The San Francisco call., 1899-10-28
II. THE HOME ENVIRONMENT.
The Possibilities of a Back, Yard.

II. THE HOME ENVIRONMENT. 7.
(Concluded)
The Possibilities of q Back Yard.
| Whether in city or country there is
great need among us of better knowl-
| edge of general landscape gardening, not
| on any large scale necessarily, but that
we may see the possibilities of any bit OF
/ ground that may come under our control.
! All of us may learn how, for instance, to
! plant at the north for protection against
wind and storm, or know what kind of
shrub will best bring out some special
! point of beauty in the house or hide some
| deficiency. The tiniest back yard then
| can have tree or a grapevine, few to-
mato plants, even, at the side, little
space where the children may have their
own garden and plant what they will. A
! Towering shrub or two and the shade tree
| of apple or cherry may all be in a yard
| so small that adornment would seem i'm
| possible. But have seen such a yard so
| planted that it was a spot of beauty, the
area for clothes-drying being limited by
! the tenant to the big revolving stand of
lines or wires set in the center.
Building for Privacy.
! AS rule this forms no part of the plan
| of the average HORSEPOWER or renter.
| There is a general conviction that such
| ground as a house may own belongs to
the public quite as much as to the owner,
and in one sense this is true. The move
| ment against fences which began years
| ago had many advantages, and it is only
recently that any word has been said in
their favor. Piazza life, more and more
a fashion and an invaluable one, is open
to all passers-by, and grounds are so
! planted that the hammock must swing in
| public view. Yet a slight alteration in
! plan would insure a spot where genuine
| privacy and some family life would at
once become possible. The method has
been outlined by the same original and
suggestive architect, Mr.. Russell Sturgis.
! He proves that the house need not neces-
sarily face the street, that it can be set
much farther back and that the space so
gained can be planted so judiciously as
| to make a green covert beautiful to the
eye, yet shutting off observation abso-
| lutely, unless, indeed, the neighbors go to
the upper stories to see what is going on
| This would mean, also, a little play
ground for the children, and prevent that
! inevitable gathering in the street that is
at present the despair of the mother who
| does not wish her children to know all the
! chance comers in neighborhood at least
| till she has had time to discover their
! quality. The environment of the child is
| at present a matter of serious study, and
| many mothers are realizing the danger of
! the promiscuous association that has
! been allowed and that results in part
! from our present system of building and
| laying out our grounds.
A New Phase of Factory Work and
the Home.
It is usually taken for granted that a
! factory neighborhood must dispense with
| beauty and know only the sternly utilita-
1 rian. Here and there mill owners have
| shown that this is not necessary, yet
! they have found 1t difficult to secure any
cooperation from their tenants. But
| there is one great manufactory in Dayton
Ohio, where the owner has brought this
| about to such an extent that the whole
! body of workers have not only beautified
and improved their own conditions at
every turn, but have provided an object
| lesson to all outside. Every foot of land
has been made the most of and the whole
effect is that of delightful park, the
house gardens adding to rather than tax
ing from the general effect of harmonious
landscape. Surrounded by a poorer ele-
ment of population the whole general
tone has been raised. Prizes for the best
grown plant, fruit or shrub have stirred
| all to emulation, men, women and chill
dren becoming expert in dealing with the
ground they call their own-a proof again
Of how the earth can blossom when all
are taught to deal with It, 1t is never
! large spaces that are a necessity. The
smallest patch of land has its possibility
and the cultivation of it can be taught
to the 10-year-old child. The sordid ugli-
| ness that marks our suburbs as we'll as
our village outskirts will disappear when
such teaching becomes general The
toughest boy, as has already been proved
! IN, al ic ~
learning how to deal with flowers and
shrubs. There is a great newsboys' home
on the East Side in New York, the head
of which believes Horticulture to be a re-
! generating process, and he has proved
| his theory in hundreds of cases His
| schoolroom opens into great conserva-
! tory and his boys have in one year han
died intelligently and sent out over 0,OO0
! cuttings.
III. THE HOME DECORATION.
In spite of the fact that decoration has
now a literature of its own and that
much really beautiful work is being done
in this field there fingers still the habit
! which came in with the first stir of
! thought and interest in this previously
unknown direction, of saying "art col
ors." "art decoration" "art fabrics" etc
If such things are in existence at all they
must of necessity be art and belong to
to it, just as chemistry, biology, etc, be-
| long to science. If a color does not be-
long to art, then it is merely q stain or
dye. If fabrics are imperfect and badly
colored art has nothing to do with them
The artistic sense is in some sort a sixth
sense, born in fullest measure in the ar
| tist but latent in all and to be cultivated
like any other sense. For the elder gener-
atioh this is often difficult or even i'm
possible. For the younger the kindergar-
ten gives a foundation and the art train
ing of our newest and highest thought in
education takes the child from the kinder
garten and in course of work extending
through several years not only trains the
eye, brain and hand together, but leaves
the pupil with an enlarged and perfected
sense Of form. color and design. This
means presently a perfected decoration.
| from the lowliest cottage to the most
magnificent mansion or public building;
and toward this we are moving, our quick
adaptiyeness as a people making the pass
age speedy one.
This is complex subject, yet there are
few simple principles that are of gen
eral application to every building. We
have to treat floors walls and ceilings in