The American Country House 
never offensive or unsightly. I put with 
this point an abundance of shade, because 
it is a fact that trees do a great share of our 
drainage work. They take up the poisonous 
water, use the carbon gases it contains, and 
send out wholesome oxygen or ozone for us to 
breathe. It is hardly possible for a home 
to be healthy without abundance of shade 
trees—not only for the shade they afford, hut 
for the work they perform in drying and puri¬ 
fying the soil. I am sorry so few people in 
our villages and on our farms comprehend 
this. I have seen noble shade trees cut down 
for the purpose of letting “the sun dry up 
the puddles quicker.” The sun will do it, 
but it leaves the poison behind. 
A country house and home should have, 
after all the rest of its privileges are counted, 
above all, a sort of unity, and unified 
expression. I can explain this best by say¬ 
ing that a man, with diverse features, has an 
expression which combines them all. Yet 
there are hundreds of country homes, many 
of them costly and elaborate, that give no 
expression whatever. They are simply a 
composite of notions, built and planted. 
Brush away all thought of imitating somebody 
else. Let your house express yourself. Do 
not be afraid of oddity, but do not seek it—for 
then it becomes freakishness. 
Now for the inside of the house. I do not 
propose an essay on architecture, or upon 
furnishing. There are, however, a few points 
about which builders and owners are very 
perverse. I shall sum them up very briefly: 
(i) Invariably begin with a good cellar. Let 
it be thoroughly ventilated, eight or nine feet 
to the ceiling, and grouted so as to be as dry 
as an upper room. It should be light, and 
contain windows that admit sunshine. (2) 
A country house requires a good old-fashioned 
kitchen; large, well ventilated, and furnished 
with every possible convenience. It should 
be such a room as one can sit down in with 
a homeful feeling. We are rapidly getting 
away from our servitude to servants. Elec¬ 
tricity will soon do most of our work. Some 
of the trolley lines are already offering to 
sell power to farmers, at a low rate. The 
kitchen will soon he the power room of the 
house. (3) Each member of the country 
family should have a private room; a room 
not easily invaded by any other person, where 
his or her individuality can be worked out. 
Sleeping together should not be thought of; 
and it is almost as important that two minds 
shall not be brought into constant collusion. 
(4) Social life should be provided for in a 
large family room, with music and games. 
This room may or may not serve as a recep¬ 
tion-room for visitors. (5) The dining-room 
should be cheerful, and cool, and associated 
with the conservatory or greenroom—if there 
be one. In other words, it should not suggest 
dining, and nothing else. (6) A country 
house, even of quite moderate cost, may have 
a bath room as easily as a kitchen. Such 
conveniences abolish the monstrous sight of 
outdoor closets. (7) Big verandas, broad 
and hearty, cost very little, and should he 
invariably a distinctive feature of the country 
house. 
I asked a friend to give me half a 
dozen rules, growing out of her own life, as 
to the furnishing and management of a country 
home. I quote from her reply: “My Dear 
Sir: The chief trouble is either too much 
fussing, or too little fussing. We either are 
working ourselves to death, or we are slovenly. 
My rules are: (1) Take down nearly all the 
curtains, and dispose of them; they are 
mostly terrible dust catchers, and not needed 
where a house is well shaded. I prefer vines 
growing on the outside. (2) Dispense with 
lath and plaster, and ceil your rooms with 
some pretty native wood. (3) Throw nearly 
all the bric-a-brac out of the window. It is 
most of it worthless from every standpoint, 
and it makes lots of work. (4) Have just 
as many fireplaces as you can work in. There 
is more comfort and pleasure and rest from 
a fireplace than from any other household 
appurtenance. (5) Have tight, hard floors 
oiled, but not varnished—with no carpets and 
few rugs. (6) Have your closets and cup¬ 
boards and bookcases set into the walls; 
this plan saves an immense amount of work, 
beside expense. (7) Have a thoroughly good 
well, drilled into the rock, and at least two 
large cisterns—all of them piped into the 
house. I have given you one of my notions 
for each day in the week. I hope they will 
do you good, and that you will agree with 
them, as you think them over.” Every word 
of which is most excellent advice that should 
be taken to heart. 
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