82 The Farmstead 



panse, wondering what life had in store, what 

 the great unknown world offered for the nut- 

 brown, high- tempered, crude country boy. Then 

 plant the country home where nature in her 

 happiest moods has showered her richest gifts ! 



But beauty loses much of its charm where 

 healthy vigor gives not the power to appreciate 

 and enjoy it. So the house should be located 

 on a healthy eminence. But it is not easy to 

 find a location which shall combine convenience, 

 beauty, air and water drainage, and healthfulness 

 all in the highest degree. In the case of the 

 farmer, convenience as to carrying on the vari- 

 ous operations of the farm and healthfulness 

 are paramount. Drainage may be artificially 

 improved, vistas opened, miniature lakes con- 

 structed, and surroundings made more beautiful. 

 The farm and its equipment is the workshoj^, 

 and must be convenient in all its appointments, 

 or much energy is spent for naught ; health 

 must be maintained at the highest, or work 

 may become but toil and drudgery. 



In locating a house, its relation to the size 

 of the farm, its productiveness and agricultural 

 capabilities should be considered. In locating 

 the site, two places should be carefully avoided: 

 First, at the end of a long lane in the middle 

 of the farm. It may be said that the buildings 

 form the natural nucleus in and around which 



