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NATIONAL SPORTS FOR COUNTRY LIFE
aid of an Italian mason, who placed each
stone as she directed with the delightful re-
sult seen in the picture of this primitive fire-
place. The ingenious use of split stones for
shelves upon which kettles and candles may
be set was suggested by the splitting of a big
stone into three pieces during the cold
weather. These pieces were taken up just as
they were and set into the fireplace to serve
as natural ledges. The hearth is of rough
cobblestones, and all the fireplace furniture
is as primitive as in the days of log cabins.
   Many other structural features in the
 house show the domination of the individ-
 uality which has ruled its entire building.
 A hole left in the wall suggested the build-
 ing in of a tall clock in the hall. This clock
 is made of the same wood as all the interior
 woodwork, and is sunk in the wall so that
 its face is flush with the surface. In the
 bedrooms built-in structural features, such
 as clothes presses, mirrors, seats and the
 like, are seen everywhere, and are placed
 with a view to convenience which could
 have occurred only to a housekeeper who
 wishes to have everything she wants ready
 to her hand and the rest tucked neatly away
 out of sight.
   Not every woman has the equipment that
Mrs. Welsh possesses, for the kind of
training that makes possible the designing of
a house like this, the active supervision of
its building, and the ability to make in her
own workshop many of the things neces-
sary for its furnishing, is very unusual, but
other women, if they will only give time
and thought to devising the things they
need and want in their homes, instead of
accepting without question the convention-
al suggestions of builders and furnishers,
will find it quite within their power to have
surroundings that are as completely suited
to their own way of living as thiis charming
house is suited to the life and work of its
owner.
  No matter how well a house may be
planned by the architect and finished by
the interior decorator, it can never have the
kind of comfort that is possible where
some one person who knows all the likes
and dislikes, all the tastes and whims of the
different members of the family has taken
the trouble to arrange the fittings and the
furniture, the lighting and the color schemes
for the happiness of the dwellers of the
home.
THE NEED OF DEVELOPING
NATIONAL SPORTS FOR
COUNTRY LIFE
"IF the countryman is to be trained to
     the greatest advantage, it will not be
     enough merely to bring in things from
     the outside and present them to him.
 Farming is a local business. The farmer
 stands on the land. In a highly developed
 society, he does not sell his farm and move
 on as soon as fertility is in part exhausted.
 This being true, he must be reached in
 terms of his environment. He should be
 developed natively from his own standpoint
 and work; and all schools, all libraries, and
 organizations of whatever kind that would
 give the most help to the man on the land
 must begin with this point of view.
   "More games and recreations are needed
in the country as much as in the city. In
fact, there may be greater need of them in
the country than elsewhere. The tendency
seems to be just now, however, to introduce
old folk-games. We must remember that
folk-games such as we are likely to intro-
duce have been developed in other countries
and in other times. They represent the life
of other peoples. To a large extent they
are love-making games. They are not
adapted in most cases to our climate. To
introduce them is to bring in another exotic
factor and to develop a species of theatricals.
   "I would rather use good games that have
come directly out of the land.     Or if
new games are wanted I should like to try
to invent them, having in mind the real
needs of a community. I suspect the sug-
gestions of many good sports can be found
in the open country, that might be capable
of considerable extension and development,
and be made a means not only of relaxation
but of real education. We need a broad
constructive development of rural recrea-
tion, but it should be evolved out of rural
conditions and not transplanted from the city.
   "The so-called rural problem is one of the
great public questions of the day. It is the
problem of how to develop a rural civiliza-
tion that is permanently satisfying and wor-
thy of the best desires. It is a complex
problem, for it involves the whole question
of making the farms profitable (that is, of
improving farming methods), perfecting
the business or trade relations of farming
people, and developing an active and effi-
cient social structure." (By L. H. Bailey.
From "The Training of Farmers.")
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