80 The Farmstead 



be formed, and not an unsightly marsh, during 

 the dry months of summer. 



Dryish, gravelly soil and subsoil is to be 

 much preferred as a site for a house to clayey 

 or dark, damp soil which contains much humus. 

 If the ideal soil cannot be secured, then thorough 

 drainage should be provided. In locating on a 

 gentle declivity, there is a constant tendency for 

 water to penetrate the wall next the hillside or 

 to pass under the wall and appear in the bottom 

 of the cellar. Unless this can certainly be pre- 

 vented, another location had better be selected. 



The house should be situated on somewhat 

 elevated ground, to promote both surface and 

 house drainage. If it is the purpose to intro- 

 duce into the house more water than has been 

 furnished heretofore, then full provision should 

 be made for carrying all waste water and fecal 

 matter to a safe distance from the house, and to 

 do this beyond a peradventure, sufficient fall 

 must be secured to give permanency to the work 

 and an unobstructed outlet. 



One of the objections urged against a country 

 home is that it is "too quiet," too much shut 

 up from the outside w^orld. This, in part, is 

 true. It detracts much from the enjoyment and 

 beauty of the country home if vision is shut in 

 to a few acres just about the house. The Amer- 

 ican farmer is not content to live under the 



