FIFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VI. 573 



follow the same scheme to improve our home grounds. Our fences, hedges, 

 and trees are the frame and background, and the house, barns, and out- 

 buildings, etc., should be in the rear. 



' 'Trees and shrubbery should be so placed as to give protection from the 

 coldest winds, generally on the north and west sides, where they are most 

 needed, and the next step should be to place them where they will afiEord 

 shade and add to our general plan of improvement. Sheds, outbuildings, 

 barnyards and parts of residence that are unsightly, may be made less con- 

 spicuous by planting trees and shrubbery to screen them from view, or by 

 covering them with vines. 



' 'The choice of trees is of much importance as well as the manner of 

 planting them. Evergreens should not be left out of the plan, as they are 

 the best for shelter, and, as specimen trees they are ornamental. The Nor- 

 way spruce is well adapted for a windbreak, while blue spruce, Austrian 

 pine, and Siberian arbor vitae are fine for lawn adornment. A well grown 

 and well trimmed hedge of white cedar is always admired and is useful to 

 veil either barnyard or fence. 



"Of deciduous trees the hard or sugar maple is a favorite, as it is cleanly 

 in its habits, and less subject to insect pests than many other varieties. The 

 elm is said to be stately, but the maple is noble, and nobility is to be pre- 

 ferred to stateliness. The box elder is not to be despised, it thrives well 

 anywhere, is a fast grower, holds its foliage until late, and is shapely if 

 kept well trimmed while young. 



"The arrangement of trees should be such that it will harmonize with the 

 natural surroundings. If we have hills and trees in the background, we 

 choose our trees and so place them that they will appear to have grown there 

 naturally, while, if our location is bare and nearly level, our plan may be 

 more formal, and we may plant a row of evergreens on the west and north 

 sides and fill in at the back and sides of house with trees and shrubbery. 

 Hedges along the side of the yard yield a good effect if well cared for. 



' 'The color scheme is the first thought of the artist and so it should be to 

 the home builder. How often is the eye offended by the too glaring or too 

 somber colors that are used to decorate our farm buldings. We can choose 

 a white, pearl, gray, or green for our house, and, if we must use the red 

 mineral paints for our barns they can be toned down to brown or some other 

 neutral tint, making them harmonize with the natural colors. 



' 'While the farmer can not be a landscape gardener, or afford to employ 

 one, he may, by study and observation, learn how to improve his grounds. 

 We say improve, for there are very few who have had a chance to plan them, 

 as that has been done by others. 



' 'When we speak ®f the home grounds we do not mean the front yard 

 alone, but the back yard, the barnyard, the garden, the roadside, and the 

 adjoining field as well. Neatness is the first requisite in our improvements, 

 and is as necessary outside as inside our home. Outdoor improvement cluba 

 have been organized in our cities with the object of bettering home aspects, 

 and each member agreeing to plant at least one tree and spend one day in 

 cleaning up, repairing or removing old fences, renewing walks and drives, 

 planting shrubs and vines, and adding as much as possible to the attractive- 

 ness of their homes. 



