386 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



conducting water into farm buildings, no farm can truly ])e 

 said to be reclaimed while the old well, so handy to the 

 back door, receives the drainage of the buildings and at the 

 same time furnishes the water supply for the family. Sani- 

 tary laws demand that not only shall the water used in our 

 houses be sweet and })ure, free from all the contaminations of 

 drainage, but also that for our farm stock as well. Again, 

 such improvements necessitate ample sewers and drains to 

 carry all waste to a safe distance from our dwellings. These 

 are matters of primary importance and have almost invari- 

 ably been neglected upon our exhausted farms. Improve- 

 ments of this character are sure to increase the market 

 value of the premises more than cost, but as requisites to a 

 home they are invaluable. 



We have seen the old-style high double houses, with their 

 oaken frames, having stood squarely upon their granite foun- 

 dations for nearly a century perhaps — stern reminders of the 

 upright character of their builders — robbed of their cold, 

 cheerless, castle-like appearance by the expenditure of a few 

 hundred dollars in throwing around them verandas and con- 

 servatories, thus transforming them into most lovely and 

 attractive homes. 



TJie growing of fruit trees requires time and patience, and 

 should receive attention among the earliest improvements 

 upon the fiirm. If orcharding is not to be a specialty, a 

 single acre, properly located and set with the best varieties, 

 will add a beauty as well as a cash value to the farm. Shade 

 and ornamental trees can also be set in such places, and in 

 such varieties as will add a charm and beauty to the home 

 surroundings, which, considered by the lowest possil^le cri- 

 terion — a cash value — would pay many fold. It is not 

 necessary or always wise to bring trees from long distances 

 with foreign names and unknown habits. Native trees, 

 indigenous to the soil, properly arranged and grouped, will 

 be more attractive, especially when taking into account the 

 added beauty of healthy and vigorous growth. This work 

 may be quite inexpensive and can be done in seasons of com- 

 parative leisure. The deciduous trees can l)e transplanted 

 in the fell and the evergreens in the late springtime. It is 

 well to bear in mind that they are not desirable in too close 



