You do not nno nr, 111V0 level portion of your farm; be cause for your building sites, groves, orchards, and general homestead scenery, you prefer grounds somewhat rolling ; and for farming purposes you prefer the level lands. You choose a site foryour house on a rising swell of ground, some ten or, twelve rods from the road. You want room in front of your house for some breadth of grassy lawn, and some pleasing diversity of landscape scenery. You next de cide on a spot for your barn, back of your house, and not too near, because you want room back of your house for garden and fruit-yard ; for you know it is in had taste to have a fenced up kitchen garden next to the road. Having chosen the place for your barn and feed-lots off back of the house, you want a lane from these to the public highway ; but you do not want this lane to infringe on the grounds of your house-yard, and you give this lane a graceful curve around your ouuulugs. You border this lane with large trees—it gives a rich expression to your stead and furnishes grateful shade. You plant trees of large growth back of your house, that will rise above the house and partially screen the barn and its appendages from view. You do not commit the blunder of planting all your evergreens exactly in front of the house; because you know, though they might look well enough there at first, they will, in time, grow to broad proportions, and even darken the light of your windows, and nearly hide your house from view. You group the evergreens mostly off in side directions, to the right and left; only allowing a few of symmetrical form and smaller growth on the grounds in front. You plant perhaps a few trees of large growth at the extreme outer border of your grounds, along the road. You avoid getting your front grounds too much filled up with low shrubbery; for you prefer that your front views shall sist mostly, of a clean, grassy lawn, with only a few scattering trees to afford a pleasing play of sunshine and shadow. In short, you desire to have your largest trees back of 3 our house, and breaking round in irregular groups toward the road, with only scattering trees in front. When your trees have grown up, your house, when viewed from the road, will appear to stand back in a kind of bay, partially encircled with a rich background of sylvan scenery, and having a breadth of green lawn in front. It is a very common error to plant too many trees in front, and not enough back of the house, and off at the wings. If a natural grove of young timber should be on the ground you have selected for your homestead, you will consider this very for tunate. The most charming situations are such as are already adorned with a growth of young timber. You will make such improvements on what nature has supplied at your hands as good taste and landscape effect will suggest. If you can preserVe a natural grove of some extent, contiguous to your building ground, you will consider yourself especially favored. ,Nothing could arid more to the snthisin attractions of a homestead. A country that is di vested of its nataral groves is bereft of its richest garlands of beauty. In plant ing trees and laying out grounds you will imitate nature's rounded turns and flow ing outlines, so as to make groups of ever greens and masses of shade trees present a scenery of wild diversity. The aspect of your situation, or make of ground, will suggest natural curves oY rounded turns to the outside boundary of your grounds. You will determine on the place for your entrance gate—not exactly in front of the house, but off in a side direction, so as to afford a richer view of the architectural forms of the house, and also to afford more changing in the scenery of your grounds. Perhaps a gate for foot men will enter your grounds, in a side direction, from the one side, and the car riage gate off at the other. Your carriage drive may either pass by a graceful curve in front of your house, and thence around your house; and off back to the barn, or (what is better) it may curve up near the house, and then wind its way toward the barn. Your walks, also, should take such easy turns or windings as the make of your ground orb groups of trees will sug gest. There should always be some seem ing necessity for any or all turns in your i walks. It is often proper to plant groups of trees to occasion a necessity for such turns in a walk or carriage-drive. Fences are obstructions in landscape scenery, and should only be built where absolutely necessary. Where a fence is indispensable, as along the public highway, it should be such as will obstruct the view as little as possible. If swine are excluded from the public highways, (as they should be in every civilized community,) fences may be constructed in good taste, that will he very little obstruction to landscape views. Out door-yard fences should be no higher than necessary—if a picket fence, let it be of square pickets, and as wide apart as security will permit. Do not paint your fences white, It is from a want of due reflec tion that people so often commit the error of painting their boundary fences white. A glar big white picket fence should never be placed in front of a beautiful landscape. The ostentatious white fence stands there in self-display, and attracts all attention from the landscape scenery beyond the fence. Let the fence be painted in some color that will harmonize with the bark of the surrounding trees, such as a sober drab, or the softer shades of brown. For objects of ornament, that stand back in some shady portion of the grounds, such as a pretty summer house, for a small building, partially screened by trees, or if a low cottage, white is not inap propriate for the dwelling itself; but for buildings of any considerable architectural pro portions, other shades of color are preferred. Having thus rapidly presented some general prin ciples in the arrangement of homestead scenery, we will briefly add a few suggestions on the management of grounds. In commencing the work of preparing a homestead on wholly naked ground, it is advisable to first plow And harrow the entire grounds. Your whole plan is next laid out and staked off. Your trees are planted by experienced workmen. Knowing the import ance of giving your trees a vigorous growth on the start, you decide to cultivate the whole ground for a few years. You perhaps appro priate the more open portions to some low, hoed crops. A good, steady single horse and careful driver may be employed in the work of cultiva tion. After two or three years of this treatment,
your trees get a luxuriant start and begin to pre sent a pleasing aspect; and you finally prepare your grounds for seeding. This, in favorable seasons, should be done in August, so that if the August seeding is not a success, another sowing or seeding can be made very early in the spring. It is not very important what kind ofseed is used, provided some blue grass with it—the blue grass will ultimately occupy the ground. In preparing grounds for seeding, no labor should be spared in getting the surface perfectly even. After your grounds are seeded, it may be necessary to nurse the growth of some of your favorite trees by mulching, or by sur rounding them with circular flower beds. You will not neglect the frequent and timely use of the lawn mower. What can be more charming than an expanse of closely mown lawn, enliv ened by the lights and shadows of sylvan scenery? Your walks, also; must be kept free from weeds. A few of your evergreens most contiguous to the house may be kept trim med in neat symmetrical forms; but those in more remote portions of your grounds should be allowed to assume a free growth and natural proportions. As illustrating natural scenery the cuts will show, first, a Southern forest scene, second, a northern forest scene. As illustrating great natural beauty, when water forms the prin cipal feature, the illustration showing islands in the Mississippi will suffice. From the fact that it would occupy too much ,space to go into the details of landscape work from a working standpoint, and from the added fact, that no two places should be treated alike, we leave these suggestion's as they are; but as a means of edu cating the eye to purely artificial work, so that when nature's effects have been heightened by art, and to natural picturesqueness, and also to sylvan landscapes, we have interspersed through this article landscapes which explain themselves. A few words as to the trees for planting will not be out of place. The barns and other farm build ings should be well protected, especially in prairie regions. Strong winds require strong trees, and cold winters warm shelter, Oaks, maples and elms, among deciduous trees and the Norway Spruce, white pine and firs, among evergreens, will be proper. Cottonwood, and other soft wooded trees may be allowed for a time while other trees are growing; but for permanent ing-, they give a cbeapening—not to say wise—appearance, and where they are allowed to tangle with and overgrow better trees, a slovenly, not to say shiftless, appearance, while the other class express strength, sturdiness, independence and retirement. The common mistake made in new places is too thick planting, and especially in negligence in thinning. There is, however, no objection to rather thick planting of young trees but be sure you thin before there is even an appearance of crowding. Among the most ful of deciduous trees is the hard maple on able soil. On well drained prairie soil, although rather slow at first, it will clothe itself in the most luxurious foliage, and grow more and more beautiful year by year. The red or swamp maple, on moister soil, is hand some in summer and magnificent in autumn. A weeping willow is always beautiful in a valley or near water, and next to it the black willow. The golden willow is also beautiful in early spring, looking like a light green cloud in the distance. The elm is always beautiful and assumes so many graceful and pendent forms when planted singly that it should not be neglected. The Linden (basswood) is among the most beautiful of trees in summer where it has plenty of roona to spread. It is on the whole a cleanly tree, handsome in its bloom at midsummer, and its broad leaves are somewhat tropical in ap pearance. Among shrubs for orna ment the planter must be guided by circumstances. Small flowering shrubs may be interspersed about the lawn and , herbaceous perennials may form center pieces for beds of flowers, or be placed nearer the house. In all cases when the planter may be in doubt, if practical descriptive text books be not at band, the nearest in telligent nurseryman should be con sulted. Nevertheless, the intelligence of the female portion of the household may here be generally relied on to guide correctly, in the arrangements and care of beds So also their taste will be generally correct as to the proper planting of trees, shrubs, curves of walks and drives. In regard to the planting of trees and shrubs avoid straight lines. A good plan in the setting of trees and groups, is to provide a tall stake that may be easily seen from a considerable distance, and the requisite number of smaller stakes. Let the assistant be sent on the ground to be planted to hold the stake, while the director stations himself from the point of view, as the porch of the house, etc. ; direct the stakes to be set, so no two of them will come in line, at least not near together. Once they are fixed from the principal point of view, ceed to another principal point, and if there is a glaring defect, as seen from thence, have it fied by moving the offending stake to another position that will not interfere with the view froth the first point. Thus you may get your planting so it will easily harmonize as a whole, and it will have been accomplished at a mini mum outlay of time. In preparing your grounds, you have the satisfaction of having not only accomplished a work not generally supposed pos sible for farmers, but of having illustrated that it is not difficult. That it only requires a little thought and the display of original ingenuity. Neither of these are really difficult to him who should be as observant of what is going on about him in nature and art as the farmer. Because one labors with his hands it is no sign that he may not be an artist. In fact the inspiration of art seldom comes unsought or without thought. In conclusion we also present several forms of beds carefully prepared by Mr. H. DeVry, Assistant Superintendent of Lincoln Park, Chi cago, from the more simple to those somewhat intricate with a list of plants proper for planting therein. The taste of the female portion of the family, however, may be relied on to make these beautiful with other flowers, annual, biennial, and perennial. The idea being to so blend color, form and size that the whole shall make a harmonious picture.