is well to ascertain if there are any
objectionable features which cannot be removed or which are likely to
arise within immediate prospect. The character and proximity of the
neighbors will play a large part in the enjoyment of a summer home. If
the house is not set well back on the property, it should at least be
screened with full-grown trees and shrubbery to obtain the seclusion
desired. Old trees add greatly not only to the attractiveness of a place
but to its actual value and comfort, for it takes a long time to grow
new trees that will provide adequate shade from the heat of summer suns.
There is an illustration of a thus happily situated farmhouse at
Georgetown, about thirty miles from Boston, known as the Jewett house,
which was built in 1711. It is typical of an old Dutch lean-to and has a
great central chimney twelve feet square, with four flues. Snuggled down
in the midst of rolling grass land, it made an attractive picture in its
surroundings of old elms. It stood far back from the road and was
approached by a long lane that wound among splendid trees to the front
of the house. Like many dwellings of this period, its back was toward
the main road, and the front door opened upon a wide expanse of shady
meadows which in the summer were bright with many-colored wild
flowers. Between the house and the road there was a wide stretch of
green grass which has been transformed into an old-fashioned flower
garden, planted about a small, cement-lined pool and water garden.
[Illustration: Rear View from the Garden]
This house was discovered several years ago by a young Southerner who
had come north from her sunny home in Kentucky to find a summer abode
for her brother and herself. The house as it stood was in a very
dilapidated condition, and only an artist would have realized its
possibilities. But about it was a warmth of atmosphere that appealed to
the enthusiastic Southerner. Not the least of its attractions were the
elms that cast their protecting shadows not only over the long avenue
which led to the house but over the dwelling itself; many of them were
patriarchs of the primeval forests when their younger companions were
yet in seed; others were set out later, to add their charm to the
forsaken home.
[Illustration: LIMOVADY--SIDE VIEW]
It was purchased in 1906, and the work of restoration was immediately
commenced. The outside was weather-beaten and guiltless of paint. The
roof sagged, and the great s
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