The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1911-05-25
THE RANCH BEAUTIFUL.

Neither man nor woman can have a
more worthy ambition than that OF
possessing a beautiful home. The poet
says:
"Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few parternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air
In his own ground. "
However, in many instances there Is
a sad lack Of interest taken in the beau.
tifcation Of the country home. 1t is
too often the case that the owner OF
hundreds of acres, perhaps, takes not
the least care in the location of his
residence. He let's his lawn become
the breeding place for weeds, and
flower gardens are unknown. Though
the fertile acres may produce wealth
and their owner may be a powerful
and prominent citizen Of the commun'
ity in which he lives, by his failure
to take advantage of the expenditure
of small sum in the creation Of
more beautiful environment, life be.
comes a mere humdrum, routine eXis.
tance as he settles down into the rut
and loses sight of the beauties that
he might have.
BY the planting and care Of a few
ornamental shrubs or towering vines
even the lowliest hut can be made
more cheerful. The greater the care
bestowed on the home, no matter how
humble or how palatial may be the
negro cabin of the Arkansas cotton
belt where squalid huts are typical
and a neat home the exception, or the
splendid summer home of millionaire
the stronger are the ties that bind its
family to it. Who has not been i'm.
pressed with some scene of past
travels through an unfamiliar country,
where the homes of the residents were
all built along the same lines like the
tenement district of a city, and
suddenly you come upon a cottage that
showed an originality in its builder
and his love of reaping the reward OF
nature. Such pictures are remembered
with pleasure.
Municipal governments we'll know
the value of making their residence
districts as attractive as possible. The
increased worth of such property is one
reason for the initiative of owners ii
identifying their plots. in addition tt
the real pleasure derived from the
work. But country people shoulC
realize that they may make use of the
same methods. One of the great prob
lems, seemingly, with American life
today is that of the great rush of the
generations, just beginning maturity
to the cities. The more beautiful the
home the greater hesitancy will the
young people have in leaving it.
The editors Of Better Fruit are to b.
commended for the beauty Of the Ma!
number Of that publication and thei
suggestion to the fruitgrowers to bull,
handsome homes. Although the fruit
grower must work hard he has one o
the most interesting occupations tina
can be found today. The Northwestern
fruitgrower, as was said by MIR. Brocl
iny an article in this issue Of tn,
Glacier, by specializing in his worI
and by his ambition to produce th
best, has made the Northwest the mos
successful apple section of the world
To take our own Hood River Valley a
an"example, no more intelligent CON
munity can be found in the country
This intelligence is evidenced to ever
stranger who makes a trip through tn
region and views with appreciativ
pleasure the many attractive homes
To quote from Better Fruit: "Goo
schools are already established. goo
roads are being built, the orchard
set and now a movement for beautifl
ing the home grounds is rapid
spreading"