114 The Farmstead 



have stayed the hand of the iconoclast. Any 

 one can destroy, but few can create. 



So reasoned the college graduate on his re- 

 turn to the old homestead. The old house (Fig. 

 27) was improved by making slight additions 

 and some minor changes. Even the green win- 

 dow blinds and the white siding were not dis- 

 turbed, only brightened by the use of old- 

 fashioned, unadulterated paints. The major 

 effort was along the line of improving the live 

 stock and making the acres more productive, 

 soon resulting in surplus funds, which were 

 used to erect the large and commodious barn. 

 Simultaneously with the barn came the ice- 

 house, and the windmill for pumping water. 

 The observant passer-by instinctively knows that 

 here are all the outward indications of morality, 

 intelligence, and a rational and progressive sys- 

 tem of agriculture. If the family be judged by 

 what is seen in this picture of the farm above 

 ground, the conclusion must be reached that 

 here is a true home. 



How different the impression is when we look 

 through the open roadside gate in the next 

 picture (Fig. 28) ! Lack of intelligent purpose 

 and of neatness and thrift is written upon every 

 structure, and is especially shown by the want 

 of any logical plan in the arrangement of the 

 numerous small structures. The house, which 



