June 1926

Planning the Family Vacation

THE horizon has always been a challenge. Down thru the ages explorers have chased it on and on, eventually to discover new worlds perhaps: but never has the distant horizon been conquered. It still entices rovers forth to seek new adventures; and the modern automobile has made us a nation of horizon chasers.

Extend the Season for Salad Plants

THE garden lettuce season as well as the season for the other home-grown salad plants is altogether too short with most of us. After the early plantings of curled lettuce, spinach and chard have come to maturity in June and July we are likely to lean on our hoes in this lethargic weather and think we have done enough. But if we do manage to gather our strayed ambitions together and scratch in a few seeds, well--how good those succulent leaves do taste in late summer and fall.

How to Succeed With Dahlias

WHILE we all admit our admiration and affection for flowers, some of us have especial favorites. Speaking for myself in a humble and modest manner, my favorite is the dahlia. I need not enumerate any reasons for this position, the flower speaks for itself.

Homes of Famous Americans

AT Orchard House, in Old Concord, Massachusetts, under the great, giant elms on the front lawn, I sat in a rustic seat built into the trunk of one of the trees-- a spot where A. Bronson Alcott, father of Louisa May, used to linger and where he once had his picture taken, his silvery hair flowing over his shoulders in the breeze-- and thought of those beginnings back before the Civil War when Louisa May Alcott was first searching for the road to success.

Grow More Tall Bearded Iris

THERE is one flag which rightfully should wave in every garden the world over --the "blue flag" of grandmother'sday, now properly known in its improved form as the iris.

How to Grow Peonies Successfully

ONE of the most interesting things to me about the peony is the persistency with which it continues to make a way for itself into the affections of the gardening public. Probably no perennial is more universally acclaimed and loved than the peony. I have seen it gain but a foothold in the garden-- sometimes a neglected corner at that-- and in a few seasons it had taken undisputed possession of the whole garden and the gardener's affections.

Four Dining-room-less Houses

ONE of the most striking of the modern departures from old customs in small house planning is the advent of the dining-room-less house The house without a dining room has had ready acceptance and popularity with home-builders-- so much so that it has outlived the freak or fad stage and is now a recognized institution

Conserve the Rhododendrons

ALL the way from the Alleghanies to the Cascades and the Olympics, the true lover of flowers revels in the blushing fields of rhododendrons from the last of April to the middle of June. In "God's own greenhouse," both East and West, they bud and bloom in such wild profusion that Americans, big and little, young and old, are swift to drink in their exotic beauty.

Loganberries in the Backyard

THE story of the Davis loganberries is a typical story of Oregon family life, as well as the ideals of a woman whose youthful blue eyes glow with both vision and accomplishment.

The Modern Vogue For Painted Furniture

THE vogue for painted furniture (or more properly speaking, enameled furniture) combines practicability, economy and correctness of appointmentin a measure not usually to be found in fashions of the day. In fact, painted furniture probably owes its popularity to its great practicability and adaptability, and by the same token will undoubtedly remain in general use for quite some time to come.

Weedless Lawns

WHAT magic is this-- a weedless lawn maintained without hand weeding? Sounds as tho there is a dark gentleman in woodpile somewhere, but I have seen this thing with my own eyes-- a lawn kept free of weeds for the past fifteen years without a particle of tiresome hand work. How was it done?

An Honor of the Bride

JUNE-- golden month of garden roses, sunny skies and balmy air-- is no less the golden month of brides. Bridal festivities and prenuptial entertaining are, of course, much to the fore; but, in the midst of this gay round, countless new homes all over the land are in the making. And for the future of the nation, what a boon are these new homes of golden June! Not, of course, that all the homes will be ideal in every respect; for perfection would be far too much to expect.

Nature Lore for Youthful Readers

WHITE folks who came to this country were not the first ones to use sign posts to show which way to go. The Indians who lived here before the white folks came had a way of their own of directing red folk travelers.

Under the Library Lamp

FIRST of all I must tell you about five new book lists that have been prepared by the editor of this department and that are now available. Send a two-cent stamp, or better yet, a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Better Homes and Gardens office and ask for any one or all of the following:

Garden Reminders

JUNE is the month of roses. It is also the month of peonies, iris, daisies, columbines, hydrangeas, globe flowers and a wealth of other things to gladden the heart of the gardener. Of course, a great deal of time this month will be spent in enjoying the June flowers; in keeping garden records, and in visiting neighboring grounds but there is also much work to be done if the garden is to maintain its promised beauty thruout the season.

Thrift for Every Home

I AM interested in the discussion of the financing of a home. When a thrifty man and a home-loving woman save money, dollar by dollar, to buy a home, they have adopted one of the best methods for accumulating property that I know of. It usually happens in such cases, however, that the occupancy of the home carries with it one or two mortgages.

How We Are Buying a Home

Winning a Home by Saving

WE were married in 1922 when apartments, furniture and clothing were way up in price. Of course, we wanted a home of our own but we did not want a house built to sell, standing in a row with dozens of others just like it.

MY EXPERIENCES WITH TOM TOMATO

Look Out for the European Earwig

EAST and west coasts of the United States, take notice! June is the month to begin war against the earwig, who in coming over here from Europe, left his controlling parasite behind. The distributing centers for this pest have been beach resorts on our two oceans.

Dad's Practical Pointers

SO many good ideas have come in from you readers lately that Dad is going to use a number of them this month. Really, wouldn't you rather hear about suggestions and tips other folks have discovered, for a change? What have you to offer?

A Plant That Eats Meat

Along the Garden Path

I LOVE everybody. I love everything. Some seem to make mistakes, but everything and everybody has something of value or they would not be here." Thus spoke Luther Burbank a few weeks before he was laid to rest in the garden he loved so much. He stood at the summit of seventy-seven years, most of which he had devoted to the cause of unselfish service to humanity.

Helps for the Eleventh Hour Gardener

DURING the last days of March and the first of April when the robins flitter bravely northward from their comfortable homes in the southland and the grassy lawns show the first peep of green, there are very few gardeners who can resist the temptation to roll up their sleeves and loosen up the old garden spot in preparation for the home of an onion or two and some lettuce and radishes.

Learn a New Wild Flower Each Month

ORCHIDS, on account of their rare beauty, have ever been playthings of the wealthy and to find them growing wild seems like a gift from the eternal gods. Perhaps this is the principal reason why the showy lady's slipper, handsomest of its tribe, and formerly fairly abundant in moist, rich woods, has gradually retreated before the onslaught of civilization until one must now wade deep into almost inaccessible marshy places in order to locate this aristocrat of northern woods and swamps.

How to Apply Nitrate of Soda

ANNOUNCEMENT

Music and The Out-of-Doors

SHOULD we make an attempt to trace the history of music back to the time when man got his first musical inspiration from the sounds of nature, we should have to go back almost to the very night of time when man first emerged from the unknown.

Good Things From The June Garden

TABLE possibilities increase and grow rich with the coming and passing of June. Fresh lettuce in abundance, radishes always, asparagus and peas overlapping, high tide of strawberries-- that queen of garden berries-- rhubarb still delicious;

Needlework Designs

MANY women who like to do embroidery hesitate to undertake large pieces, such as bedspreads, curtains, etc., yet like to keep on hand small articles of needlework that may be worked on at odd times and used later for gifts or to beautify the home. For this reason we are showing in this issue a group of smaller articles, all in simple but extremely effective designs.

Our Family Year Book

WE have a family year book at our house which proves so useful that I must pass the idea along to other busy wives and mothers. Mine is in a loose-leaf binder, but an ordinary paperbacked book will do. It is what you put inside that counts.

Dream Pie

ACROSS THE EDITOR'S DESK

THERE is a magic in the ownership of property, especially when that property consists of a home. I wonder how many of our readers have stopped to consider that fundamental fact. A man will lay down his life without question or thought when the integrity of his home is at stake. On the other hand, if the same amount of money were placed in stocks or bonds, or even a factory, it is extremely problematical whether he would even risk his life if they were threatened with destruction.