The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1914-01-29

ING in importance as can be seen fro1
the fact that 4 number of rentee
;tsssrts ins-aisd by more than s2a. .oot
q during {. 2.e1sst decade. To-day littIs
dian half the farms in this coun
trv are operated b. the owreis.
To Eeonsmiss the Hsssswfs's 4
! Streu9th
The possible economy in househeld labor
I ard the seFvation of the strength
. of the housewife are two important
factors to be considered in the con.
struction Of . farm house. Pleasant
and comfortable farm homes tend to
hold families together; but the cheer
less unlovable and unsanitary houses
drive boys and girls to the cities. In.
vestigation Of psiscns. insane asyluma
and houses of eusrection, seem to prove
the fact that The sins which account
for the existence Of these institutions
are often bred IN inadequate and un-
happy farm ksmes. So this social As
pect of the problem - considerable.
The public 10 awakening to the fact that
better farm houses ere needed, and the
special feature which many farm pa
pers now issue - "House Building
Number" proves its interest to thous-
ands of readers, ,, .t ...
The Office of Farm Management of
the Department OF Agriculture h.s
now undertaken to investigate this
problem systematically and to evolve
if possible, practical improvements for
the benefit Of the farmers home.
Certain features are eoftenoverlooke
in providing economical arrangements
for the household when they might be
easily provided for. One of the Spec
ialists of the Office of Farm Manage
ment learned from a woman in Penn
sylvania. who had broken down from
overwork. that she had been carrying
coal from the barn for years. When
the husband was asked if there was
any reason why coal bunker could
not have been provided near the cook
stove and filled directly from the wag-
on, he answered there was none, bot
that noone had ever thought of it.
This one detail has been neglected in
other cases where it could have been
easily rem edied, if only someone had
thought of it.
After economy in the building and in
the house work has been attained, at
tention will be given to developing
beauty. Simplicity in line and good
proportions are meant by the use of
this word beauty, and not so-called ap-
piled ornaments" This simplicity is
entirely in keeping with general plan
of economy.
Economy, however, is not synonym
for cheapness. Double strength glass
may even be more economical in q
tenant house than single strength, not
withstanding its greater first cost. A
kitchen sink may be paying invest
ment although it excludes bay wind
ow, or fireplace, which has been the
pet notion of the housewife. Screened
in kitchen porches, sleeping porches,
double or triple windows and kitchen
conveniences are fine economical tea-
lures which even the smallest house
plans may well consider. Separate
dining rooms for families that generally
eat in the kitchen are less important
as are "parlors. These separate
rooms may have complete systems of
plumbing, heating and lighting which
involve additional expense. The kitch-
en- is the most important room in. the
farm house.
For the average farmer. economy
bars a room especially reserved for
weddings and funerals. A back stair
way in small houses is an unnecessary
luxury. Large halls which are never
used to live IN, but merely as thorou-
ghfares, are feature which can be
dispensed with in the interest of a
smaller outlay of money.
Other features that should give way
to comfortable and convenient kitch-
en- are narrow porches, filigree work,
numerous angles in walls. and roof USE
less doors. There should be an intel
ligent purpose for every cubic foot of
space and for every piece of materia al
about the building. if possible.