428 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Oft. Doc. 



outside, and used the earth in the beds to level up the lawn. After 

 we had it graded, 1 sent to Peter Henderson Co. for |1.50 worth of 

 lawn grass seed, same as he used at Chicago World's Fair, bought 

 a lawn-mower for |3.00; expense without our labor 14.50. I never 

 put wheat in the garner or sold a fatted steer and made more money 

 than I did producing that lawn. A man will stand in front of my 

 place and give more for my property on account of the lawn than 

 he would without it. But money is not all in this world. On this 

 lawn, in the summer time is where we entertain our company. They 

 are using it for that purpose as T am writing these lines. The 

 family spends their idle moments on it, and it seems to me the shade 

 of the old apple tree is cooler than any shade I ever sat in, and 

 sitting upon that lawn, it seems to me the smoke from my chimney 

 curls more beautiful than any I ever looked at. For a background 

 to this house and lawn, I have planted 50 grape vines, vining on 

 50 poles. They not only add beauty, but there is nothing about the 

 place we enjoy more than those grapes, and when ripe, it is aston- 

 ishing how friends Vvdll drop in to see us. 



I want to go into the inside of this home for a short time and 

 speak of a room in it, I call the living room, where the family meet 

 to spend their evenings. In this room in our home we have a desk 

 in the centre; this desk has a flat top 3^x5^ feet, and there is more 

 business done and less money made on it than any desk in Hun 

 tingdon county. It has twelve drawers and two cupboards. On 

 ihis desk sets a Miller lamp, a sixty-horse poAver; there are always 

 pens and ink, paper and pencils on it, and around this desk we 

 gather from Monday to Monday, and there is not a piece of furni- 

 ture in the home that would be missed more if taken out than this 

 desk. At this desk is w^here I try to get my children up against the 

 real things in life as soon as possible. 



There are many things that can be written about the home, but 

 space will not permit; but I want to mention the most essential, 

 and that is a good mother; her influence is something marvelous. 



A lady in Bucks county one time asked me wiiy it was that the 

 mother had more influence in the home than the father had. I 

 never thought of this before, but it is true. I have a little boy. I 

 can take him and play with him, and his mother can not coax him 

 away from me; but lei him hit his finger, bump his head, or hurt 

 himself in any way, and he can not see me. He will run right past 

 me, hunting his mother, for he knows that in the touch of her hand 

 there is a magic panacea, in the press of her cheek there is a balm in 

 (xilead, and in her kiss a benediction he can not find elsewhere. 

 Sometimes I feel a little jealous of this influence and look in the 

 aiass and sav to mvself "You're a dandv, ain't vou?" and think 

 sometimes I am like the husband I heard of once. His wife got 



