124 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FARM 



descending, they seem to have but the one simple function of 

 keeping out the rain. Their colors are not at least they 

 were not all the rainbow hues. Sir Joshua Reynolds used 

 to say, "If you would fix upon the best color for your house, 

 turn up a stone, or pluck up a handful of grass by the roots, 

 and see what is the color of the soil where the house is to 

 stand, and let that be your choice." 



The trouble with many homesteads is that no thought has 

 ever been taken of the gifts of nature near at hand; how rich 

 they are, and how available for use in beautifying the home, is 

 little realized. Vistas that would warm an artist's soul are 

 shut out by sheds, unnoticed. The choicest of native plants 

 are cut away as "brush." Buildings are set down helter- 

 skelter, facing all ways, at all levels, up and down. The 

 boundaries of fields are accidental. Roads happen. Efficiency 

 and beauty are sacrificed together. Both demand that a 

 homestead shall fit its environment. Both efficiency and 

 beauty need a little planning and forethought. For both, 

 a little study of what nature offers in materials and in 

 models lies near the beginning of wisdom. 



Study 16. A Comparison of the Outlook of Local Farm 

 Homesteads 



The program of work includes a visit to the front approach 

 of half a dozen or more near-by farmsteads to see how they fit 

 their environment ; to see how their builders have treated the 

 beauties of the larger landscape, and how they have used 

 decorative materials in planting. 



The record of this study may consist of notes on each one 

 of the homesteads visited, arranged for each one as follows : 



No. (If the name of the owner be not set down, it will 

 matter less whether the remarks be always complimentary.) 



Location. (This may, perhaps, best be shown by making a 

 little sketch-map of the route, whereon all the places studied 



