8 INTRODUCTION. 



ably grown where it is impracticable to grow 

 apples. 



Where these cannot be grown there is the alter- 

 native of small fruits, berries, and in most cases 

 plums and cherries; these, with the cheap and 

 simple facilities for canning, will, with little labor, 

 supply the table during the year. 



There are many now engaged in growing these 

 and other fruits for the market, and making a fine 

 profit; but it is -he farmer and home-maker who is 

 constantly in our mind as we write these pages. 



We want to see the desolate, dreary-looking 

 farms transformed into homes. You who till the 

 soil have a right to the best that the soil will pro- 

 duce. You have a right to as good and beautiful 

 a home as your town or city brother. 



Is there not some imnecessary envy given by the 

 farmer and his wife, as they drive into town and 

 see the more beautiful homes of many of these peo- 

 ple ? Do they not frequently jump at the conclu- 

 sion that the difference between these and his dreary 

 looking place is only another proof of the advant- 

 ages of town over country life ? Instead of imbib- 

 ing these discontenting ideas, why not say that you 

 can ha^e jus.t as pretty a home in the country, and 

 then bend all your energies toward making it ? In 

 many cases, probably the most, the envious one is 

 better able to afford these buildings and grounds 

 than their owners. It is too common for the 

 farmer to become "land poor." He owns many 

 acres that he cannot till nor use; he goes into debt 



