SECRETARY'S PORTFOLIO. 483 



There's Money in it. — F. Warner, in the New York Tribune, in discuss- 

 ing the value of farm adornments, closes with a paragraph which puts the 

 money side to the front : here it is : 



There are men who have eyes and see not. Suppose a farm is for sale and 

 the great naked rocks in the fields, all fringed with pestiferous weeds, are ex- 

 posed to sight. Suppose, instead, a few grapevines were trained over some of 

 these rocks — some Virginian creepers, some honeysuckles or morning-glories ? 

 Any man with a soul would put a money value on these things. The farmer 

 himself would see the beauty of them ; and as for the labor of it, that would 

 be less than the chopping out of the briars and weeds every fall in the vain 

 effort to get rid of them. There is a kind of work that is a " horrid grind," 

 and there is another kind which one enjoys because it can. be made pleasing. 



Pleasant Homes are a Benevolence. — The Home and Farm of Au- 

 gusta, Maine, takes a most philosophical view of the energy and painstaking 

 expended in maintenance of an attractive home. We quote : 



The man or woman who seeks to make the exterior of the house attractive as 

 well as the interior, is as much a public benefactor as he who builds costly 

 temples, though he may not be aware of it, nor have the public good at heart, 

 but only be gratifying his own taste. However, the man who cares the most 

 for his own home cares the most for the public good usually. A well kept 

 house and yard is au educator, however humble it may be, and the man or 

 woman who spends money in decorating his home because it is his home, is 

 not so selfish as he might appear. 



Our homes, in a measure, belong to the public, the outside of them, at 

 least. We call them ours, and so they are, so far as using them, and we 

 have the right to sell or buy as we choose, but here our exclusive right ends. 

 We cannot look at them any more than the public, and if there is ugliness 

 there Ave cannot hide it. If a beautiful fountain in our yard throws its sil- 

 very spray high in the air, glistening as it falls in the sunshine, we may not 

 enjoy it alone. Every passer-by has the privilege of watching it. We may 

 toil over our lawn and our flower garden, and probably experience many a 

 back-ache thereby, but the grass will look no greener to us, nor the flowers 

 brighter, than to others who share in our pleasure, but not in our weariness. 

 Thus we labor while others partake of the fruits. To be sure, we may pluck 

 our flowers, and bestow them where we will, if meddling fingers do not pre- 

 vent, and this is one joy no one but the flower-grower knows. 



The apple tree wdiich we have tended so carefully will, in its flowering, 

 shed its fragrance as much for our neighbor as for ourselves. The fresh 

 morning breeze will waft its sweetness to him as he lounges on his porch. 

 So those of us who do not wish to live to ourselves alone may feel that time 

 and money spent in beautifying a home is time and money well spent. 



Increasing the Attractiveness of Home. — That venerable horticulturist, 



John J. Thomas, in closing his address before the fruit growers of western 



New York, summed up as follows: 



" 1. Build your house on a dry, healthy foundation. 2. Have a dry walk 

 from the house to the barn. 3. Remember that buildings cost much, and 

 neatness and planting, little. 4. Have a homelike interior. 5. Have plenty 



