174 The Farmstead 



many other houses it should not be a duplicate 

 of any other one. 



In manufacturing towns long rows of houses 

 are built, each one the exact duplicate of all the 

 others in shape, dimensions, and color. The 

 effect is abominable. This illustration of exact 

 imitation only goes to show how necessary it is 

 to have diversity of style in the houses them- 

 selves and variation in the colors of the paints 

 if the maximum beauty of the home and adap- 

 tation to landscape and site are secured. In 

 painting the farm house beauty should not be 

 ignored, but beauty may not be compatible with 

 durability and necessary economy. The farm 

 home may and should be placed in such beauti- 

 ful environment that the paint which covers it 

 sinks into comparative insignificance as com- 

 pared to the painting of the city house ; there- 

 fore the elements of economy and durability play 

 as important parts in the painting of farm 

 houses as does beauty. Even a great, plain, 

 two -story white farm house with green window- 

 blinds can be made to look beautiful and home- 

 like if it has a suitable setting of noble trees. 



If the outside covering of the house is placed 

 some time before it receives its first coat of 

 paint, the wood tends to check and usually be- 

 comes too dry for applying it. If exposed for 

 some days to the direct rays of the sun before 



