e rose trees. I thought them so lovely that when I married a
nurseryman I thought I would persuade him to do something of that kind
on our grounds, but he has convinced me that while that is all right for
a city park, it would not be in good taste in a country place. It would
look too artificial. The charm of a country place is its natural beauty.
For the same reason we do not have any trimmed evergreens or hedges on
our place. Moreover, the man who makes his living from the soil finds
the upkeep of those decorations too pottering, and if he had money to
hire it done he would rather put it into his automobile or into other
improvements.

The natural beauty that can be set about the farm home will become it
better. Wild grape vines or woodbine draping the wire fences tempt the
eye of the passer-by to linger, and they cost nothing. Once planted,
they are there for a life-time. A walnut tree in a fence corner will
grow to a fair size in ten years, in twenty it becomes a land-mark. A
catalpa of a hardy strain will do the same thing in about half the time
in our part of the state. Take an elder from your woods and plant it in
an angle of your house, and it makes a luxurious growth that rivals the
castor bean of the city park and does not need to be replaced the next
spring.

It certainly pays to go in for some kind of horticultural adornments for
the farm. They are so easy and inexpensive to obtain and make such a
happy difference to the farmer's family and to all who pass his way.
When you have a specially prosperous year on the farm, save a little of
the surplus for new trees or shrubs.

But I remember passing another farm, all of twenty-five years ago, where
horticulture may once have been of value to the farmer but had become a
burden to him. There was a dense grove of willow down at one side,
through which the drive leading to the barn was kept wet and muddy by
the shade. On the other side rose a high grove of trees casting a gloomy
shade on the house and poultry buildings, and a few odd shrubs straggled
along the roadside and gave the place an unkempt look. Of all things,
have sunshine! City people often have to sacrifice it, but no farmer is
too poor to have it in plenty. Don't let your trees tyrannize over you.

It is, perhaps, unnecessary to mention the value of a windbreak to a
farm. If it has not been provided by nature it is an absolute necessity
to plant one as a matter of economy. It saves fuel inside and gi