A Farmer's Home. 303 



There is one more room in the house that I want to speak of 

 in particular, that is the bath room. A fanner and his family can 

 hardly have a greater comfort and luxury than this, during the 

 hot weather in particular. A room devoted to the purpose is not 

 necessary, although convenient. We have a six-foot copper (tin 

 lined) bath tub in a store room up stairs, the waste pipe running 

 down and out doors. We put in a pump to the cistern, but do 

 not use it much. The men and myself in hot weather enjoy 

 greatly taking up a pail of water warmed in the sun, or cold water 

 from the cistern with a little hot water in it from the reservoir on 

 the stove, and hastily bathing after our day's work, and getting on 

 some clean clothes for over night. It is very easily done and a 

 real luxury. We have a stove in the room for cold weather. The 

 tub stands in a corner of the room out of the way, and the only 

 cost was what we paid for it and the pipe to lead water away. 



But let us go out doors a little while. Is your yard nicely 

 graded and seeded ? If not, fix it next spring and sow blue grass 

 seed. A little timothy with it will furnish an immediate so.d while 

 the blue grass is getting started. Then 'get a lawn mower and 

 keep it nicely cut the season through. Nothing is more beautiful 

 than a nice, velvety, green, well-trimmed lawn, at least this is the 

 foundation of all the beauty of our grounds. Many a farmer has 

 built a good house and then failed to fix up around it properly. 

 The house is all right but it wants suitable grounds, too, to make a 

 beautiful home. And then they want care just as. much as the 

 house wants paint. Neat, tasty surroundings will cost quite a little 

 work, but not muclj money out. It takes one full day's work or 

 more each week during the summer to keep our lawn and walks, 

 flowers, shrubs, etc., in order. But often this is done right after 

 a rain when we could not do anything else. I am proud of my 

 home, although it is nothing wonderful at all, and I respect my- 

 self and family enough to want it always neat and tidy. Even if 

 in debt I would spend a little something each year in improving 

 the home grounds. This is work that cannot be done in a day. 

 It takes many years, and it is well to commence early in a small 

 way. For myself, I would not want a place all fixed up perfectly 

 at once if I could have it so. I like to be improving from year to 

 year. Let the place grow along with the man. Nor would I 

 have all places fixed according to the same iron-clad rules of land- 

 scape gardening. The great beauty of Glendale, near Cincinnati, 

 seems to me to lie largely in its irregularity. No two places are 

 alike. This fault I must find with the far-famed Euclid Avenue of 

 Cleveland ; there is far to much sameness". Every place is fixed 

 just about so open lawn in front, drives at the sides and trees in 

 the outskirts. Why, it was a real relief to me to come to a place 

 when I was walking down the avenue where some original mind 

 had set out a great long bed of geraniums nearly in the centre of 

 the lawn. Never mind about fixed rules. Fix your place to suit 



