THE FARMER AND HIS HOME. 
123 
four seeds in a place, and protect them by a stake or two, and 
when the young trees come up, save the best and let the rest 
get out of the way. It takes some time to grow trees in this 
way but they will grow, and I know several orchards in this 
State and northern Illinois that are now hearing finely, pro¬ 
duce good fruit, and are perfectly thrifty and hardy. Better 
raise it in this way than not at all. About the house you can 
leave some shade trees, if you are so fortunate as to have any, 
if not, you must plant some at once. You can certainly find a 
day or half day to set out shade trees. If not, you can plant 
the seed, and on all our rich soil trees grow with wonderful ra¬ 
pidity and luxuriance, so that, if you will only start them, you 
will have a forest of shade in a few years. Now for flowers 
and flowering shrubs and vines; after all these your wives and 
daughters will look with only a word of encouragement from 
you. In many cases they do it without the word of encourage¬ 
ment, and perhaps in spite of many grunts of disapprobation* 
But it must be done ; bare life is not enough ; it is human to 
seek refinement and beauty. Now for the house itself—don’t 
be ambitious for a big or fine house. If your means are small, 
let your house be small also, and unpretending as all country 
houses caught to be ; but let it be neat. If you cannot afford 
paint, or your house is too rough for paint, you can give it a 
coat of whitewash, you can plant about it vines, the hop, the 
Virginia creeper or the grape, and in a few years your rough 
and humbld cottage has become a beautiful bower. In the 
house you want no rooms too good to use, no parlor kept care¬ 
fully locked up and entered only on rare occasions. Use the 
best room yourselves, make it cheerful and occupy it cheerfully; 
read there, sew there, play there, receive your friends and en¬ 
joy life there. When the father or brother comes in wet and 
weary, let him leave his muddy boots and his wet coat in the 
outside kitchen, and let him come into the sitting room to his 
evening’s reading, or music, or conversation, leaving the rough¬ 
ness of the farm life behind him. There is absolutely no rea¬ 
son why the Farmer’s family should not enjoy life at home, 
