OUR HOMES. 107 



Society accords to wealth, no matter how it is obtained, 

 a more influential place than to honesty or to education. If 

 our homes are pleasant and cheerful, our sons and daughters 

 will not desire to leave them for the overcrowded cities, but 

 will remain upon the farm, where more perfect health and 

 pure enjoyment can be obtained. Furnish the home with 

 good books and papers ; let every home, if possible, be 

 supplied with a daily and at least one good agricultural 

 paper, and let them be read by every member of the family. 

 A farmer's home without papers and books is like a farm 

 without the sunshine. Pleasant rooms and comfortable fur- 

 niture are desirable. Expensive furniture will not make 

 rooms pleasant and cheerful. 



The charm of a cheerful home depends much upon the 

 housekeeper. The bright sunshine and a pleasing prospect 

 from the window make some rooms cheerful and very desira- 

 ble. In others, recourse should be had to other things, to 

 in part make up for this want. Such rooms should be fur- 

 nished in bright and joyous colors ; the walls should be hung 

 with simple ornaments, made by the skilful hands of the 

 wife and daughters. The comforts and pleasures of some 

 homes are sacrificed to a mania for neatness, while in others 

 domesticdisorder banishes contentment. In some homes the 

 parlor or best room, furnished expensively, is thought too 

 good for use except on special occasions, such as the minis- 

 ter's annual visit or the meeting of the Dorcas Society, and 

 at all other times kept closed for fear the sun will fade- the 

 carpets or the children soil the furniture. No home should 

 have rooms too good for the use of the whole family ; a 

 room may be attractive without being excessively orderly. 

 A singing bird, and plants growing and blossoming in the 

 window, will help make home pleasant. Pictures and books 

 people a room. Good humor should always be encouraged. 

 A good hearty laugh is always music. We must have bright 

 and cheerful fathers and mothers, if our homes are to have 

 happy, loving children. 



While the house should be neat and social inside, the out- 

 side should not be neglected. Every farmer's home should 

 have a well-kept garden ; fruit trees should be grown in 

 -abundance. The question is often asked by people that are 



