42 HOW TO LIVE IN THE COUNTRY 



communication between the house, the road, and the 

 barn, but a properly laid out country homestead pro- 

 vides for drives and paths that reach every part of 

 the grounds. Some of these may be grassy lanes, 

 that lead about among the berry gardens and through 

 the orchards. I do not hold that this is a waste of 

 land. It saves the dragging of wagons through the 

 mud, or the cutting of ruts in the turf and the incon- 

 venience of carrying crates of berries and barrels of 

 apples a long distance by hand. In other words, 

 make the approach to every corner and every quarter 

 of your land as easy as possible and do it in the most 

 natural way. 



While cultivating your berry orchards you need 

 a turning place at each end of your furrow, and this 

 should be in such lanes as I have suggested; in all 

 cases these should be expressions of the beautiful as 

 well as the useful. The drives to and around your 

 house should avoid straight lines and stiffness as a 

 rule. Something is gained generally by starting at 

 the corner of your lot, instead of directly in front of 

 your doorway. 



This does not mean, however, that in a quite small 

 place it is necessary to curve the walks or drives from 

 the street to the house. I think the teamster who 

 has only one or two acres will show much better taste 

 by economizing his land and growing more alfalfa. 

 One good broad driveway, bordered by a tidy path, 

 and all of this hemmed in in the old-fashioned way by 

 lines of shrubbery, will serve him well and will be 



