654 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Oft. Doc. 



remark. Not infrequently the home is almost surrounded by beauti- 

 ful shrubs or orchards which lend it the enchantment of a fairy land 

 and cause our "city cousins" to go into raptures of delight when they 

 visit us in the budding springtime. The walks and lawns around 

 every carefully arranged country home are adorned with flower-beds 

 which rival those produced by the skill of the paid horticulturist, 

 and scent the whole house with a rich aroma for which the owner 

 of a city mansion sighs in vain. True, there are homes where there 

 are neither flowers or shrubs to adorn the place, but these are few 

 and form no comparison to the city residence occupied by people of 

 the same general trend of character. 



In the next place, we should say a word or so in reference to the 

 1 elation of the home to the city or town. In the first place, it is 

 secluded and enjoys the free breath of heaven and an abundance of 

 God's sunshine. In the next place, it is possible to add to the country 

 home such conveniences as will put it on a par with the city home at 

 a very reasonable cost. In fact, localities have now the conveniences 

 of water, bath and heating, rural mail delivery and in some cases the 

 telephone, which brings the rural home into immediate touch with 

 the hurry and worry of the bus}' world without its noise and trials. 

 The daily paper keeps one full}' informed, while the trolley system 

 is bringing the market and educational facilities to our very door. 



Then, again, let us look at some of the great benefits of living in 

 the countr}'. First, it brings us into close touch with Nature and 

 enables us to get more into harmony with God and his creation than 

 is possible in the busy, dusty city. Our poets sing for us songs almost 

 divine, but in many cases the inspiration to sing came from the 

 zephyrs whispering among the pines or from the babbling brook as 

 its sings its musical lyric to the stones and mosses upon the bank. 

 No teacher is so eloquent, no music so sublime, as that which Nature 

 gives to those who love her. Seldom, indeed, does the villain be- 

 come such among the scenes of nature, but when he is among men 

 with their vices and crimes. The birds, the flowers, the plants, the 

 influence of godlike perfection and beauty in all nature cannot but 

 refine and beautify every life reared in the free open air of our beau- 

 tiful country home. 



Some, if not most of our best and useful men, have been reared in 

 the country home. Let us mention a few. The story of Lincoln, now 

 on the tongue of every schoolboy, needs no comment. Webster grew 

 up .amid the green fields of his native home. Depew, the orator of 

 the famous after-dinner talks, was a farmer boy, as was also the late 

 Archbishop of Canterbury. Among women, we find such noted 

 names as the Gary sisters, whose poetry and hymns are loved and 

 sung by all English people. Clara Barton, from a poor farmer 

 maiden, at last received the Golden Cross for assistance given to the 

 wounded upon the German battlefield, and the Iron Cross for her 

 noble work and aid to the dying. Other names might be quoted, but 

 let this suffice. It seems as though the noble nature of men and 

 women grew into fuller richness because of contact with nature and 

 some measure of work. The noblest of our sons are those who till 

 the soil, the fairest of our maidens are upon the farms, and God 

 shall ever bless the simple, trustful lives who labor and grow mature 

 in wisdom as they learn daily the lessons of nature at first hand. 



