Buildings and Yards. 



459 



and degree: just what is proper or improper in any case must be deter- 

 mined for that case alone. A building devoid of all cons;Mcuous orna- 

 ment may be very attractive, if the general form is good and the openings 

 properly proportioned to each other. The cheap ornament that we so 

 commonly see is added to relieve the "plainness" of the building; but 

 plain buildings — that is. simple and direct ones — are diemselves the 



Fig. 279. — All attractive farm barn. 



most satisfying buildings if the mass-effect and construction are good. 

 Let a person erect such a plain building in the midst of showy ones and 

 his friends will very likely compare it to a barn. The comparison may 

 really be a compliment ; in time the critics wdll come to like the simple 

 structure and to tire of the others. The simple structure " wears." 



In the days of hand-work, the trimmings and ornamental features 

 were worked out by the men wdio built the house, and there was likely to 

 be harmony in the style of workmanship. Now, the ornamental features 

 are largely machine work, and they may have little relation to the 



