ADORNING THi5 FARMSTEAD. 173 



location for the bulletin board, giving the name of the place, the pro- 

 prietor, and other information. Every farm should have a name. It gives 

 to the place a dignity and individuality that is otherwise lacking. Iowa 

 now has a law permitting the registration of farm names and affording 

 legal protection therefor. Keep all other signs off. The use of farm 

 buildings as billboards for the advertising of tobacco, etc., is cheapening. 

 It not only detracts from the looks of a place, but is an illogical thing to 

 do. The owner should work up a reputation for his own goods and 

 advertise his own products in an appropriate way. 



Since the majority of the country people ride rather than walk, there 

 is little demand for front walks, which are ivholly a matter of con- 

 venience rather than beauty. When built, they should lead in the direc- 

 tion people desire to go. Long, circuitous routes around a semi-circle are 

 unnatural and do not represent good planning. It has been suggested 

 that the best way to locate a walk is to find out where people want to go 

 by first permitting them to form a path and take that as the location. 

 This does not mean, however, that walks must always be in straight lines. 

 Often a gentle curve can be introduced so as not to be objectionable 

 from the standpoint of distance and to give a pleasing landscape effect. 

 In such instances it may be desirable to plant a tree or clump of shrubs 

 on the inside of the curve to give an apparent reason for the deviation. 



THE PLANTING OF TREES. 



As one of the larger features of the landscape, the location and num- 

 ber of trees are of special importance. In selecting kinds the size of tree 

 at maturity should be considered. The white elm, for example, may 

 attain a spread of 100 feet, while the green ash or the white birch will 

 scarcely exceed one-fourth df that. Do not overplant the lawn. By filling 

 up the front yard the landscape effect is not only destroyed but the 

 buildings are obscured or entirely hidden. From the sanitary point of 

 view this is also undesirable, for it encourages dampness. Keep the 

 trees back far enough to permit a free circulation of air and plenty of 

 sunshine. Overshading is bad for a building, and under these conditions 

 the shingles decay quickly. As a protection against the afternoon sun, 

 a shade tree or two to the southwest of the house is desirable. 



In general, plant along the sides to border or frame in the picture. 

 In this way a vista is formed with the house as the central feature. Most 

 people err in getting things into the wrong location rather than in the 

 selection of varieties to plant. Keep an open front. Immediately in front 

 of the house there is nothing so appropriate as a well-kept stretch of 

 greensward. Keep the tree planting mostly along the sides, and in 

 placing them avoid a stiff, mechanical arrangement. If an evergreen is 

 located so many feet from the walk on one side, do not place another 

 one at a corresponding distance on the other side. ^ Avoid a stiff checker- 

 board plan, and plant the trees more in clumps, securing the effect of a 

 curve rather than a straight line, so that the whole will be as natural as 

 possible. A limited number of tall trees to the rear of the house is useful 



