Accompanied by more than 250 illustrations, Halsted's environmentally sensitive manual was written with the farmer in mind — and during a time when a laborer earned a mere dollar a day. His barn-building theories extend to dog— and bird-houses, and are based upon qualities we still hold dear: light and air, space, cost, and beauty, as well as permanence, convenience, and workability.This facsimile edition of the 1881 book of plans and instructions will engage the reader with its anecdotal style. Nearly 100 structures span the gamut of farm buildings: from monumental barns--four stories high and covering nearly an acre, to lowly hen coops and root cellars. The particulars of their construction, recounted in simple and practical terms, tell a timeless tale of life lived amid the changing seasons and the natural world.