102 The Farmstead 



fixed, the lines which bound the outside of the 

 rooms will not, of necessity, always coincide with 

 the rectangular lines. On one side the house may 

 extend slightly over, on another fall short of 

 the lines which bound the rectangle. Does the 

 rectangle embody fitness and beauty? If the 

 manufactured things by which we are surrounded 

 are noted, it will be seen how many of them 

 are rectangular. The book, the sheet of paper, 

 the pamphlet, the photograph, the picture frame 

 on the wall, the rug on the floor, the writing 

 case, the chiffonier, the trunk, and thousands of 

 objects of use and beauty naturally take the 

 rectangular form : then why not the house ? 

 Man constructs along the lines of acute, obtuse, 

 and right angles unless there are specific reasons 

 for adopting curves, while nature's modes adhere 

 closely to circular and curved outlines. 



A front view of a substantial, appropriate 

 house fronting to the west is shown in Fig. 19. 

 It is the house of which a rear view is shown 

 in Fig. 16. The wide, projecting eaves, the 

 simple roof over the second -story windows, and 

 the plain veranda, all protect the windows from 

 storm and the glaring afternoon sun. The eave- 

 trough near the edge of the roof serves to relieve 

 the plainness of the projecting roof, which really 

 has no cornice. The side and ends of some of 

 the rafters are seen, and no attempt has been 



