76 The Farm Hi pad 



skilled workmen than formerly, and out of bet- 

 ter material, there is little need of locating the 

 home in the sheltered nook, except possibly in 

 the extreme north, or on plains subject to tor- 

 nadoes. The object in locating the house on 

 somewhat elevated lands is fourfold. First, air 

 drainage. In deep, crooked, narrow valleys the 

 air is pocketed, especially at night, and the 

 damp, cold air settles in the lowest land as cer- 

 tainly as water finds the low- lying pool. In 

 these pockets between the hills, frosts come 

 early and remain late. 



While traveling in western North Carolina in 

 the late summer and fall, I could not but observe 

 how every little break in the hillside and every 

 narrow valley was filled at sunrise, to the crest 

 of the adjoining hill, with a dense fog. Slowly 

 the sun, as it approached the zenith, dissipated 

 the fog, but the narrow valleys were often free 

 from fog for only a few hours each day. Here 

 the home might be situated well up the moun- 

 tain side, as shown at the right in Fig. 5. 



In a little pocket about twenty feet deep, 

 formed by hills, with a road embankment at its 

 mouth, fruits failed, although they flourished on 

 the adjoining land, where there was good air 

 drainage (Fig. 6). If fruits do not thrive on 

 these undrained areas, the natural conclusion 

 is that the children will not. It is found 



