The Natural History of the Farm in its Relation to 

 the Development of the Aesthetic 



John D. Detwiler 

 Assistant Professor of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario 



In discussing the natural history of the farm in its relation to 

 the development of the aesthetic, I shall confine myself rather 

 rigidly to the farm. In so doing I hope I may be able to give 

 those who teach the farmers of to-morrow an attitude toward the 

 natural environment of the farm that will make them true in- 

 terpreters of the aesthetic possibilities there. 



This field is especially interesting to me because all my youth 

 up to manhood was spent there, and more particularly because 

 man in one of his fundamental activities is inseparably associated 

 with all that transpires there. The contemplation of nature on 

 the farm would have little solace or beauty for me without the 

 human touch. 



The natural history of the farm, as it affects the farmer, is 

 made up of sentient and insentient nature. In the former are 

 centered all the experiences relating to the animals that make 

 their abode there, and hence are largely circumscribed by the 

 environment of the farm, while in the latter the experiences may 

 be as wide as the eye can see and the mind can grasp. 



Many of the farmer's experiences with the animals do not 

 tend to elevate his sense of the beautiful. 'Tis true there is a 

 certain fine gratification in looking at the lines of a well-set-up 

 horse, but I do not think that stock judging would make much 

 of an appeal to a poetic nature. I fear, however, it is this kind 

 of beauty the majority of farmers see in their domestic animals, 

 if indeed they are fanciers at all. Nevertheless, if the farmer for 

 the moment forgets to count points, that is, ceases to be technic- 

 ally scientific, he cannot help but see much beauty in the symme- 

 try and lines of a well developed horse. We have all admired 

 him, suddenly arrested in his galloping about the pasture, and 

 posing, so to speak, for a moment, while the wind blew his shaggy 

 mane over his shapely head. We may also have been attracted 

 by the picture of strength in his full, tense muscles as he strained 



i7 



