CHAPTER I. 



And a Man shall ever see, that when Ages grow 

 to Civility and Elegance, Men come to build 

 stately, sooner than to garden finely; as if 

 Gardening were the Greater Perfection. — 

 Francis Bacon. 



jHE first man, Adam, began life in Paradise, the 

 garden of Eden. Is it too much to say that the 

 home spirit is inborn; the love of home a force and 

 the desire to own a home the crown of a man's am- 

 bition? The mystical ideal is ever present not in mere wood, 

 stone, and land, but is clothed about with life. The memories 

 of childhood days are of the living things, the home folk, the 

 animals, the trees, the flowers. There is no deep attachment 

 to inanimate objects unless embodied with the mystery of home 

 life and spirit. Man wants a home. The delights of ownership 

 and the responsibilities are subject to the same laws, whether 

 it is the rich man in his palace or the poor man in his meagre 

 cottage. The ability to realize and attain the ideal is limited 

 by circumstances. Often the supposed excessive expense is 

 in the imagination. 



If the ideal were made tangible in the form of a well out- 

 lined plan of action and development the desired result would 

 be secured. AVithout such plan not infrequently funds are spent 

 in securing poor or second-class treatment of the home gi'ounds. 



Can the ideal be attained? Yes; perhaps not all at once, 

 but little by little as funds permit. The scheme must be out- 

 lined and a determined and settled purpose will accomplish 

 what was seemingly the unattainable. The house is usually 

 the first thought. Instead the beginning should be on the 

 ground, the location, quality, surroundings, and possibilities 



