main structure, as
to form and material, to suit the locality and character of the grounds,
but a fitness as respects the real wants--the habits and condition--of
the occupants and the purposes of a country home. Nobody wants a modern
city house planted down in the open country, nor should any sensible man
seek a refuge from the bare streets of the city in the little less bare
streets of a country village. There is no congruity between the
classical forms of Grecian Architecture and the varying climate of our
land.

The material used in the construction of our country houses has not been
sufficiently considered by us. Timber is abundant in almost all parts of
the country, and the facility with which an
establishment--mansion-house, office, and outbuildings--can be built up
in a few weeks, of this material, has been the main reason, we suppose,
why we have so many abortions, in the shape of Grecian temples, and
miniature Gothic cathedrals and castles, scattered over the land. Let it
be considered, that in building our country houses, we are not simply
providing for ourselves, but for our children--we are constructing a
homestead. It is for the want of this consideration that we have so few
_homes_ in our country, so few home associations, around and among which
our deepest and purest affections are entwined. Our thin lath and
plaster constructions, which rattle and tremble in every wind and leak
in every rain, do not afford very good or permanent centers for these
associations and affections.

We have some native woods that are durable, out of which we may build
houses that will last for several generations; but with these, even, the
cost of frequent repairs and painting is so great, to say nothing of the
annoyances thereby entailed, that, in point of economy, wood is by no
means the most desirable material. Nor is it, in any way, the most
desirable. The prevailing taste in country dwellings, before Mr.
Downing's time, was defective enough. A large, square, wooden house,
painted intensely white, garnished with bright green Venetian
blinds--standing in a contracted yard--inclosed with a red or white
wooden fence, was the very beau ideal of a gentleman's country dwelling.
We are thankful that this dispensation has passed away; and we revere
the memory of Downing, and of others like him, who were instrumental in
bringing in a better taste in such matters.

The first cost of a stone or brick dwelling somewhat exceeds tha