82 Outlook to Nature 



Buildings are silent teachers ; every hour their 

 impressions are repeated. 



I often wonder how it is possible for human 

 beings to construct such homely dwelling-places 

 as they customarily build. Consider the 

 looks of the buildings that you see, one after 

 another, along any street : birds and beasts do 

 far better. The architects are partly to blame 

 for lack of good taste and good sense in farm 

 buildings, because they have concerned them- 

 selves so exclusively with ambitious structures 

 that common people do not think of common 

 buildings as having any " architecture." Most 

 persons do not know that good architecture is 

 more a matter of proportions than of ornaments 

 and accessories. For several years I have tried 

 in vain to find architects to give advice on 

 ordinary farm buildings. If I found any who 

 would consider the question, they had in mind 

 such buildings as only a city farmer could afford 

 to build. Every building, even though it cost 

 only five dollars, is either good architecture or 

 bad architecture. Usually the most expensive 

 dwellings are the most showy and formless. 



