SECPvETAIlY'S PORTFOLIO. 377 



of lari;c lines of trees in the door-yard; in others shrubs, evergreens and 

 flowers are scattered about in profusion, and often the disposition shows itself 

 in a house covered with ivy, while again the only ornamental exhibit may con- 

 sist of weathervanes upon barn, house and gate-post. 



There is, notwithstanding the thought that farmers are merely practical, a 

 desire for securing something about the premises for adornment, in almost 

 every farmer. Tliis we are thankful for. It shows an appreciation of some- 

 thinir hiizhcr than the ""ratification of the stomach and securing: a ijood. bank 

 account. 



But in gratifying this desire there is so great a waste of time and money and. 

 material and so little that is valuable for the outlay made, that we feel there 

 sliould be a c:ood deal of effort made in the education of taste in these matters 

 of home adornment. We certainly have great possibilities in the development 

 of a beautiful country, because in Michigan there is so wide a range of plants 

 and shrubs and trees that can be employed; our landscape naturally is quite 

 beautiful also, and all that is needed to make our country as beautiful as any 

 in the world is the exhibition of proper taste in developing ornamental farms. 

 We do not care to discuss the money value of tasteful surroundings. It is 

 enough to know that there is an innate desire among people to beautify their 

 homes for the sake of having the beauty as their own, no matter how much or 

 how little it may enhance the selling value of the premises. 



It is not a new thing to hear of ^'village improvement societies," where 

 uniform measures are adopted, by whole villages to make the towns beautiful 

 and attractive. There is a greater need for such societies in the country where 

 the best taste can be brought to bear upon a grander scale, and. with much 

 greater possibilities. There is nothing in the realm of landscape art that 

 possesses the grand beauty that can be put into a fine farm and its surroundings. 

 And again, there is no place where good taste and. artistic skill can be carried 

 •out with so little expense. What we need is education in practical matters 

 connected with the development of tasty farmhouse surroundings, so that 

 every dollar or day's work expended shall go for all it is worth. 



The suggestion comes too, that often the exhibition of the desire to 

 ornament, is confined to a small patch of ground in front of the house, which 

 is in strange discordance with the remainder of the 2:)lace. We call to mind a 

 few premises which through a simple arrangement of trees, a delightful green, 

 lawn, a good choice in paint, for the house, well-kept fences, and an appropriate 

 distribution of groups of trees over the farm, with a wood pasture not far away 

 from the house, make up a delightful arrangement, which gives character to a 

 ^vhole neighborhood, all at almost no expense beyond what would naturally 

 come in the prosecution of business farming. 



We do not expect every farmer to become an expert landscape gardener, but 

 we may readily expect from a careful discussion in farm gatherings of topics 

 •concerning farm adornment, the development of greater skill in the expenditure 

 •of time and money in beautifying country premises. S. Q. LEi\T. 



LAWX GKASS. 



Instead of the various lawn-grass mixtures, we believe in the use of simple 

 red-top seed, together with a very little white clover; and when it is applied 

 (during quiet hours of the day that it may fall evenly;, two or three years 



