FARM

In Agriculture, a farm is a portion of land, with suitable buildings, fences, and other arrangements nece ary for carrying on the busine of farming, which is let to the farmer or occupier for rent. Farming is no doubt coeval with the invention of property in land; because we may suppose that when a proprietor had taken po e ion of a portion of territorial surface, and called it his own, he would require the a istance of various persons to cultivate it; and these persons he could only remunerate by giving them a share of the produce. Hence the origin of what on the Continent is called the Metayer system, — in which the landlord supplies the farmer or tenant with the soil, buildings, and the whole or a certain portion of the stock; while the latter supplies the labour of cultivation and management, and takes as a remuneration the half, or some other measure of the produce. In proce of time, as the tenants or farmers began to acquire capital, they furnished the whole of the live and dead stock, as well as the labour of cultivation and management, and paid the proprietor or landlord a fixed rent in money or produce. To enable the tenant or farmer to do this with the greater security, leases were invented, by which the tenant holding the land for a certain number of years was enabled to lay out money for its improvement at the commencement of his lease, and to receive it back again in the form of increased produce before its termination. At the commencement of this system of what may be called free farming, all farms were undoubtedly of very limited extent; but with the increase of capital and skill on the part of the farmer they have become greatly enlarged. Much has been written respecting the most profitable size of farms for the public; but this may safely be left to the interest of the parties immediately concerned. Whatever size of farm brings in the highest rent to the landlord will be the best size for the public; because the higher the rent the greater the amount of the produce that must be sent to market to pay it. That there is a natural limit to the size of farms there can be no doubt; but what this is is a different question, and has no connection with thewther. It depends on the character of the surface, the kind of farming, and the cliniate. But though there is a natural limit to the size of farms, and which in any given case can be readily defined, there is no limit to the number of farms that an individual may hold but those of his capital and his skill. F.\'RME R Y. The buildings and yards nece ary for carrying Qn the busine of a farm. Their situation should be central to the farm lands, in order that the distance from which the crops are brought from the fields to the farmery, and the manure carted from tlie farmery to the fields, may be reduced to the lowest degree; for when the farm buildings are on one side of the farm lands, it is evident that the cartage to or from the more distant fields must be attended with considerable lo of labour and time. The characteristic yard of the farmery is the rick yard, and the principal feature among the buildings is the barn. [s. 453]