18 THE FAT OF THE LAND 
nearly correct. This left 180 trees in fair health; 
and in spite of the tight sod which covered their 
roots and a lamentable lack of pruning, they 
were well covered with young fruit. They had 
been headed high in the old-fashioned way, 
which made them look more like forest trees 
than a modern orchard. They had done well 
without a husbandman; what could not others 
do with one? 
The group of farm buildings on the north forty 
consisted of a one-story cottage containing six 
rooms — sitting room, dining room, kitchen, and 
a bedroom opening off each — with a lean-to shed 
in the rear, and some woe-begone barns, sheds, 
and out-buildings that gave the impression of not 
caring how they looked. The second group was 
better. It was south of the orchard on the home 
forty, and quite near the road. 
Why does the universal farm-house hang its 
gable over the public road, without tree or shrub 
to cover its boldness? It would look much 
better, and give greater comfort to its inmates, 
if it were more remote. A lawn leading up to 
a house, even though not beautiful or well kept, 
adds dignity and character to a place out of all 
proportion to its waste or expense. I know of 
nothing that would add so much to the beautifi- 
cation of the country-side as a building line pro- 
hibiting houses and barns within a hundred yards 
of a public road. A staring, glaring farm-house, 
flanked by a red barn and a pigsty, all crowding 
