HOMES NEAR TO NATURE 



91 



of the country and of color in nature 

 When I say country I mean "truly 

 rural" country, separated from both 

 trolleys and neighbors by a mile or 

 two : for whenever land is sold in small 

 lots and people build within a few hun- 

 dred yards of each other, streets and 

 sidewalks come next and it is good-bye 

 to a real "country" home. I wish ] 

 were qualified to write the kind of a 

 letter you want; that would be a help 

 to many people who have the same ad- 

 vantages that I have, but who do not 

 seem to get the same joy out of 

 country life. 



It is a fact that I derive keen pleas- 

 ure from thi products of the place. I 

 mean I delight in being able to say, — 

 "this is home-made butter;" "this is my 

 own honey" "we never buy any vege- 

 tables." But the truth is that my bees 

 do not owe their existence to my per- 

 sonal care. I know a little about bees 

 because I have read many books on 

 that subject. I grow a great many 



beautiful flowers and we use them all 

 over the house; but I have never 

 studied botany, and would not know 

 how to advise another to find in the 

 study of the flowers an absorbing in- 

 terest and delightful pastime. I loathe 

 cities and I love the country. I wish 

 I had land enough to create a real old- 

 fashioned farm that could be made to 

 pay for itself. Big old trees, fields of 

 waving corn or yellow grain, crooked 

 apple trees, paths bordered with hardy 

 herbaceous perennials enclosing or 

 leading to the vegetable garden, with 

 spaces of green and shaded lawn, this 

 is the sort of nature I love and would 

 recommend to any who long for peace 

 of mind and happy tranquility. But 

 let me get on the subject of birds, and 

 I can say that which should certainly 

 help anyone, no matter how blase, to 

 find entertainment of the most delieht- 

 tul kind. 



I have often been asked what it was 

 that first aroused my interest in the 



THE EAST END OF THE HALL AT NIRVANA. 



