86 The Far w stead 



we shall soon see fewer architectural inoiistrosi- 

 ties. That there are not more is a wonder. 

 What lad or lass has • ever had the slightest 

 instruction by teacher in rural or city school 

 along the lines of fitness, beauty, and health- 

 fulness of sites for country homes ? The few 

 youths who reach the institutions of higher 

 learning are scarcely better off. Some of these 

 are taught to see the beauties and wonders of 

 nature through a microscope, and, in rare 

 cases, one may be taught to observe the lines 

 of symmetry and form as exhibited in a poor 

 plaster cast of some mythological Roman war- 

 rior; but as for any instruction which leads 

 directly to a broad understanding or keen ap- 

 preciation of nature in her broader, happier, and 

 grander aspects, it is painfully conspicuous by 

 its absence. So, is it any wonder that the 

 farmer is deficient in appreciation of the fitness 

 and beauty of the tree -clad, gently rolling 

 plateau for a home site, when the " liberally " 

 educated fail to see the innumerable beauty- 

 spots which cover the face of nature! 



