January 1923

A CHAT WITH THE PUBLISHER

IN visiting gardens recently I have been particularly interested in noticing the ways in which distinctive touches have been added to them by the owners. I have not cared for, or been particularly interested in, the things which have cost a lot of money. I think too many of us have the wrong idea about adding charm and attractiveness to the home place.

Shaw's Garden in Old St. Louis

Henry Shaw, a Retired Business Man, Produced This Great Garden

Homes of Famous Americans

I DIDN'T go down to Mt. Vernon by boat; I suppose that would have been more in keeping with the spirit of today-- to have gone in a great crowd, excursion-bent-- but I was thinking of other days, so far back in the dim past that they seemed almost like dream days. And so I went down the Alexandria road; past that old metropolis, down King's Highway to Mount Vernon.

Planning the Backyard Fence

OFTTIMES a rough old board fence will spoil the whole effect of a very pretty garden. We sometimes think there is no remedy for this deplorable condition; but there are dozens of ways of making over a fence of this kind, and some of them will cost only a certain outlay of brains and determination. In the first illustration is shown an example of a very ugly and unpromising fence, which perhaps is typical of hundreds scattered all over the land.

"Thank God For a Garden"

THIS will be published sometime in mid-winter, I suppose, but it is now October, and last night I seated myself at my radio and put the ear phones on my ears and pushed the doojigger around until I was receiving entertainment from Station WJZ, which is at Newark, New Jersey. Sometimes, when I have been out in a strong wind and the breezes have been flapping my ears back and forth violently, my ears are tender and sore, and the snug clasp of my radio ear phones causes my ears to ache in the joints, but yesterday was a calm day and the only joints in my anatomy that did not ache were my ear joints.

How to Neighbor with Winter Birds

A Feeding Station Will Bring Them to Your Door

The Garden That Made Good

How Tremendous Difficulties Were Overcome and a Real Garden Won

Making a Successful Breakfast Room

Suggestions Which Will Aid You in Making This Room Attractive

You Can Have Your Own Water Garden

Water Lilies Will Grow in Tubs If You Haven't a Water Garden

Winter Work With Backyard Fruit

Give Your Trees Proper Attention In Good Season

How to Grow Cucumbers Successfully

You'll Have Cucumbers If You Follow Directions

Arranging the Winter Bouquet

Growing Sturdy School Children

An Expert Gives Advice On an Important Subject

It Pays To Take Care of Your Floors

Floors Suffer More Abuse Than Any Other Part of the House

Old Ivy At Oxford

The old ivy which for centuries has grown upon the walls of the college buildings at Oxford, England, has been gradually removed until there is very little of it left.

Three Tiny Bungalows

BUNGALOW "A"-- Here we are getting right down to first principles-- just two rooms, besides kitchenettte and bath. This is the sort of cottage one often sees built on the back of a house-lot in San Diego, or some other southern California city. Later on, when the purse and the family have grown, the owners will build a larger bungalow in the front of the lot, and rent out the cottage-- thus bringing in a tidy bit of income.

Bird House and Lawn Ornament

Perhaps nothing makes the grounds of one's home more delightful than the presence of different species of birds, and many people encourage the presence of feathered songsters by erecting for their use various kinds of houses in trees and in other elevated places.

Petals Damp Off

Linoleum For Floor Covering

How to Be Better Looking

Soft, Lustrous Hair Will Do Much Toward the Attainment of Beauty

Lawns, Trees and Shrubs

Can grass seed be safely planted during the winter, or should I wait until spring? I have a fairly level lawn with an average stand. Some neighbors contend that I should wait until after the snow goes, and others say plant any time.

Housing the Backyard Flock

MOST people would like to have a few hens in the back yard, especially when prices are high and eggs seem prohibitive, but there is always one thing that keeps a good many from carrying out the idea and that is a loathing to "clutter" up the back yard with a chicken house and yard.

A Pioneer Pomologist

A Twin Tree

Bamboo Offers Many Possibilities

Can Be Used a Thousand Different Ways

Directions for Finishing Furniture

IN refinishing old furniture, first apply any good varnish remover. Allow it to remain until the varnish is softened. Remove with a scraper and wash with benzine; if the surface is rough, sandpaper or rub with pumice stone mixed with water. Using a clean brush free from dust, apply a coat of white lead stirring the contents of the can before using.

Growing Seeds For Little Gardens

Where Your Flower Seeds Are Grown and How

Begonias

Garden Reminders

Now is the time to look over the seed you stored in the fall to be sure that mice or weevils are not injuring it.

Where Fruits Got Their Names

Did you ever wonder what connection a gooseberry plant had with a goose? Well, wonder no longer. The name "gooseberry" is a corruption of "gorseberry." The long thorns of the gooseberry plant are responsible for this name since they resemble an old country bush, the gorse.

The Value of Vines

Mrs. Bohen's Shopping Suggestions

What Shall I Do?

Writing the "Thank You" Letter

OCCASIONALLY some pessimistic person deplores the fact that writing "thank you" letters after Christmas grows burdensome; that they are sure to be remembered by the people they have forgotten and that they invariably remember those who have forgotten them.

Useful Ideas for Home Craftsmen

IN getting an article from a medicine chest there is always danger of handling the wrong bottle, and as some of the medicines are poisonous they should be kept separate.

Unique Housetop Bouquet

A New Idea in Monograms

THIS month we are offering a novel thing in monograms; one of the most unusual and usable features that embroidery lovers could wish. The letters are so planned that any monogram desired may be worked out. There are two drawings of each letter: one that leads in toward the center from the right and one that leads in toward the center from the left.

Buying White Goods

JANUARY WHITE SALES" proclaim the flaring advertisements in daily papers and we wonder vaguely, "Let me see, have I enough sheets to last twelve months? I do need a new tablecloth; that tulip pattern cloth mother gave me when I got married is a wreck."

Canton Crepe Fashions a Tied and Dyed Scarf

GRANDMOTHER didn't know "the half" of tied and dyed work. But then she didn't have Canton Crepe to make into a table scarf. Neither did she have gold tissue cloth to provide a lining and incidentally a background. An Italian Renaissance table was only a picture to her; and as for the polychrome base of the lamp-- Grandmother would have coveted that lamp, for its tints enhance the blue and emerald colors of the dyed crepe.

Along the Garden Path

THE short article last month on Pai-sai, sometimes called "Chinese cabbage," has brought a number of letters from enthusiastic readers who have been growing this salad vegetable the past season in their gardens. Our readers are even more enthusiastic in their praise of Pai-sai than we were.