HOMES NEAR TO NATURE 



171 



lawn sinu()lhl\- from the liousc without 

 interruption by this ditcli." 



What fun it would have been to stand 

 near when^ that remark was made to Mr. 

 Nichols. I will guarantee that his face 

 was longer and more serene than ever ; 

 it becomes more sedate as the joke be- 

 comes more hilarious. Instead of bring- 

 ing concrete and pig iron, Mr. Nichols 

 brought ferns and plants that love mois- 

 ture and shade and the ravine is now with 

 its laughing waters and undulating 

 plumes one of the beauty spots of the 

 premises. 



])]icd the ])lant. So far as the public is 

 concerned, it was my interest in this iris 

 that led to my discovery of the delightful 

 place. Visiting it t(j photograph this gi- 

 gantic iris, I requested permission to bring 

 out the beauty spot where Putnam had 

 discretely fled from danger, as I once 

 more wanted to tell our readers of happi- 

 ness that may be obtained by leaving na- 

 ture untamed and untramelled. 



Yes, there is a little spot on one side of 

 the house where the rattle of the lawn 

 mower is heard but that little touch of 

 the artificial, amid so much delightful 



THE CIRCUITOUS PATH OVER IRREGULAR ROCKY STEPS. 



Near to the home is an ideal outdoor 

 tea room in a picturesque setting. Farther 

 up the stream is perhaps the most remark- 

 able collection of iris to be found any- 

 where in this vicinity. Our common 

 iris, Pseudacorus, is said in Britton and 

 Brown's botany to attain at times the 

 extreme height of three feet, a nursery 

 catalogue gives its utmost height as five 

 feet ; but as will be seen in the photo- 

 graph, Mr. Nichols is holding up a leaf 

 that measures fairly and honestly six feet, 

 seven inches. It is undoubtedly the larg- 

 est Pseudacorus that has ever been 

 known. So says the iris expert wdio sup- 



rusticity on every side, only makes the 

 place all the more charming. 



There is no path to the front nor to the 

 back door. An interesting fact. There 

 is no rear door. Every side of the house 

 is the front, I had to ask, "Which is 

 the front of the house?" But I decided 

 that the other side was the front, but in 

 courtesy to my host I made no strong ex- 

 pression on the subject. You can enter 

 either way. You may choose between 

 the lawn or the top of a boulder. There 

 is no other access to the home except by 

 flying machine to a window. Even the 

 automobile is recommended to keep its 



