THE "ILLINOIS WAY" OF BEAUTIFYING THE FARM 



25 



The next step is to invest $5 in a dozen kinds of shrubs 

 that have berries which are attractive all winter. Get first 

 high bush cranberry (see Figs. 77 and 78), the Japanese and 

 common barberries (see Figs. 73 and 74), and the multillora 

 rose, because its berries are red, and red is the warmest color 

 against the snow. You can also enjoy all winter the black ber- 

 ries of Regel's privet, the blue berries of the white fringe, the 

 red hips of the Scotch rose, and the scarlet berries of the Ameri- 

 can, Japanese, and evergreen bittersweets. The fruits of the 

 rugosa rose, winterberry, and mountain ash will be attractive 

 until New Year's. 



Every farmer can enjoy a winter garden of evergreens such 

 as no millionaire in any western city can have because of soft- 

 coal smoke. (See Fig. 75.) Plant evergreens for windbreaks 

 and screens, and the beauty will take care of itself. At present, 

 America is one of the bleakest and ugliest countries in the world 

 for nearly half the year. But Illinois can become famous for 

 its winter beauty if we all set to work planting permanent 

 native material. We never can do so well as England with 

 evergreens, but we can improve conditions by planting ever- 

 greens in large groups instead of singly. And we can work out 

 a new type of winter beauty with the aid of western mate- 

 rials, especially hawthorns, crab apples, and shrubs with 

 brightly colored berries or twigs. 



7. A Tree- Garden, or Arboretum 



One of the most interesting gardens in Illinois is the tree- 

 garden, or arboretum, of Mr. L. R. Bryant, a farmer at Prince- 

 ton. (Sea Fig. 84.) An arboretum is a time-honored farmer's 

 hobby that is worthy of a real man, for at least three Penn- 

 sylvania farmers had famous tree-gardens John Bartram, 

 John Evans, and the Painter brothers. It would be folly now 

 for any farmer to try to grow all the hardy trees in the world, 

 for even the Arnold Arboretum cannot do that on three hun- 

 dred acres. Let the millionaires waste their money in trying 

 to grow plants of hostile climates, such as those of Europe and 

 the Pacific Coast. It is not even practical to grow all the trees 

 of allied climates; viz., those of China, Japan, and Korea. 

 The most profitable scheme for the Illinois farmer is to collect 

 only the trees of Illinois. Assemble these near a house-site that 

 you may be willing to sell twenty-five years from now, and some 



84. A "Tree-garden" Is a Hobby Worthy of a Real Man 



Bartram. Evans, Painter and others increased the values of their farms by their tree- 

 gardens. (Arboretum of Mr. L. R. Bryant, Princeton, Illinois.) The best scheme is a 

 collection of Illinois trees and shrubs. 



day there will come down the road a millionaire city man who 

 wants a country home and cannot wait a quarter of a century 

 for trees to grow. Then is the time to get your pay for all you 

 have spent on your collection of Illinois trees. 



Your white pine, short-leaf pine, arborvitae, red cedar, and 

 juniper will look mighty good to a millionaire who wants some- 

 thing that is longer-lived than cheap Scotch pine and dismal 

 Norway spruce. What buyer can resist your butternut, pecan, 

 shagbark hickory, hornbeam, ironwood, sweet birch, Ameri- 

 can beech, pin oak, red oak, scarlet oak, black oak, shingle 

 oak, white oak, bur oak, American elm, hackberry, red mul- 

 berry, tulip tree, papaw, sassafras, sweet gum, sycamore, prairie 

 crab, service-berry, pear thorn, long-spine thorn, wild plum, 

 choke cherry, red bud, coffee tree, honey locust, wafer ash, 

 wahoo, sugar maple, red maple, buckeye, yellow buckthorn, 

 basswood, Hercules' club, flowering dogwood, sour gum, per- 

 simmon, silver bell, white ash, western catalpa, and black 

 haw ? 



Surely this is a gorgeous list, which would be irresistible to- 

 a Chicago buyer, and also to your children, some of whom will 

 not care to leave a farm with an Illinois arboretum on it! 



5. Children, Is This Your Ideal? 



Are you content to live in this way? Or do you want a permanent country home? Do 

 you wish to become Wall Street millionaires and live the feverish life of a big, artificial 

 city? Or do you think that the finest way to live is to have a permanent country home. 

 Why not a race of real American country gentlemen not mere city folks who spend 

 summers on extravagant country estates? (See page 26.) 



86. The Illinois Type of Country Gentleman 



This house was built from honest profits made by raising corn on this very farm 

 not money made in a great city by Wall Street methods of fleecing widows and orphans. 

 The owner is not an absentee landlord, skinning his land and his tenants, but a real farmer. 

 He is not a mere summer resident, but lives in the country the year round. (Harvey J- 

 Sconce, Sidell, III.) Give us more real American country gentlemen! 



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