FAKMERS' INSTITUTES. 177 



not have you think that I mean by this that we should make our places tasty 

 and attractive for tlie sake of showing off to other people our ability in this 

 direction, but for the same reason we would assist our neighbor in taking off 

 his wagon-box. He is not able to do it alone, and we can help him. There are 

 hundreds of those who pass your doors annually that cannot fix up a home and 

 yard because they have none, but who can keenly appreciate the neatness and 

 attractiveness of yours. 



Only a few days ago a man said to me : " I passed your mother's yard a great 

 many times last summer, and never once without stopping to admire a magnifi- 

 cent bunch of magenta phlox, and I have seen dozens of people doing the same 

 thing." This is a simple instance of how much pleasure we can grant others 

 by the adornment of our own premises. The people did not know that the 

 beauty of this phlox was largely due to a principle in landscape art that was 

 there exhibited, viz. : contrast of color, for a dark evergreen stood near and 

 heightened the effect. 



Lastly, there is a money value in the making of a beautiful home that will 

 pay a large interest upon tiie outlay, if the labor be reckoned at its highest value. 

 You may not want to sell, but if you are a thrifty farmer and a business farmer 

 you wish to know at the end of each year what are the profits of your business, 

 and if you find there is not a very large bank account as the result of the year's 

 work, there is a great satisfaction in knowing that your place has been improved 

 in selling value a considerable percentage through the exhibition of tact and 

 taste in making the premises attractive. The merchant, in his invoice, takes 

 account of his samples and the contents of his show-window : likewise the 

 farmer should count in the embellishments of his home as a part of his capital 

 stock. 



Then if the worst comes and it is found necessary or desirable to change loca- 

 tions, the enhanced value of the property through the exhibition of taste in 

 adornment pays in the cash receipts. Beautiful situations are always more mar- 

 ketable at advanced rates than poorly kept farms at a discount. It pays them 

 liberally to make a home beautiful. 



In the outset of fixing up a place one thing must be borne in mind, eonspicu- 

 ously : that utility and beauty are not antagonistic elements. The path that 

 leads to places of work would not be beautiful if it were not direct, while the 

 one that leads to the fiower beds or the grove may be filled with delicate curves, 

 •and we follow admiringly, appreciating the nicety of the turns, because when 

 Tfe go there we are walking for pleasure, not business, and a little matter of 

 added distance takes nothing from the charm of the promenade. 



Anything loses or acquires beauty through association, and Ave should care 

 for this scrupulously. The weeping branches of the elm in the hollow make it 

 & beautiful object in the landscape, and when we observe the tips of the weep- 

 ing limbs, almost or quite sweeping the surface of the brook beneath, we enjoy 

 the delusion that it droops to bathe its branches iu the cool water. But were 

 that elm placed midway between our house and barn, where upon every occasion 

 of passing we must make a detour to avoid the limbs, or by passing under have 

 our hats knocked off, and hair pulled every time, the beauty of the weeping 

 branches would be all lost, and we would dub it a nuisance. Another point to 

 consider is that the price of beauty is care, unceasing care and attention. If by 

 ■the cultivation of taste this becomes a delight, the care is ouly an added enchant- 

 ment to the pleasure of development. 



In the arrangement of grounds there must be unity of action on the part of 



