File:American homes and gardens (1908) (17534617034).jpg

Title: American homes and gardens
Identifier: americanhomesgar51908newy (find matches)
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Architecture, Domestic; Landscape gardening
Publisher: New York : Munn and Co
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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420 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS November, 1908 without it. The old stone fences that originally divided the fields were removed as rapidly as possible, and great open, unbroken stretches created. Large as the estate is, its true magnitude is only realized from an attentive study of the great work that has been carried out on it. The making of roads, the creation of fields, the betterment and improvement of the land, have been conducted on a colossal scale, and in their thoroughness and completeness merit the warmest praise; yet all this had been done for the realization of results, and constitutes but a fraction, albeit a notable one, of the great works done here in the creation of a great estate. The building operations here have been quite as extensive as the work upon the land. The Manor House, Mr. Con- verse's residence, stands on high ground, and practically commands the whole estate. But the residential buildings include two other houses of almost equal importance, one occupied by Mrs. James B. Converse, and the other by Mr. Converse's daughter, Mrs. Benjamin Strong, Jr. The home shingled roof, whose enormous height is agreeably broken by the doubling of the shingles at stated intervals; the louvres on the summit form part of the ventilation sys- tem. One wing is reserved for the cattle, a splendid herd of imported Guernseys, and the other for the workhorses, accommodation being had here for thirty-five, while from sixty-five to eighty-five horses are stabled in the various barns. The main portion is used for the storage of feed and hay. There is a cement floor and a copious water supply, fed by an elaborate system of piping. It is lighted by electricity. In addition to the inclosed structure, there is, on each side, an open shed, used for the storage of wagons and the like. When this barn was built it was supposed that it would be ample for any demands that might be made for it for many years to come; but so successful has been the working of the ground and so abundant the crops that a huge overflow barn has been necessitated, and has been erected at some distance from it. Two silos are connected with the latter structure. Below the farm barn are the buildings of the poultry
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The Gardener's Cottage and Entrance Gate grounds of the first of these are maintained under separate management, but the other is cared for by the employees of the main estate. There are, in addition, a number of fine houses for the heads of departments, for the superintendent, for the head gardener, and other responsible employees. They are built in a style and of materials harmonious with the prevailing type of the larger structures. Very notable indeed is the group consisting of the farm barns, the chicken houses, water tower, dairy and garage. Their walls and roofs form a picturesque pile at some dis- tance below the Manor House, but within sight of it, and are eloquent testimony of the great scale on which the estate has been planned and developed. There is immense dignity in these structures, plain, straightforward, undecorated con- struction, depending—and very successfully—on their size and the disposition of their parts for their effect. The great farm barn is typical of the whole group. It is an immense building, U-shaped in plan, with two vast wings that form two sides of an enormous open court, closed by the main structure of the barn at the back, but entirely open on the fourth side. It is built of stone, and is covered with a plant, which are equally colossal in extent. They are built of stone, with shingled roofs. The first building is the hatching house. It contains a mixing room for feed, an egg testing room, and a refrigerating room for the preserva- tion of killed chickens. Below is the incubator room with a capacity of about eight thousand broilers. All fowls raised on the estate are hatched by the incubator process. The brooder houses contain brooders heated by steam heat, and have inside and outside runs, arranged in comparatively small divisions, for the better care of the birds. There are two breeding houses, built of wood and shingled, each con- taining fourteen pens. Three breeds of chickens are cared for: Black Langshans, which are good layers and are used for large capons; Rhode Island Reds, for young roasters and large broilers; and White Leghorns, for laying and squab broilers. Up behind the farm barn is the dairy; it is built of stone with a shingled roof, and contains a number of rooms, all devoted to the care of milk and butter. The interior walls and floors are lined with white tile. The boilers are in the cellar, and the motors needed for working the machinery are

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