FARM

farm, in the most generally used sense, a portion of land leased or held for the purpose of agriculture; hence "farming" is equivalent to the pursuit of agriculture, and "farmer" to an agriculturist. this meaning is comparatively modern. the origin of the word has perhaps been complicated by an anglo-saxon _feorm_, meaning provisions or food supply, and more particularly a payment of provisions for the sustenance of the king, the _cyninges feorm_. in domesday this appears as a food rent: _firma unius noctis_ or _diei_. according to the _new english dictionary_ there is no satisfactory teutonic origin for the word. it has, however, been sometimes connected with a word which appears in the older forms of some teutonic languages, meaning "life." the present form "farm" certainly comes, through the french _ferme_, from the medieval lat. _firma_ (_firmus_, fixed), a fixed or certain payment in money or kind. the anglo-saxon _feorm_ may be not an original teutonic word but an early adaptation of the latin. the _feorm_, originally a tax, seems, as the king "booked" his land, to have become a rent (see f.w. maitland, _domesday book and after_, 1897, p. 236 ff., and j.h. round, _feudal england_, 1895, p. 109 ff.). the word _firma_ is thus used of the composition paid by the sheriff in respect of the dues to be collected from the shire. from the use of the word for the fixed sum paid as rent for a portion of land leased for cultivation, "farm" was applied to the land itself, whether held on lease or otherwise, and always with the meaning of agricultural land. the aspect of the fixity of the sum paid leads to a secondary meaning, that of a certain sum paid by a taxable person, community, state, &c., in respect of the taxes or dues that will be imposed, or to such a sum paid as a rent by a contractor for the right of collecting such taxes. this method of indirect collection of the revenue by contractors instead of directly by the officials of the state is that known as "farming the taxes." the system is best known through the _publicani_ of rome, who formed companies or syndicates to farm not only the indirect taxation of the state, but also other sources of the state revenues, such as mines, fisheries, &c. (see publicani). in monarchical europe, which grew out of the ruins of the roman empire, the revenue was almost universally farmed, but the system was gradually narrowed down until only indirect taxes became the subject of farming. france from the 16th to the 18th centuries is the most interesting modern example. owing to the hopeless condition of its revenues, the french government was continually in a state of anticipating its resources, and was thus entirely in the hands of financiers. in 1681 the indirect taxes were farmed collectively to a single company of forty capitalists (_ferme generale_), increased to sixty in 1755, and reduced to the original number in 1780. these farmers-general were appointed by the king for six years, and paid an annual fixed sum every year in advance. the taxes which they collected were the customs (_douanes_ or _traites_), the _gabelle_ or salt tax, local taxes or octrois (_entrees_, &c.), and various smaller taxes. they were under the management of a controller-general, who had a central office in paris. the office of farmer-general was the object of keen competition, notwithstanding that the successful candidates had to share a considerable part of the profits of the post with ministers, courtiers, favourites, and even the sovereign, in the shape of gifts (_croupes_) and pensions. the rapacity of the farmers-general was proverbial, and the loss to the revenue by the system was great, while very considerable hardships were inflicted on the poorer contributors by the unscrupulous methods of collection practised by the underlings of the farmers. in addition, the unpopular nature of the taxes caused deep discontent, and the detestation in which the farmers-general were held culminated in the execution of thirty-two of them during the french revolution and the sweeping away of the system. see also agriculture, dairy and dairy-farming, fruit and flower farming, &c. farm buildings. the best laying out of a farm, and the construction of its buildings, are matters which, from the variety of needs and circumstances, involve practical considerations and expert knowledge, too detailed in their nature for more than a brief reference in this work. it may be said generally that the best aspect for farm buildings is s. or s.s.e., and with a view to easy disposal of drainage they should be built on a slight slope. the supply of water, whether it be provided from wells by engine or windmill power, by hydraulic rams or other means, is a prime consideration, and it should if possible be laid on at different suitable points or at any rate the central source of supply should be in the most accessible and convenient place as regards stables and cow-sheds. the buildings should be constructed on or within easy distance of the public road, in order to save the upkeep of private roads, and should be as near as possible to the centre of the farm. on mixed farms of ordinary size (200 to 500 acres) the building may be advantageously planned in one rectangular block, the stock-yards being placed in the centre separated by the cow-sheds, and surrounded by the cart-sheds, stables, stores and barn, cattle-boxes, piggeries and minor buildings. on farms of larger size and on dairy farms special needs must be taken into account, while in all cases the local methods of farming must influence the grouping and arrangement of the steading. for a more detailed treatment of the subject reference may be made to the following works;--s. taylor, _modern homesteads_, _a treatise on the designing of farm buildings_ (london, 1905); a.d. clarke, _modern farm buildings_ (london, 1899); p. roberts, _the farmstead_, in the "rural science series" (new york, 1900), and articles in the _standard cyclopaedia of agriculture_, vol. 3, and in the _cyclopaedia of american agriculture_, vol. 1.