View. 



10 this farm? The barn and other outbuildings are neatly 

 painted and in keeping with the house, and one gets a favorable 

 impression of the whole place. Occasionally we see a farm 

 with a barn that is kept in much better repair than the house; 

 but more often the outbuildings are neglected, and thus they 

 detract from the looks of the house. 



VALUABLE TREES. 



11 The whole farm, not merely the yard, may contribute to 

 the attractiveness of the farm home. A scene like this is a 

 financial as well as an aesthetic asset to any farm. This 

 farmer should think a long time before cutting down any of the 

 trees that skirt the stream and fringe the meadow. A man 



12 who has a noble tree like this anywhere in his fields should not 

 begrudge the ground it renders unfit for cropping; the tree 



13 is worth it. Especially should he protect fine trees like this 

 that stand along the road bordering his farm. He can afford 

 to sacrifice the ground it occupies for the pleasure it gives to 

 his family and to the community. 



NEATNESS. 



The most general and the most serious fault of American 

 farm homes is their unkemptness. Many farmers seemingly 

 are in too much of a hurry to stop to "pick up." Slovenly 

 yards are far more discreditable than bare, unplanted yards; 

 and the very best planting is spoiled by untidiness. This 



14 picture shows a farm home that is unattractive, merely because 

 it is untidy. The most common criticism of our country life 

 by European visitors is that so many of our farm homes, even 

 those owned by prosperous farmers, are unattractive, because 



15 they are untidy. Dilapidated fences, broken gates, machinery 

 lying around out of doors, the woodpile by the front door, 

 litter scattered around the yard these and other evidences of 

 lack of care can be seen in farm homes everywhere. Even if 



16 the front yard is fairly neat the back yard is apt to look slov- 

 enly, and the back porch is apt to be " cluttered up." On 

 these same places may often be found expensive trees or 

 shrubs, usually bought of a tree agent at an exorbitant price; 

 but it is clear that what the place needs most in order to make 

 it homelike is not 50-cent rosebushes nor dollar weeping wil- 



17 lows, but simply a cleaning up. I do not know that farm 

 homes as a class are more untidy than other homes. Un- 

 doubtedly they are more difficult to keep neat than most 



No. 14 



