VERMONT DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 161 



It is by individuality that we recognize, know and like peo- 

 ple. A feature of the face, a twinkle of the eye. a motion of 

 the hand, a pose of the body, an inflection of speech, a quality 

 of voice, a cadence of step, are the little labels by which we 

 recognize people. Nature exhibits the same individuality, — 

 no two trees, no two blossoms, no two kernels of corn, no two 

 grains of sand, no two feathers of a bird, no two animals, and 

 no two persons are exactly alike. 



It is individuality that gives the spice and sparkle to per- 

 sonality, that conveys the subtle, unuttered, but potent pow- 

 er we call influence. We like people who are individual — 

 who do not say what everybody else says, who do not do 

 things because polite society says it is the proper thing, who 

 do not dress minutely in fashion, who do not serviley conform 

 to the dictates of the impersonal " they," but who are individ- 

 ual, independent, and hence influential. 



And just as we like people who are individual, so do we like 

 homes that are individual. In this respect the country home 

 has a great advantage over the city home. In a manufactur- 

 ing town or city the homes for the operatives are either in a 

 block, whose sequence of doors and windows is painful, and 

 each particular home denoted by a number only, or the homes 

 are in separate houses which are situated the same distance 

 from the street, are of the same dimension, have the same ar- 

 rangements, chimneys, doors and windows, and all are paint- 

 ed alike — hence in either case no individuality. They are 

 simply abiding places not homes. 



The house of the proprietor may be located in some princi- 

 pal street, may cost as much as the appraised valuation of 

 several towns in Vermont, may exhibit in architecture the art 

 of a Wren or in construction the ability of a Stevenson, but 

 is so hedged and hemmed in that it cannot express its beauty 

 or individuality. 



Along Columbus Avenue in Boston, or Fifth Avenue in 

 New York, or Wabash Avenue in Chicago, there is but little 

 external home expression. It is this home individuality that 

 makes home so dear, that nurtures fond memory, that creates 

 an ever abiding image, that makes the heart of the home- 

 coming one thrill with love and emotion. But that around 

 which our warmest sentiments gather ; that toward which 

 tends the heart's most ardent feelings; that which is the dear- 

 est spot on earth, is the old home fireside. Yet that which 

 makes this so dear a spot, that which casts a sacred halo 

 about the place, that which awakens the fondest recollections 

 and tenderest affections, is mother. From early chlidhood to 

 life's closing days, there is no other name so dear, no other 

 face so sweet, no other voice so gentle, no other life so pre- 



