November 1926

"Little Fires of Contentment"

THE other night at our house the family was strangely restless. It had been cloudy and gloomy for weeks and the grim uncertainty of the weather seemed to have entered the veins of everyone. The youngsters were teasing for something "to do" --even Waggles, the dog, had forgotten his usual mischievous ways and was restlessly thumping the floor with his tail.

Quiet Pools and Tinkling Fountains

SOMEHOW we have come to think that decorative waters are for expensively landscaped estates only. Why, an apartment's "square-foot" of cement backyard may have its wall fountain or its pedestaled birdbath! Indeed, we have personally seen a real lily pool, sunk in a hard cement corner, by the front steps of a little house that is completely yardless.

Achieving a Better Home by Remodeling

A GROUP of prosperous business men at a club in one of our southern states were discussing their financial problems. Several of them related how they had made thousands of dollars thru real estate transactions. One member, a silent listener to their boasting, ventured to tell of his investments and began by exhibiting two pictures, saying, "This is the result of my investments."

Suggestions for Bulb Culture Indoors

RECENTLY I heard an interesting lecture in Portland, Oregon, on the subject of "Bulb Culture Indoors," given by Mrs. John Carroll Perkins, of Seattle, Washington. Mrs. Perkins was awarded the accomplishment medal last June by the Garden Club of America for her services in horticulture.

Making Home Interesting to the Boy

SENATOR WOODBRIDGE N. FERRIS of Michigan told some of his friends that when he was about eight years old he asked his father for some toys. One time he said, "I want a top. Will you buy me one?"

Homes of Famous Americans

ONE goes to the home of Joel Chandler Harris in West End, Atlanta, with a delightful sense of vast relief. Not that there is anything so very unusual about this quaint and commodious old house, but because there lived there one of the rarest natures we have yet seen.

To Help You in Selecting China

THESE are the days when the proud turkey gobbler is more than ever king of the barnyard, his hauteur toward the commoner fowl increasing steadily in direct ratio to the somewhat surprising but highly gratifying increase in his daily rations. How blissfully ignorant he is of the sinister motives behind this singling out of aim for such particular attention!

How's Your Soil?

IT is rather amazing, if you pause to think of it, how many varieties of soil the readers of this publication are gardening, all at the same time. They must range from clay that is so hard it has to be loosened with an adze to irrigated desert sand that will run thru a sieve without being jolted.

An English Cottage of Good Design

THE little house shown in the above illustration, which is designed after the English cottage style, aside from being delightfully attractive in structural lines and color scheme, has an atmosphere of hospitality that makes it especially pleasing, as viewed from the outside.

A Plot Plan for Unit House No. 15

Nature Lore for Youthful Readers

INDIANS of long ago are always thought of as having been courageous and daring and stern. You would add alertness and probably dignity, also, as some of their special traits. Very likely, however, you would never think of daintiness as a characteristic of the red folk, either women or men.

Under the Library Lamp

OF all the varieties of books on our shelves, there is nothing, I contend, to equal a really good biography or autobiography. "And nothing," I can hear some of my readers retort, "can be so dull and lifeless as a poor one."

Tips From Garden Notebooks

DID you know that your delphiniums will go right on blooming for you all summer if you feed them wood ashes?" writes a Connecticut reader. "Keep cutting off the seed pods and scratching in wood ashes around the roots if you want their heavenly blue to linger in your garden beds.

The Advantages of Automatic Heat Regulation

A WAY back in the days before history began, mankind learned the use of fire. Ever since, the family fire has been the symbol of home. In fact, the very existence of our civilization would have been impossible without comfortable home heating, for none of the arts of civilization could have been developed except under conditions of physical comfort.

Dad's Practical Pointers

PLEASANT news has come in. Many letters tell of the use of Better Homes and Gardens in certain public schools. Some manual training instructors have found ideas in this department worth using in their courses of instruction. We feel flattered and so must strive all the more to please you.

A Tray for Service

HERE is a tray that anyone will enjoy making. It is designed for the breakfast room but its simple lines give it dignity for the more elaborate service of the dining room.

How Keep Cut Flowers

DO you have any difficulty keeping cut flowers?" I asked a florist as he boxed some carnations.

Fifteen Hens Pay Their Way

WE have only fifteen white leghorn pullets, just the common stock. They were hatched late and started to lay about the middle of November and have never stopped. (It is February as I write this.) We have been getting 69 to 76 eggs every week. Of course, at first not so many but the number has kept gaining.

The Control of Chicken Pests

IN my experience as a boys' and girls' club leader I found more city poultry keepers failing to succeed because of a losing fight with chicken lice and mites than thru any other cause, and yet these two pests present no great difficulty if properly handled.

Learn A Wildflower Each Month

AS an anti-climax to the vivid display of asters, goldenrods and autumn- colored leaves, come the gentians, the season's last offering of nectar and pollen for the hungry bees. As the poet Bryant expressed it:

Thrift in the Home

YOUR articles on "Own Your Home" have always been of great interest to me and by way of encouragement to others, who may be timid about going into debt, I want to tell them of one instance that may help them.

Order and Thrift

Instruments of the Orchestra

WHATEVER origin may be assigned to music, whether it be imitation of natural sound or merely the natural expression of human feelings, there can be no doubt that musical instruments in their primitive forms were derived directly from Nature.

Getting on a Life-Time Habit Basis

SURELY all the children of our better fathers and mothers are now eating, playing and sleeping as they should. (If some are not, get out your Better Homes and Gardens for last month and follow the suggestions in the article, "Building Healthy Bodies.")

Entertaining At Home

GOOD food does not make the company meal a success. It plays its part, a very important one, and no repast can score highly if it is lacking. Yet excellent viands need accompaniments in the same manner that the violin needs the piano. Fine, jovial conversation, the kind that stimulates imagination and interest, making one forget petty cares, is required.

Tea for Two or More

IF you are looking for a delightful way to entertain a few friends, there is nothing so thoroly enjoyable as a Tea Party. That may call to your mind a room full of people who are invited for an hour, a brief greeting, a bite to eat and then away. Or the Boston Tea Party which, tho probably the most important of all, was not what might be called "a pleasant social affair."

Needlework for Spare Moments

Needlework Directions

AMONG the most popular forms of embroidery now is darned net, reminiscent of the intriguing darned nets of grandmother's day, yet even more beautiful. The cushion, scarf and curtain panel shown this month are quite as simple of execution as they are pretty and are equally appropriate for living rooms, bedroom or sun parlor.

ACROSS THE EDITOR'S DESK

IT is natural at this season of the year, to give some thought, however perfunctory it may be, to the blessings received and the advantages enjoyed in the year behind. As we run over the things that stand out in our own experience, upon what are we going to place the emphasis? Let us consider a moment where President Coolidge placed it, in a recent interview: