care and well deserve it. Farm homes should not strive to look like city 1-omes, 

 in order to appear prosperous or attractive, nor will they if their owners are true 

 exponents of country life. 



Farmhouses with a tendency to be low and spreading look better than those 

 built tall. Generous porches will add to the appearance of lowness. The style 

 of old farmhouses commonly called "colonial" is appropriate for the country, 

 and, with some modification to adapt it to the convenience of modern houses, 

 this type is advocated. It is simple, appears substantial, and is without ornament 

 except .perhaps, for such details as are essentially a part of its construction. Need- 

 less and showy ornament has no place about a farmhouse. If one thinks he can 

 afford to ornament his farmhouse, let his means be shown in better mouldings 

 about the eaves, in better posts for his porches, and in well-designed doorways. 

 The woodwork, inside and out, of many old farmhouses is better than can be 

 bought nowadays from stock, and it is frequently bought and highly prized by 

 city folk. When repaired and painted, this wood is as good as. new and better 

 seasoned. But farmhouses may be effectively decorated only by the improvement 

 of their esential details. Simple and comfortable houses, painted inside and out 

 in the conventional white, look far better than do fancy imitations of cheap city 

 houses, gaudy with many colors without and glistening with varnish within. 

 A countrylike house for the country is a good beginning and an important one. 



The best of houses appears to a disadvantage if standing in an open and ex- 

 posed situation, at the mercy of summer sun and winter blasts. Both the neces- 

 sary activities about the house and the recreation in the yard are afforded greater 

 convenience and comfort if sheltered to a reasonable degree by windbreaks, or- 

 chards, and carefully placed shade trees. The tree growth necessary for pro tection 

 is usually sufficient to furnish a house with the setting essential to its good ap- 

 pearance. Additional trees, shrubs, and flowers, well arranged to make an at- 

 tractive and livable yard, will, no doubt, contribute in an even greater degree to 

 the beauty of the farm home and of all that is a part thereof. A great deal of 

 planting is not necessary to make a good-looking yard, and, as in the case of the 

 house, simplicity should be the keynote of the yard. 



Farm home grounds should be planned to require but little care. The care of the 

 yard is no such diversion to the farmer as is gardening to the city man ;further,a yard 

 will need the most care when other farm work is most pressing and when work- 

 ing hours are necessarily long. Some gardening in the open air may at times be 

 pleasant to the farmer's wife, but this should not be so arduous as to constitute 

 an extra burden for her. Therefore, to begin with, the total space of the rural 

 yard should not be greater than can easily be well kept. The planting should con- 

 sist largely of trees low-branching where they are to serve as backgrounds and 

 windbreaks, and tall where only their shade is required. There is usually plenty 

 Of latitude for the selection of shrubs desirable for their flowers and fruit ; but, except 

 for a few bushes about the house, shrubbery should be massed against the trees along 

 the borders rather than scattered about, in order to keep the lawns clear and open 

 and also to contribute to the density of the background. It must be remembered 

 that for the greater part of the open season the shrubs will have no flowers, but that 

 if they have showy fruit this will appear advantageously against the background. 

 Open lawns with a few fine shade trees may be mown more easily than those 



