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THE ili.i:n^ois F^I^nSIER. 



and colors; various sliadcs ^ foliage, 

 furnished by different kinds of trees; 

 flowers, "with such hues and tints as blend 

 softly with surrounding objects, and, all 

 combining, to give a tranquilizing effect 

 to the beholder. This, surely, in part, 

 constitutes embellishment. 



With respect to the sense of hearing 

 — whether the ear is pleased or other- 

 wise — depends upon the character 

 of the establishment one is approach- 



ing. 



If hogs grunt from beneath the win- 

 dows, cows make music from the garden 

 sheep bleat from the roadside or cocks 

 crow from the ridge-pole, manifestly 

 these sounds would not be sonorous, un- 

 der the circumstances, however interest- 

 ing they might be in their proper places. 

 So of the third sense. If the air is re- 

 dolent of "reminders" of one's proxim- 

 ity to the stable or pig sty, in that de- 

 partment, evidently, the hand of embel- 

 lishment has never worked its magic 

 wonders. 



Our aim is to show how those effects 

 which are undesirable may be avoided, 

 and those which are pleasing may be se- 

 cured. 



First, the embellishments of a country 

 home, as regards sight. These occupy 

 the widest range. Of these are the 

 pleasures afforded by a garden, taste- 

 fully laid out, a fine lawn and a well 

 planned suite of buildings. 



If you would have a beautiful home, 

 surround it by trees. Sprinkle, not 

 sparingly either, evergreens around your 

 buildings; so shall your surroundings be 

 always life-looking, nor shall winter des- 

 troy the charm of your grounds, nor 

 shall your eye rest only upon leafless 

 branches, contmually saying as the cold 

 north wind sways them to and fro, that 

 the "time of the sear and yellow leaf 

 has come;" but an evergreen shall speak 

 of life, of hope, of spring time and give 

 a thrill of joy even in winter. Then 

 plant trees, and do not forget to plant, 

 here and there, an emblem of perpetual 

 life. Of this variety of trees, we have 

 found the balsam, pine and tirbor vitae, 

 to flourish best in our climate. Of oth- 

 er trees, oaks, maples, poplars, locusts, 

 chestnuts and the mountain ash, are suf- 

 ficient, though the more additions time 

 and money will enable one to make to 

 our list the better. 



Vines we consider indispensable. — 

 There is no danger of injuring the Walls 

 of a house by covering them thus. It is 

 a mistaken idea. \Vith our sunny cli- 

 mate, they are rather a protection than 

 otherwise. We have succeeded be^t with 

 honeysuckles, grapevines and Virginia 

 creepers. They are hardier and more 

 readily obtained than the tender and more 

 "fancy'' varieties. 



Of shrubs — snowballs, syringas, lilacs, 

 upright honeysuckles and roses. 



Of bulbs — tulips, peonies and lillies, 

 are easily tended, and are real orna- 

 ments. We pre-suppose that farmers 

 cannot devote a great share of time to 

 the culture of these "extras." Have an- 

 nuals, if you can afford sufficient time 

 for their cultivation, and what farmer's 

 wife will not endeavor to ? 



This department of adorning should 

 not be undervalued. Many farmers, we 

 arc aware, regard trees and flowers as of 

 very little value; but, in reality, they are 

 of so much importance, that tlieir ab- 

 sence cannot be compensated for by any 

 amount of additional effort which may 

 be bestowed upon any other branch of 

 embellishment. 



Of the fence surrounding one's 

 grounds, we believe, as a general rule, a 

 pailing fence, painted white — the chosen 

 color of Now England — is preferable. — 

 Plant trees promiscuously outside your 

 fence, and white seen through green and 

 shining upon green, forms a most agree- 

 able contrast. 



Plave either gates or stiles tor entrance 

 Avays. For fastenings to gates, we have 

 never seen a more simple contrivance 

 than that made by driving a post firmly 

 into the ground, attaching to it a chain, 

 with a weight of some sort in the middle 

 and fastening the other end of the cliain 

 to the gate. The annoyance so often 

 met with of gates left open, and animals 

 disturbing the grounds, is thus avoided. 

 Gravel walks seem to give more gen- 

 eral satisfaction than any other. As it 

 is an axiom that a curved line is more 

 beautiful and harmonious than any other 

 curved walks are preferable to straight 

 ones. Thus the appraach to the house 

 becomes a continued unfolding to new 

 sights and pleasant surprises. One does 

 not take in the whole plan at a glance. 

 As he advances up the path, (endeavor 

 to have your grounds slope road-ward) 

 unexpected pleasures meet him at every 

 step. Here is a rustic seat, there a little 

 arbor, beyond a tiny grove — the home of 

 robins and orioles; then a tree taller than 

 its fellows claims attention, till fin;illy 

 the house is reached — the heart of the 

 home is seen — the nest so charmingly 

 surrounded. 



We think there are few farmers on our 

 broad prairies who cannot alVord at least 

 four acres for a lawn, garden, &c. 



Have, then, a fine, closely shaven 

 lawn. In it arrange your trees, shrubs, 

 &c. Make one rule : in this timberless 

 country never cut down a tree uaneces 

 sarily. If its shape is ugly, it may, by 

 judicious "trimming,'' be remedied to a 

 great degree, and, aside from utilitarian 

 views, it is treason to banish those hardy 

 aborigines, the oak, poplar and their fel- 

 lows, from their lawful, long-possessed 

 domains. There is no danger of havn g 

 too many trees; this is almost an impos- 

 sibility. D • not trim trees far alcove 



the ground, if at all. A tree trimmed 

 to the shape of a lady's opened 

 parasol, is a most pitiable and distorted 

 object. 



Carriage drives are a great conven- 

 ience, both on account of their beauty 

 and utility. A well located drive is 

 given in the accompanying plan of 

 grounds. 



An arbor or tAvo in one's garden is a 

 great addition. They are easily made 

 — the more rustic the better. Branches 

 of trees with the bark on, a table made 

 of rough branches covered with a rough 

 board, seats around the sides, vines 

 growing over the exterior — that is all, 

 cheaply made, but a life luxury. A 

 rustic seat, made of moss — sofa-like, but 

 better than a sofa — at the foot of a tree, 

 and a few rude chairs, made from those 

 same rough branches, would be an addi- 

 tion — at least the tired farmer would 

 think so, wo surmise, when resting thus 

 under the shadow of his own vine and fir 

 tree, after a day of toil. 



We have now reached the house. — 

 Ours "faces'' eastward, and we often 

 congratulate ourself that it does. It 

 makes the sitting room cool and pleasant 

 in the afternoon, and the kitchen cool 

 and pleasant in the morning, when the 

 work is going on and sunshine would an- 

 noy us. 



AVe always liked verandas, with vines 

 over them, grape vines too, if we were 

 permitted the suggestion. 



Fire places we always cling to. They 

 make home homelier in one sense — less 

 so in another. 



A large, dry cellar and well ventilated 

 apartments are indispensible to both healt 

 and happiness. 



We believe story and a half houses are 

 preferable for the country. A high, 

 mansion-looking house suggests to the 

 mind a town or city, a thought, which in 

 suph a connection, is extremely out of 

 place. W^e consider stone to be the best 

 material for a house, that is if you in- 

 tend to build one which shall stand as an 

 example for posterity — that you are wil- 

 ling to have stand. If your house is of 

 stone it will need no painting, if of wood 

 some neutral color is desirable when the 

 house is larsre, but if it is small and em- 

 bowered among trees, white gives a 

 charming effect. 



Further than we have we will not pen- 

 etrate into the interior arrangements, 

 more than to say, have your furniture, 

 cozy, comfortable common. Adopt the 

 last half of the motto of a certain gen- 

 tleman of the world, who said, "When I 

 build a house for show, I build it for 

 show; when I build one for comfort I build 

 it for comfort." 



Passing to the barn, we shall hope to 

 find thin<<;s arranged for convenience. — 

 Add to this "a place for every thing, and 

 every thing in its place,'' and an obser- 



