TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 



421 



the proprietor, and other information. Every farm should have a name. 

 It gives to the place a dignity and individuality that is otherwise lack- 

 ing. Iowa now has a law permittng the registration of farm names 

 and affording legal protection therefor. Keep all other signs off. The 

 use of farm buildings as bill boards 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 appi'opriate way. 



"Tidiness, like everything else worth having, comes only by effort, but it is worth all it 

 costs, with a nice margin of profit." 



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

 is little demand for front walks, which are wholly a matter of conven- 

 ience rather than beauty. When built, they should lead in the direction 

 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 w^ay 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 a 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 in- 

 side of the curve to give an apparent roason for the deviation 



