208 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



an aesthetic nature. Thirdly, the farmer is not as enthusiastic over 

 nature as urbanites, for he fairly lives with it and as a result he fails 

 to appreciate it. Lastly, he lacks the time. Now there is no reason 

 why these four causes cannot be removed — each one seems absurd. 

 Surely the best method of removing them is to hire a competent land- 

 scape gardener to plan your place, then you have instituted competition 

 and the whole community will be benefited, for no one fails to appre- 

 ciate tasteful gardening. Another method is by reading references in 

 gardening and accomplishing the worlv yourself. The location of build- 

 ings and drives is the first thing to be considered in planning a place, 

 but it will be my object to say nothing of this but to discuss some means 

 by which a farmer can beautify his place himself, no matter what condi 

 tion it may be in as regards to location of drives and buildings. 



Surely the first thing to consider is the general neatness of the place. 

 1 occasionally make a visit in the country, northwest of Lincoln. The 

 drive takes me past several neat places and two places are made notable 

 by their lack of neatness. The house of one is bedecked with only a 

 portion of a chimney; the other portion had been wrecked by a storm 

 The partially destroyed chimney was not attractive, but to overtop 

 this the owner had failed to remove the bricks that were left upon 

 the roof. I first saw that three years ago and it is still in the same 

 condition. The rest of the place was in harmony. Here stood an old 

 hay rack, there a mower and so on, besides piles of iron scraps and old 

 lumber. There was absolutely no neatness there. The other farm is 

 characterized by having machinery in the front yard and along the road 

 sides. We must have lumber piles and iron heaps, but put them in some 

 unseen place. Do the same with the machinery if you do not have a 

 machine shed. If you do not have a secluded spot at your disposal then 

 make one. All that is necessary is to take a certain plot of ground and en- 

 close it with trees and shrubs. You can also make a rustic fence and cover 

 the same with vines such as grape or morning glory, preferably grape. 



As you drive through the country, how many farm homes do you see 

 with uniformly painted buildings? In most cases you will find only the 

 house and the barn painted, the former white and the latter red. A 

 uniform painting of buildings as regards to color will give a most 

 pleasant effect and above all an immediate effect. Never paint your 

 buildings white. White is bad for two reasons. First, it is too con- 

 spicuous a color; and secondly, white as a color will not blend with the 

 landscape. As a general rule select the colors of building material, such 

 as cement, stone, wood, bark of Jrees, etc. In doing this you select a 

 neutral color and one which will blend with the landscape. Browns, 

 drabs, fawns and grays are just fine. Paint all buildings the same color, 

 but it is well to paint the house a few shades lighter than the other 

 buildings as it should be more conspicuous. The trimmings should be a 

 few shades darker than the body color. The smaller the house the 

 lighter the color, so as to have it stand out more prominently. Never 



