July 1924

FRUIT, GARDEN AND HOME

MY goodness! what a regular hornets' nest Barbara stirred up last month when I was away! She certainly got a lot of fine letters from other little tots. I enjoyed reading them very much and I am sure from the way some of them read that a lot of grandfathers and grandmothers got a lot of fun in helping the little folks write them.

You Can Have Your Own Home

IN the United States 456 out of every 1,000 families own their homes. By judicious and systematic financing this number could readily be increased from twenty-five to forty percent. We may safely say any family in "moderate circumstances" that has made its rental payments regularly over a period of two or three years, and saved even a small sum of money, is in a sound position to finance the purchase of a home.

The Busy Man's Garden

HOW shall the busy man in an office, such as the writer confesses himself, possessed of a suburban halfacre or less of ground, but with a keen love of the out of doors, make him a garden of delight in these days of unobtainable or blundering outside help? Obviously the labor requirement must be kept at a minimum.

Reclaiming a Neglected Lot

THE portrayal of cozy homes and pretty gardens depicted in the Fruit, Garden and Home has added impetus to the "Own Your Own Home" idea that has possessed my wife for these forty years. My arguments backed up with figures have been convincing until a few months ago, when I succumbed, and with apparent resignation I started out to look for a home.

This Is Your Star!

I know a number of good citizens who spend a good deal of their time wishing for something they haven't got. And I remember one good, sweet-voiced father who used to sit on the front porch singing, "Will There Be Any Stars in My Crown?" while his wife did the washing in the back yard.

Sick Vegetables and How to Doctor Them

VEGETABLES are just like folks, they cannot work when they are sick. Most of us, when we have a headache, would much rather stay in bed than go to the office or clean house. Unfortunately plants have no way of telling us about their aches and pains but they have ways of showing us if we only know enough to interpret their looks.

The Ladies of the Woods

WHEN Tennyson, great poet of nature, sang, "Most beautiful of forest trees, the Lady of the Woods," he was thinking of only one of the sisters of the birch family. But of this numerous household, most of the members are exceedingly graceful and refined and modest, and while some are more matronly than others, all are quite thoroly feminine.

Winning a Home On Pluck

THE interest shown by the multitude in the one subject of home ownership would indicate that there is a growing desire to turn towards the home one may own and occupy; to the bit of ground where flowers and vines or berries and fruit may be tenderly cultivated and cared for.

Homes of Famous Americans

AT Monticello, as I stood on the front lawn looking from the mountain-top towards Shadwell from whence Jefferson sprang, I thought how typically Jeffersonian it all was. Monticello means "Little Mountain," and here, on the flat top of it, where the great politician and reformer used to sit and dream as a boy-- up where he was aside and apart from those about him, where his vision extended beyond the immediate hills to the distant horizon-- he built his house and spent the greater part of his life in majestic reflection and laborious effort for those who dwelt beneath him.

Porch Luncheons for the Family

JUST as soon as the weather becomes soft and mild we abandon the dining room in favor of the porch. The outdoor hearty supper is too late for the younger children, but we can plan the lunch so that it will be entirely adequate for the dinner of those children old enough to come to table. If the family consists-- alas!-- of grown-ups only, the suggested menus may easily be "smalled down" to the simpler lunch usually preferred by such.

Big Comforts in Little Electric Devices

THE stepchildren of the home, electrically speaking, seem to be the bedroom and bathroom. The laundry and the kitchen and even the dining room come in for a lot of electrical grooming and for much listing of what will ease up labor and give pleasure, but the bedroom and bathroom are seldom mentioned. So, in this story, I am going to talk of the bedroom and bathroom and dining room especially.

Painting the Dooryard Green

ARE you building this summer? Did you build last summer? Then the lawn which gives a setting, a permanence, a truly homey look is the next important consideration. Should your house be in a new addition, a smooth, cool green covering to the yard will make it look like an oasis in the desert.

Your Outdoor Window Garden

IF I were blind, I should want my garden to be in a window box," said a man whose lifework and whose hobby are centered in outdoor beauty. "Then I could shove up the sash at any time and revel in touching dainty blossoms and leaves growing there so close to me; the thought of their very nearness would bring joy even tho I could not see them; and their fragrance would be an inspiration every time I opened the window."

The Fire-Resisting Home

POSSIBLY if each of us were to peruse the statistics covering the losses in life and property caused by fire year after year and if we were to study afterwards the colossal amount of money and effort involved in the maintenance of fire-fighting men and paraphernalia, we might begin to realize the importance of doing all in our power as individuals to combat bat the ravages of fire.

Landscape Planning Service

AMPLE setting and ample facilities for approach, service and garden areas are provided for the house illustrated on the opposite page. Yet with it all there is a compactness which leaves no space wasted or unused.

Gay Cretonne and Taffeta

IMMEDIATELY above the dining room of the house shown on page 20 there is a bedroom that now invites our attention. It is pleasantly low-ceiled and generously ventilated; a room 12 feet 6 inches by 15 feet long, ample in size for the comfortable use of two people.

DAD'S PRACTICAL POINTERS

UTILIZING waste space is a great game and particularly appropriate for home owners. The old adage, "a penny saved is a penny earned," might be changed to read "A square foot of floor space saved is a square foot saved," and we all know that flooring costs money. Some folks grow so adept at saving space and making one square foot do for two that the results obtained are truly surprising.

Tips To Make Your July Work Count

CULTIVATION is the watchword for the month of July. Cultivate the soil thoroly after every rain and at least every week during a dry spell. This will conserve moisture and destroy all weeds while small. Hoe early in the morning while the air is cool, in the evening rake up the weeds and throw them on the compost heap.

Back Yard Poultry Pointers

BACK yard poultry flocks often suffer reverses in hot weather which could be avoided, if proper precautions had been taken. A few principles kept in mind and put into application will spell the difference between success and failure.

Wild Fruits in the Home

THE wild fruits of the fields and forests at one time played an important part in our diet. The pioneers made use of the wild fruits and many of us still remember the delicious jams and jellies our grandmothers made. The average housewife, with very little work and low cost can make fine preserves according to the following rules:

Music For Every Home

THERE is no person living who does not respond to the strains of a brass band playing a spirited march. There is something in the even rhythm of the march which stirs our blood to a feeling of ardor and patriotism which is inherent in everyone. Possibly there is no feeling inspired and enhanced by music which is more universal than the impulse of patriotism.

Seasonable Embroideries for the Home

Along the Garden Path

LAST month in the story about "Walden" I quoted a paragraph from Thoreau. I wonder how many of you have, been thinking about it. The quotation was: "I think that I speak within bounds when I say that, tho the birds of the air have their nests, and the foxes their holes, and the savages their wigwams, in modern civilized society not more than one-half the families own a shelter."