Band books

A lawn
leading up to a house, even though not beautiful or well kept, adds
dignity and character to a place out of all proportion to its waste or
expense. I know of nothing that would add so much to the beautification
of the country-side as a building line prohibiting houses and barns
within a hundred yards of a public road. A staring, glaring farm-house,
flanked by a red barn and a pigsty, all crowding the public road as
hard as the path-master will permit, is incongruous and unsightly. With
all outdoors to choose from, why ape the crowded city streets? With much
to apologize for in barn and pigsty, why place them in the seat of
honor? Moreover, many things which take place on the farm gain
enchantment from distance. It is best to leave some scope for the
imagination of the passer-by. These and other things will change as
farmers' lives grow more gracious, and more attention is given to
beautifying country houses.
The house, whose gables looked up and down the street, was two stories
in height, twenty-five feet by forty in the main, with a one-story ell
running back.


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