The Cornell Reading- Courses 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

 NEW YORK STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY 



Beverly T. Galloway. Dean 



COURSE FOR THE FARM HOME, MARTHA VAN RENSSELAER and FLORA ROSE. Superylsors 



Entered as second-class matter at the post office at Ithaca, New York 



VOL. IV. No. 8s 



APRIL I, 1915 



FARMHOUSE SERIES 

 No. 7 



THE ARRANGEMENT OF HOUSEHOLD FURNISHINGS 



Helen Binkerd Young 



T IS the common experience of mankind that the 

 himian race cannot live much above its envi- 

 ronment. The grandeur of purpose of some rare 

 souls has lifted them above the touch of mere 

 earthly trappings, but, for the most part, men are 

 molded by the thoughts and things that are about 

 them. Slowly and silently an exchange of influence 

 takes place between the individual and his environ- 

 ment. Each gradually absorbs the most conspicu- 

 ous qualities of the other. Stupid and commonplace 

 surroundings at length breed a dull and unimaginative outlook on life and 

 render the mind insensitive to new ideas and impressions. 



Still more baneful are such influences as untidy yards and buildings, 

 which are in the first place the result and later the cause of careless habits 

 of work and of thought; on the other hand, orderly, attractive homesteads 

 not only express but in their turn create orderly habits of thought and 

 of work. In the last analysis, disorder and ugliness are destructive 

 agencies, while order and comeliness are constructive agencies in a person's 

 environment. 



A sound home environment is, therefore, nothing more nor less than 

 a set of outward conditions so adjusted as to encourage the richest living. 

 While the amount of human energ\^ that is lost through working against 

 unfavorable conditions is not measurable, the evidence of all nature, as 

 well as the intelligence of mankind, points in the direction of harmony 

 or cooperation of forces as favoring healthy growth. This elemental 

 fact justifies the spending of serious thought on the subject of home 

 environment. If dwelling places can be made, first of all, sound for 

 their use, and second, comely to view, both the practical and the aesthetic 

 needs of the home will be recognized. 



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