2054 



The Cornell Reading Courses 



farm as a whole should make for pleasant home life. If it is true that the 

 most important crop on the farm is the children, then the most important 

 function of a farm is that of supporting a good home. Certainly no one 

 will gainsay the fact that if every child were in a home, and everj^ home 

 in a garden, many of the problems of life would be solved. Since the 

 farm as a whole has its general purpose, so will the house, the bams, the 

 fields, the farmyard, and every part of the farm have its individual pur- 

 pose. And just so far as each one of these parts serves its purpose best, 

 so will it help the whole farm to be an ideal home. 



Fig. 209. THE WRONG TYPE OF RURAL ARCHITECTURE 



Tricked out with jig-saw patterns and gingerbread fretwork, frequently made worse by many garish 



colors of paint 



Since the house is headquarters, it should be connected with the high- 

 way and the bams by serviceable walks and roadways. And as the chief 

 place it should have an attractive setting. That is the main purpose of 

 the yard. B}^ a setting is meant two things: first, the house should 

 have as a background a sufficient growth of trees and shrubs to give it a 

 protected appearance; second, the setting should afford opportunity for 

 pleasant outdoor life on lawns and in shaded comers. 



The purpose of the various farm buildings needs no explanation; yet 

 from the way such buildings are scattered about on some farms, it would 

 not be very easy to do the chores. 



The orchards, while not primarily intended to serve an aesthetic pur- 



