282 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



IMPKOVED TASTE 



in the arrangement of buildings and the more substantial manner in which they 

 are built ; and yet there is great room for improvement in this direction. So few 

 leave space enough for their buildings when they arrange their fields and 

 grounds. The orchard and gardens crowd so close upon them that there is no 

 room to extend or re-arrange without breaking up the convenience and sym- 

 metry of the whole. There is no excuse for this when we clear up and subdue 

 a new farm. Make your plan sufficiently comprehensive on the start, so that 

 it can be added to with economy and still preserve the symmetry and conven- 

 ience of the whole. In the arrangement of the farm, if we are to pursue a gen- 

 eral system of husbandry (and that is the most profitable for the majority in 

 the interior of the JState), have fields enough for a proper rotation of crops 

 without having two or more in a single field. I am not among those who be- 

 lieve that fences are only a bill of expense. Where timber is as plenty and land 

 as cheap, and labor as dear as it is anywhere in Michigan, do not be afraid to 

 build fences, — and good substantial ones, too. Rail fences are cheaper than 

 board, although perhaps not so neat; yet, when properly constructed, kept in 

 good repair and the briers and apple-limbs kept out of their corners, there is 

 nothing untidy in a rail fence. Leave room enough for a grove and grass plat 

 near your barns. They will be exceedingly refreshing to stock in our hot 

 summer days. A nice grove left near the house or on the windward side, not 

 far away, will add greatly to the comfort and beauty of a home. A grove will 

 need less care than a nicely finished lawn ; and yet a smooth grass plat in front 

 of the house should never be omitted. It should also extend around to the 

 rear of the house. This will add as much to one's own comfort as the part in 

 front. There is nothing more conducive to slovenliness than tomato vines, 

 chicken-coops and a chip-yard in close proximity to the back door. 



Take advantage of any natural deformity if you can not conveniently re- 

 move it. A pile of stones, or any unsightly outbuilding, may be covered or 

 hidden by a growth of Virginia creeper, and thus made a thing of beauty in- 

 stead of deformity. 



I would not be understood, however, as advocating too much space for lawn 

 and groves, for to keep them in good condition takes time; and, if there is any 

 great extent, more time than most people can economically spare. Unless they 

 are kept orderly and neat, they might better be devoted to the raising of profit- 

 able crops of hay or grain. 



In closing this subject of 



ORDER AND NEATNESS, 



I will say that my paper is of necessity short, for there is no fixed and exact 

 definition of what they are made up. It would vary in the difi'erence of loca- 

 tion, and with every different individual. There can be no definite rules laid 

 down. The subject is of a practical nature ; hence the difficulty of illustration 

 in a paper of this character. And yet, however practical they may be, their 

 true development depends on the development of our aesthetic natures and our 

 love of eveiything boautilul and s\mmetrical. And this depends on the right 

 kind of practical education and illustration to guide our habits and tastes in 

 the right direction. 



