1040 



SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



The Living Room. — The living room is very important in the life of 

 the family. If it is attractive and amusement is here provided for all, the 

 boys and girls will be more content to stay at home. The piano, book 

 case, sewing table, writing table, magazines and the toys all belong here 

 and each should have its place. A comfortable couch, a good light for 

 reading and a small chair for the child are more essential than a gay rug, 

 lace curtains or vases on the mantelpiece. An open fire adds cheer to the 

 room, spares the furnace in the first chill mornings of fall and in spring, 

 and aids in ventilation. 



The Office. — A most desirable room, even though it be a small one, 

 has a place for the farmer's desk, account books, catalogs and other business 

 papers. If access to it from the front or side door is easy, business callers 



A Cheerful Living Room. 1 



may be received here apart from the family life. This room is much more 

 important on the farm, where there are almost no formal calls, than a recep- 

 tion hall or parlor. 



The Hall. — The chief use of the hall is to serve as a passage from out- 

 doors to the living rooms and to the upstairs. Here there should be a 

 good closet for wraps, possibly under the stairs. It is not desirable to 

 have the front entrance direct into the living room, as the privacy of the 

 room is thus destroyed and cold and dirt from outdoors come in. Neither 

 should the kitchen entrance be the most used one, as the passing interferes 

 greatly with the work done there. 



Sleeping Rooms. — Bedrooms are the strictly individual rooms of the 

 house and here, above all, the individual should have privacy. A painted 

 or hardwood floor, simple washable curtains and rugs, a comfortable bed, 

 a good clothes closet and plenty of fresh air are the essentials of a bedroom. 



1 Courtesy of The MacmiUan Company, N. Y, From "Shelter and Clothing," by Cooley. 



