October 1925

The Mirror of Our Dreams

Things to Watch in Buying a Home

IN nearly all the central portion of the United States, the popular idea is that a home fronting the east is most desirable; in the south-central parts a north front is thought next best, followed by the south frontage, with the western outlook generally condemned. I am of the opinion, however, that the house facing the west has sometimes a real advantage.

Creating a Garden in Spare Time

LANDSCAPING their own yard is a great source of pleasure to the Hirschlers of Emporia, Kansas. And there is nothing amateurish about the results they have, either. Mr. Hirschler is dean of the school of music at the College of Emporia, and an organist of more than local repute.

An Abundance of Winter Vegetables

IN granddad's days, fall was ever a welcome season, for it marked the time for storing of fresh vegetables and fruits for the long winter days. Now on all sides of us we can behold the treasures of jolly autumn, red ripe apples, golden yellow pumpkins, green and yellow squashes, juicy sweet, potatoes, not to mention the more common vegetables such as Irish potatoes, cabbages, red beets, turnips, onions, radishes, crisp celery and golden carrots and others of a more perishable nature.

Guarding the Garden

IN winter or summer, fall or spring, an attractive fence, like a sundial or a blue roof, will contribute beauty to a landscape. And, more often than not, the well-designed enclosure will promote even neighborly admiration and approval, rather than an offended, shut-out feeling. Primarily, fences were used solely to prevent trespass, but as people advanced in art and culture fences assumed a double purpose, that of decorating or enhancing the grounds they guarded.

Homes of Famous Americans

WE are ever cursed with faint-hearted men. They come to us from every station in life, and with every sort of qualification and equipment for great tilings. The more they are drawn into the arena of life, however, the more they tip-toe, and whisper, and explain. The nearer they come to the lion's den, the louder their shouts, the less their progress, the more pronounced their sublime capacity for delay.

A Backyard Wild Life Sanctuary

WHEN frosts bite hard and "icicles hang by the wall," I am a contented city dweller: if I think of the country at all, it is to remember bitter cold, lonely days, and rejoice in my furnace-heated house, my neighbors so near that we wave friendly greetings thru the windows, the paved streets where mud is a thing unknown, and the easily accessible entertainments. But when February's thaw melts into windy March, when April's moods are followed by blossom; May, every pleasant morning finds me running out in the yard to see if the crocuses are thrusting up the green fingers they clasp about their pearly noses, and the lilies of the valley pushing up thru the brown mold, in solid phalanx like the soldiers that sprang from the dragon's teeth Cadmus sowed.

Forcing Hyacinths in Winter

IT is by no means true that the slowly increasing warmth during spring induces the plants to grow, nor is it true that the cold nights of autumn force the plants to rest. Our native Hants begin their period of rest far in advance of the colder season, the activity of frost is not a necessity.

Oil Burners are Practical for Modern Homes

NOWADAYS we are all looking for new devices that help make the home more comfortable and life a little easier. So many mechanical devices have been invented for the home that it is only logical that someone should try to devise a method of ridding the cellar of ashes, dirt and the care of the furnace.

House Plants and Their Care

THE natural place for plants to grow is out of doors. So far as the plant is concerned the house is a desert where no rain ever falls and where other growing conditions are not the best. If we are going to grow plants in an unnatural place as within the house, the first thing that must be done is to make conditions as nearly natural as is possible. Take the plant's likes and dislikes into consideration.

The Perfect Workshop for the Housewife

ELECTRIC switches work every day in the year, including Sundays. And, which is of probably even greater importance, they cost less today than in those halcyon days prior to the war. In fact, as a substitute for the elusive kitchen maid they are highly satisfactory.

A Bungalow Designed for Compactness

Start Your Dream Home Now

THE publication of the plans for our first Unit House, that delighting English Cottage, in our September number, was greeted with enthusiasm and interest by a great many readers. Letters, telegram and personal calls have poured in on us indicating that there is real men in this new idea in house-planning and that it adequately meets a real need

The Ministry of Mirrors

THE ministry of mirrors is of twofold character; for mirrors have a decorative quality which is really only in a slight degree less important to the modern home than the purely utilitarian purpose that they so admirably fulfil. Primarily, of course, mirrors were probably intended to be solely a first aid to careful dressing; as, unfortunately, any number of householders evidently still regard them, thereby missing altogether a wonderfully prolific source of home decoration.

Nature Lore for Youthful Readers

HAVE you ever noticed the shape of an ash tree seed? It looks just like a canoe paddle or the blade of a row boat oar.

Garden Reminders

OCTOBER is the harvest month of the year. It is then that the gardener sees a part of the results of his labor. If he has been systematic he knows what he has saved in dollars and cents by raising his own vegetables and a part of his fruit, but it will be impossible for him to estimate the real riches which his flowers, vegetables and backyard fruit have brought to him during the past season.

Flying Ants in the House

ON some bright, warm morning in the early spring or autumn the housewife will be surprised to see hundreds of small, "flying ants" suddenly appear in the house, as if called forth by a magic wand. Mother Nature wields this wand to enforce one of her most drastic laws: Perpetuation of Life!

New Helps in Housekeepin

REMOVING the lime crust from the teakettle used to be an irksome task. Armed with heavy knife and chisel I would diligently dig until the bottom of the kettle appeared thru the coating of lime. Once, thru some mischance, the chisel slipped and pierced the bottom of one kettle.

Starting Right With Poultry

FRESH eggs all the year round, and especially in the summertime, with now and then a spring fry-- these are the reasons that induced us to keep a few chickens in our back lot. After we had them a month, we found that we didn't have to have the garbage man haul away the kitchen scraps and refuse, for these furnished the finest kind of a green vegetable and protein diet for the hens.

Japanese Lantern Plants

Dad's Practical Pointers

DOWN in Mexico, the very latest in homes is a single room covered with thatch, and with mud-chinked walls. Those who cannot afford the best merely cut saplings along some marsh, set the poles in line around the rectangle and hold the walls together with an occasional horizontal pole.

What Immigration Has Brought to American Music

MANY people seem to feel that America has no right to claim as her own any music which has come to her from her foreign-born citizens. They seem to forget that in the development of music every great school has been directly dependent on the schools which have preceded it, as well as on the music of the people who are living in that land.

Needlework Directions

THERE is hardly one among us who does not respond to the lure of simple, colorful embroideries, and to the pleasure of working them.

Carpets of Flowers

Along the Garden Path

RECENTLY I stood at the corner of 42nd and Broadway, New York City, and watched the stream of life go by. I always like to spend an hour or two doing this in every city I visit. Millions of girls, like great swarms of flies, rushing from one color effect, to another!

THE COOK'S ROUND TABLE

Soak the gelatine in cold water for five minutes, then add lemon juice, boiling water and sugar. When this begins to set, add apples, pineapple, celery and nutmeats. Pour into a flat pan and let stand until firm. Cut into two-inch squares and serve on lettuce leaves with mayonnaise. This may be made a long while before serving since the apples do not turn dark.-- Mrs. O. W., Illinois.

ACROSS THE EDITOR'S DESK

PROSPECTIVE builders will be interested in knowing where the building dollar goes. According to a tabulation recently made by the Copper and Brass Research Association, based upon the construction costs of nine houses varying in price from $9,000 to $23,000 and averaging $15,000, the following tells the story: