The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 26, 1919, Page 10

! < tive and comfortable. i .in, whether it is a sod dug- il out or a brown-stone man- Attractive Farm Homes Worth Whlle Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines Make Pleasing Exterior—A Good General Plan Saves Labor and Adds to Farm Value The story on this page is taken from a recent bulletin by Professor LeRoy Cndy of the division of horticulture of the University of Minnesota. Readers who would like | the bulletin in full, especially for its table giving the height, color of bloom, and month of blooming of the hardy shrubs, can probably secure it by writing to the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn. BY PROFESSOR LEROY CADY REES, shrubs, plants and a gar- den are necessities about every home if it is to be comfortable. Contrast a prairie home with- out a tree or shrub about it and a similar home where a good windbreak has been set out, a lawn with a few shrubs and trees estab- hshed and a garden provided. Everything else being equal, which will sell the quicker and at the better price? The lat- ter, of course, because it looks invitingly comfortable. The early pioneer on the prairie or in the forest had an excuse for not planting and adorning his home grounds at once for he had to provide the necessities of life and lay the foundation for a permanent home. That stage has passed in most parts of our state and more attention may be given - to making our homes attrac- The farm should first of all be home to every mem- ber of the family. If the home is attractive, both in- side and out, something that is comfortable and can be shown to friends with pride, the young peo- ple will not hurry away to the city or some other lo- cality, but will stay and help improve and enjoy it. This, after all, should be our great aim—to make a home of the place we live sion. BETTER ASSOCIATIONS FOR CHILDREN Children love plants and . flowers. When they grow up they remember the apple tree they played under, 1 or perhaps an elm tree or shrub which they helped 11: to.set out years before. They remember how the I windbreak saved fuel in the house and added to the comfort of both man and beast. They know real estate dealers are right when they say that a good windbreak adds at least $1,000 to the value of a farm. They recall, too, how very pleasant it was to spend a hot summer noon hour on a well-kept . lawn under a large shade tree, and the delights derived from flowering shrubs, perennials, or an- ';'lf nuals with their touches of color and variety. Arranging the buildings, fences, roads and walks on a new place is an easy matter, but rearranging 7. an old place is often difficult as well as expensive, ' so it is desirable to put considerable thought and . effort into the first plan. This plan should allow plenty of room for growth. Every building, fence, road, walk, shrub or tree ; should be located with a view to convenience, ap- ~ pearance or use. The location of the house and other farm buildings is of first importance. The house requires the greatest consideration, for about it should center all activities of the farm. It is to be home, and as such requires every com- . fort and convenience possible. It should stand on well-drained land, from ‘which there is a pleasant outlook, not only over the farm, but to other points of interest and beauty in the community, such as . a lake, grove, stream, town, school, church, road . or neighboring home. Most people like company, “. and vistas through which we can see the activities ', of others seem to bring them closer to us and help i to make our work lighter because we have other i things to think of. i Since the house is the lmportant part of the The unprotected farm home on the prairie, as shown in the first pic- ture here, suffers by comparison with the farm home protected. by a good windbreak, as shown in the second picture, and still more with the farm home having not only the tree protection but shrubs and vines around the foundation. settlers on the prairie must think first of all of shelter. attention may well be given to im- proving homelike appearances. farmstead, it should be in the foreground rather than behind the barn or other buildings, as is some- times the case. It is well to locate the house so that as much of the farm as possible can be seen from it, and far enough from the road that the dust will not easily blow in and a good-sized lawn may be maintained in front. It should not be so far back as to be unhandy to reach from the road, nor should trees be planted so thickly between it _and the road as to shut off the view. In locating the other buildings, - convenience. should be made the main factor. Inconvenience costs money and makes work tiresome. Study the relation of building to building, then locate accord- ing to use.. The machine shed, for instance, should be placed so as to be eas- ily reached w hen going to or from The Then some the fields. machinery in its place. Machmery should not be scattered about the yard, but kept in the shed. If of no value, it should be disposed of. Neat, well- kept yards, paddocks and bulldmgs add an air of prosperity to a farm that is not to.be underesti- mated. The stables should be far enough away to prevent drainage -going to the house, and should be so located that the prevailing summer winds The story on this page, taken from a bulletin by a landscape architect con- nected with the University of Minne- sota, is noteworthy in at least two im- portant respects. It gives emphasis to the need of making the farm home at- tractive’ and comfortable outside as well as in. It preaches the gospel of the natural beauty of the prairie trees and plants. The prairie farm home ap- pears at its best when it appears to belong on the prairie. Garden plots cut in geometrical figures, trees trimmed into artificial shapes as we find them sometimes in Europe, do not belong on the prairie; nor do foreign plants which are curious rather than attractive. We can live well with the natural, native plants and trees arranged in good taste. We soon get tired - of the curious. This will make it easier to keep’ the - carry all odors afiay from the house rather than toward it. Especially is this true of hog and cattle barns. Paddocks should not be near the house. Sometimes a yard near the road is desirable for good stock, especially if the owner is a breeder and wishes to advertise his stock to the passerby. Again, it may be well to make the poultry house and yards or the seedhouse prominent, if the owner is specializing in either of these lines. CONFINE ADVERTISING TO FARM PRODUCTS Many farm fences, barns and other buildings ad- vertise in large letters and bright paint a com- modity of some sort that is for sale in town. This billboard advertising is always unsightly and de- tracts from the neatness of the farm. If anything is to be advertised, why -should .it not be the farm prod- ucts—cattle, hogs, chick- ens. or vegetables —and these only on a neat bul- letin board near the road? The farm name is the only advertisement that should be allowed on the farm' buildings. One general rule of planting holds good. Never set a plant, tree or shrub, or place a lawn ornament without a reason for it. First, know the shrubs used; learn their height, color and season of flowering; choose those you like best and use each for a special purpose, either as a screen or to frame : a view or for its beauty of foliage, flower or fruit. Plant with a view to the outlook from the house, as well as from the road. Never scatter the shrubs but always mass or group at the sides of the lawn or near the house. The result should be a pleasing picture as a whole. Do not set museum specimens, such as a wheel- barrow of flowers or some plant curiosity, on the lawn. Keep these back out of sight if they must be used at all. The. best effects in farm- stead planting, aside from a good lawn and trees, are ob- tained by a good selection of These should furnish some attractive fea- shrubs. ture throughout the year, either foliage, flower or fruit. Among the more desirable are the common lilac, Japanese lilac, spirea van houttei, Tartarian honeysuckle, mock orange, rosa rugosa (Japanese rose), golden spirea, common elder, Juneberry, highbush, cranberry, viburnum lantana, dogwood and caragana (Siberian pea tree). These fit in well together and give variety at all seasons. Clipped hedges, as a rule, require more labor to keep them in shape than can be given them on a farm, as they must be carefully clipped at the proper time. It is better to use one that does not need clipping, as the spirea van houtte:, Thun- " berg’s barberry, or, if a tall hedge is wanted, Tar- tarian honeysuckle, lilac or mock orange. If the clipping can be attended to, some of the best plants are buckthorn, alpine currant, coto- neaster acutifolia, red-twigged dogwood, wxllow and thornapple. When planting a hedge of this kind, always cut the plants off four or five inches ~ from the ground and encourage them to branch out well at the base. A solid hedge from the ground up is mrportant. Set the plants about nine mches apart in well-prepared soil. Vines can often be used about the farmhouse to advantage. ' The wild grape, Engelmann’s ivy, bit- tersweet, and clematis may be grown on trelises or allowed to run over a porch with good effect. Climbing roses may also be used to advantage if they can be laid down and covered over winter. ‘Wild cucumber, morning glory, _climbing bean, and even cucumber and squash vines may be used to’ cover fences, stone plles or other unslghtly’ e 'plaees :