A Farmer's Home. 301 



writing. Two are on the south side, and one on the east, and one 

 on the west. This give a chance for sunshine and air, too. And 

 when I am up here it is always bright as sunlight can make it. 

 And how nice during summer nights ! With these big windows 

 wide open, and a screen in each one, it is almost like sleeping in 

 a tent. 



But now let us go into the front part of the house, the living 

 room, sitting room, parlor, drawing room, or whatever you choose 

 to call it the place where you sew, read, receive visitors and 

 where the family gathers at night. When I was a boy they had 

 a room they called a parlor, which was opened up when the minis- 

 ter called, or they had a funeral, or on some other great occasion, 

 but never was occupied by the family when alone, nor when neigh- 

 bors dropped in. And these places still exist. Yes, the writer 

 has been honored (?) by being put into one now and then, of the real 

 old, cold, gloomy kind. No farmer's home now needs any such 

 room as this. There is no room in our house too good for the 

 family to occupy during the winter evenings, or on Sundays, or 

 any time when the day's work is over and we have on clean clothes 

 and slippers. The family should be just as good as company, and 

 then when company comes make them at home with the family, 

 not make them feel that you have gone to extra trouble on their 

 account. Of course, in our old houses we must get along the 

 best we can as they are built, or can readily be altered over ; but 

 if building a new house, by all means have the living rooms open 

 together with large double doors. Thus one large stove centrally 

 placed can heat one, two, three or even four rooms, as you may 

 please or need. It makes a house wonderfully homelike and 

 pleasant, and is quite a saving in labor in the way of building 

 fires and keeping them up in separate stoves. The old way of a 

 stove in most every room was no end of trouble. I have seen too 

 many houses where four or five fires were kept up. The new way is 

 far better. In the plan of our home, you will see just how we do 

 this and nothing could induce us to go back to the old way. 



Having the rooms, how shall they be furnished ? Why, ac- 

 cording to your means. It is entirely right to delight in pretty 

 things and take comfort when you can, and easy chairs and nice 

 furniture are all right if you can afford them. But do not have 

 them too good for the family to use, no not one single article. 

 This keeping nice furniture all covered up in a dark room for extra 

 occasions is not homelike, to my notion. You may even cover 

 your floors with body Brussels carpets, if you like. We have, 

 down stairs, in every room but the kitchen. They are the cheap- 

 est in the end, anyway, and no dust goes through them. A car- 

 pet sweeper passed over them lighty takes up the dirt and saves 

 the ladies much work. We put some tobacco around the edges 

 every spring to keep moths out (our screens help to keep millers 

 out), and do not need to take a carpet up for years. Not a particle 

 of dust can go through them. I would have a Brussels carpet 



