i8 THE SMALL COUNTRY PLACE 



5. Suitable buildings. 



6. Accessible markets. 



7. Good roads and facilities for transporting produce 

 and getting to and from centres of business with which 

 one must keep in touch for the greatest success. 



8. Is there woodland on the place? 



9. Capital required for our enterprises 



i. Healthful and Pleasant Surroundings. 



The most important question to be answered in look- 

 ing for a home in the country is, are there any unhealth- 

 ful conditions either about or near the building? With- 

 out healthful surroundings one can hardly expect good 

 health, without which few will be successful in business 

 or take much pleasure in life. The house and stable 

 cellars should be carefully inspected. If the soil about 

 them is springy, tile drains should be laid so as to carry 

 off all water that otherwise would settle into the cellars. 

 The location of the stable cellar, yard, or cesspools, etc., 

 as related to the water supply must be studied. If within 

 two hundred feet, or in some cases even further away, 

 the surface water will certainly settle into these deep 

 basins, and become foul and a menace to health. The 

 water from long-established wells, even in the country, 

 is often more dangerous than that from those more re- 

 cently made in more thickly settled sections. The safest 

 water for family use is that from well aerated basins, or 

 from rain-water from the roof after being filtered through 

 brick or sand. Deep driven wells generally supply water 

 free from objectionable organic matter, but may contain 

 mineral elements that make the water hard or more or 

 less unhealthful. From whatever source the water sup- 

 ply comes, the only way to be sure of its purity and 

 healthfulness is to have samples analyzed by some board 

 of health or experiment station, of which there is one or 



