470 J\liAI)lNG-C0UKSE I'OK lv\KMERS. 



sides of a steep hollow; yet <ine (la\'s work with team and scraper would 

 have filled the place. 



3. Tlic surroundings 



The charm of any farmstead lies to a great degree in the neatness 

 of the premises. The farmer is so isolated that he has little occasion 

 to consider tlie wishes of his neighbor or the passer-by as to tlie looks 

 of his place. He also has abun;'ance of room and can let things lie 

 where they fall. There is no local board of health to inspect his place. 

 Therefore the importance of keeping things picked up does not appeal 

 to him as it does to the city man. Yet one wonders why the man should 

 not take as much pri le in the keeping of his premises as the woman 

 does in the keeping of her house. I once made a note of the things 

 that I saw scattered about a New York farmstead, and which might 

 have been piled up, put in barns or cellars, or burned. The barn stood 

 near the house, on the same side of t!;e highway. Alongside the barn, 

 in full view from the road, were two old buggy bodies, one of them 

 minus a wheel, bleached by countless rains and snows, with weeds grow- 

 ing through them ; about the barn was the frame of a grindstone, a heap 

 of hoops and plow points, several barrels in various positions, the remains 

 of a cutter, and scattered staves, blocks and stones. Near the house 

 were boards lying topsy-turvy, stove-wood scattered over the yard, a 

 wagon-box bottom side up, and a deserted an 1 dilapidate 1 cliicken coop. 

 The house and barn were fairly good in general form, but they showed 

 the effects of wear. It was evident that the place l:ad seen better days. 

 It showed lack of organization and of definiteness of purpose. Fortu- 

 nately, such places r.re not abundant and they are probably becoming 

 less in number ; yet they are common enough to raise the cpiestion whether 

 they do not measure the status of farming in some communities. It is 

 usually impossible to reach such farmers by appealing to their sense of 

 tidiness, for the difficulty lies deeper. 



The above picture may appeal to the average good farmer as so un- 

 usual as not to induence him or even to hold his attention; yet there is a 

 general lack of tidiness in farm premises as compared wiUi city i)remises. 

 It is urged that it takes time to keep things i)icked up. Yes; but the 

 farmer is likely to lose his odd minutes or hours by not organizing his 

 time. Idle busy driving business man must organize every minute into 

 an effective system; his odd minutes are directed into odd j;)l)s or to 

 definite recreation. Perhaps it is not impnrtant that the farmstead be 

 kept as scrupulously tidy as the city yard; but it is doubtful whelher 

 there is any place on a modern farm for mere carelessness and neglect. 

 Certain it is that the most tasteful l)uildings lose their eft'cctivcness if 

 repairs are neglected and the ])re;nises are slattern. 



