Beautifying the Farmstead. 7 



ings it is a positive relaxation and recreation. On the farm the 

 business and the home are so intertwined and so close together and 

 the character of the day's labor and of the effort to beautify the 

 home surroundings are so nearly parallel that there is not the same 

 relaxation or recreation in the effort. The very closeness of physi- 

 cal relationship between the business and the home make it all the 

 more necessary that the preeminence of the home shall be emphasized 

 in every way possible. If this is not done business will crowd out 

 the home spirit and make life one round of drudgery. 



The farm family, because of its comparative remoteness from the 

 turmoil and distractions of the city, has wonderful opportunities to 

 make a real home, while the city family, with its greater tempta- 

 tions to dissipate its energies, has to exercise much restraint to ac- 

 complish the same end. Among the opportunities of the farm 



FIG. 5. A city house in the country. 



family is that of beautifying the farmstead, so that it may be more 

 attractive to the occupants. This, in turn, -will tend to make both 

 young and old more contented. It will also add materially to the 

 enjoyment of those who pass by and thus incidentally to the selling 

 value of the farm. 



Neglect of such improvement is usually due to one or more of the 

 following causes: (1) Opinion that it will require too much time and 

 work for upkeep, (2) a feeling that the improvement will be un- 

 suited to farm conditions, (3) a belief that any adequate improve- 

 ment will be too expensive. (4) indifference, and (5) a lack of under- 

 standing of what can be accomplished by expending a little effort in 

 this direction. 



