or the tenant that he should take the farm un less he can command that sum. The amount of capital required depends in a great degree also on the quality of the land ; very rich land requires less capital in proportion to the rent than poor land. Besides the quality of the soil, many other circumstances determine the value of a farm. The roads, especially those which lead to the neighbouring towns, whence manure maybe obtained, are a most important object ; and, if there is water-carriage, it greatly enhances the value of the farm. The roads to the fields, and the distance from these to the farm-yard ; the convenience of having good pasture, or land easily laid down in grass, near the homestead ; and especially the situation of the farm buildings with respect to the land, and the abundance of good water—are all cir cumstances which must be well considered, and which will greatly influence the probable profits, and consequently the rent which may be fairly offered.
Large straggling farm-buildings are incon venient, and cost much in repairs. The yard or yards in a large farm should be sheltered on the north side by the barns, which need not be so extensive as used formerly to be thought necessary. Every farm which is so extensive as to require more than one floor to thrash the corn on ought always to have a thrashing mill attached to it. A small yard, distinct from the other, with sheds for the cattle to shelter themselves under in wet and stormy weather, is a great advantage> The cart-sheds should be in the which properly occupies a space north of the barn. There should be a sufficient number of stands with proper pillars and frames to build stacks on. On each side of the yard should be placed the stables, cow-houses, and feeding-stalls, with a pump of good water near the last, and conve nient places to put hay, straw, and turnips in, with a machine to cut them. An under-ground cistern near the cow-house and stables, into which the urine and washings of the cow-house may run by means of a sink or drain, is a most useful appendage. Light thatched roofs are sufficient for the sheds and smaller build ings, and even for the cow-houses and sta bles.
In the old system of agriculture a third of the gross average produce was considered as a fair rent for a farm, including all the direct payments for the occupation of the land, such as tithes, rates, and taxes ; another third was supposed to cover the labour and expenses of the farm and interest of capital ; and the re maining third was appropriated to the mainte nance of the farmer and his family, out of which he had to save whatever he laid by as a clear profit. But this calculation is no longer applicable to the present state of agriculture. The expenses are greatly increased, and the produce is also greater. Rents in Scotland are higher than in England, not only for small occupations, but for extensive farms ; and yet the tenants have complained less of the times than their neighbours in the south. One cause for this difference is, that the Scotch farm-la bourer is more advantageouslykept as a sort of in-door servant than in England ; another is that the horses are better managed on a Scotch farm ; and a third is that Scotch farmers are generally more alive to scientific improvements than those of England.
In the accounts of a farm there are many separate items to be taken into consideration. There may be a separate account kept for every field. There should always be one for every crop of which the rotation consists. There is an account of the labour of men and horses ; of the produce of the dairy ; of the stock purchased to be fatted, or sold again in an improved state. In short, the divisions of the general account may be increased without limit. M. de Dombasle, at his celebrated farm of Roville, in France, has all his princi pal servants and his apprentices assembled every evening after the day's work is over. Each man gives an account of the work done by him or under his superintendence, which is written down by the clerk. The orders for the next day are then given, and every one re returns to his lodging or his home. In the course of the next day the clerk enters all that is in the journal into a book, where every per son employed has an account : every field has ono ; every servant and domestic animal has one ; and every item which can be separated from the rest is entered, both as adding to the account or taking from it.
FAT is of two different kinds, which differ as to their melting point : these are termed olein (or elain) and stearin. The substances to which these names are given are not how. ever in all cases absolutely identical : they vary as to smell, taste, solubility in alcohol, cte. ; but all fats agree in being insoluble in water, and in not containing any nitrogen, which is a common constituent of most other animal matter.
Human Fat varies a little according to the part of the body producing it ; that from the region of the kidneys, after it has been melted, is yellowish and inodorous; it begins to con crete at Fehr., and is solid at The Olein of human fat is a colourless, oily, sweet ish fluid, and remains so at Ox Fat, when melted, begins to solidify at 98°, and the tem perature then rises to 102° ; it contains about three-fourths of its weight of stearin, which is solid, bard, colourless, not greasy, and of a granular crystalline texture. The olein of ox fat is colourless and nearly inodorous. Sheep's Fat (or Mutton Suet), by exposure to the air acquires a peculiar odour ; after fusion it con geals at a temperature varying between 98° and 102° ; the stearin is white, translucent, and after fusion but imperfectly crystalline. Hog's Fat, or Hog's Lard, is a soft colourless solid, which fuses between and ; the stearin is inodorous, solid, and granular. Goat's Fat contains a peculiar fat, termed by Chevreul Hi rein, to the presence of which its peculiar odour is owing. Goose Fat is colour less, and of a peculiar taste and smell.
The fluid fats, whether of animal or vege table origin, are usually termed oils. [Ous.] The olein and stearin of animal fats are highly useful and important substances in the manufacture of soap and candles ; for the lat ter purpose stearin has been of late very ad vantageously employed, and to a considerable extent, as a substitute for wax. [CANDLE ; S oAP.]