GROUNDS FOR FARM HOUSES. 



BY L. DURAND, DERBY, CONNECTICUT. 



The grounds which are about a farmer's dwelling are of more or less impor- 

 tance, and they should be studied and looked after by the farmer himself. The 

 ordinary manner in which farmers look upon this subject is more a matter of in- 

 difference in regard to site or situation as will be more often seen by the choice 

 they make in selecting their house lots. In laying out grounds for farm houses, 

 no general rule perhaps can be given as to extent of land occupied ; all will de- 

 pend on circumstances, the amount of lands to be laid out, the expense of doing 

 the work, &c. Every farm house should have some grounds around it appropriate 

 to and with the style of the buildings which the farmer has adopted for his resi- 

 dence. At least an acre of land should be set off for this purpose, for the most 

 moderate and least unpretending farm house in style and architecture, size, &c. 

 And yet how often is it that we see farm houses set as near the highway as possi- 

 ble, while old rubbish, such as broken carts, ploughs, sleds, wagons, and the like, 

 lie scattering by the broken garden fences, while the wood-pile is often left so near 

 the door that, taking the broken farming tools and the wood together, they make 

 up the wan features of the outside show of the farm house. All this comes from 

 a want of a little taste shown and laid out on the part of the farmer, which is so 

 often neglected by him as being of no particular consequence. But this influence 

 for neglect of home embellishments on the part of the farmer does not stop with 

 him ; it is transmitted to his sons, and they, in turn, either follow in the footsteps 

 of their sire, or else they abandon the farm and farm pursuits altogether, and go 

 into some business which they can make some " money" at and live. Now who 

 cannot see what the natural influences would come to when a life is spent on the 

 farm with no object in view save that of buying lands and a constant accumu- 

 lation of hard labor to subdue the same, to a profitable account. But when a 

 spirit of home improvements takes possession of the farmer he will very soon show 

 it out in his life ; his sons will naturally become imbued with the same spirit, and 

 hence a whole revolution on this subject may take place in a neighborhood in a 

 few years. In speaking of grounds for farm houses, we do not intend to include 

 " Park Scenery," though it may be all well enough to allude to it. Generally 

 speaking, in this country the best kept grounds are the public ones, such for in- 

 stance as " Greenwood Cemetery," also " Mt. Auburn" and "Boston Common ;" 

 each and all of these places are worthy the attention of all lovers of rural art. 

 Among those grounds of a private nature and large dimensions, we may name 

 "Montgomery Place," "Barevurych," "Kenwood," "Mount Hope," &c., on the 

 Hudson. Also in connection with these we may name Mr. Wadsworth's farm, 

 " Meadow Park," of several hundred acres interspersed with giant oaks and elms 

 at Genesee. Of course no ordinary or common farmer can have grounds of such 

 dimensions, nor is it desirable that they should have. Yet the influence of such 

 works and outlays by men of liberal means has a great effect on the rural popula- 

 tion of the country at large, much more so than they have a just idea of. And 

 while the common farmer's grounds may be confined to a single acre, yet it may 

 be made as useful as grounds of tens and hundreds of acres in extent. In laying 

 out grounds of some extent, it is usual to have the roads or carriage " drives" 

 take a serpentine or circuitous route winding about, forming all sorts of "freaks" 

 in their course. But when the grounds are tolerably level or slightly inclined, we 

 think that as good or better eil'ect may be produced by crossing the drives at a 



