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There are hundreds of types and thousands of varieties of rural dwelling houses. It would perhaps be impracticable to attempt to furnish definite plans and specifications in connection with this chapter. The wide variation in the nature of the selected sites, in the means available for building the home, in the size of the family to be accommodated, and the like, would hinder us in the attempt. But there are certain principles that may perhaps apply in nearly every instance and that especially in thought of serving the first and best needs of the juvenile members of the household.

It is altogether possible to make a two-room cottage out on the open prairie a place suggestive of repose, of beauty, and of other high ideals. So, no matter how small and inexpensive the rural dwelling may be, let the builders work first of all for that simple beauty and attractiveness which may most certainly invest the heart of the indweller with a feeling of comfort and satisfaction. Let it be a place, though humble, that may soon become to the members of the family the most beloved spot on earth. For, after all, the best things of life cannot possibly be bought with money. There are often misery and dissension and bitterness in the finest palatial dwelling, while the essential elements of beauty and worth may have lodgment in the hearts of the humblest cottage dwellers. However, it is not the intention here to argue any one into the thought of building a humble cot for the mere sake of humility. The point we desire to make is merely this: that, although possessed of very meager means with which to build, one can actually construct a home in which the inhabitants thereof may dwell in peace and contentment, and a place over which the Spirit of the Most High may brood in great strength and beauty.

Plate V.

Fig. 5.—An attractive old country residence in the South, built in 1854. At least one good family has been matured therein. And to them “How many sacred memories Bring back those childhood scenes.”