September 1926

How Much More Worthwhile It Is!

THE other day I very greatly embarrassed a man I know when I asked him to give me the benefit of his observation on some characteristic attitudes of childhood. He floundered a bit, colored, then apologised. "You see," he added, lamely, "I seldom see my youngsters. They are in bed when I leave in the morning and, of course, go to bed almost as soon as I get home at night. The little tots must have their sleep-- you know that!"

Enchanted Windows for Your Dream Home

OF the three major details which give character to the house-- chimneys, roofs and windows-- at present the greatest range for individual expression lies in the held of fenestration, This broadened opportunity in composition has resulted from a changed conception of the observer who now sees the window instead of looking thru it.

Lupine Possibilities

A PACKET of seeds is to me a Pandora's Box. And the stranger the name thereon, the more intriguing the interest. I have followed many will o' the wisps, but sometimes, too, I have come to Rainbow's End. One of my pots of gold was the lupine.

Some Pointers on Chrysanthemums

CHRYSANTHEMUMS are the season's last flowers, but who will deny them first place in the fist of beauties of autumn? Chrysanthemum-- the name has its origin in "chrysos"-- gold; and true gold, they are, when, after the long period of growth they offer blooms for the harvest season, flowers when the rest of the garden has yielded its seed and died. But the chrysanthemum's color range is not limited to gold.

Homes of Famous Americans

IT was in the autumn-time of that memorable year of Ninety- Six. During the afternoon of the day of which I speak people began to filter into the Iowa county-seat town where we lived. There was an ominous breathlessness about it all as dusty teams and creaking "lumber" wagons crowded every road leading into town. Here and there a guttural challenge floated out of some musty barroom as a sovereign voter, emboldened in his cups, gave voice to the wish that fathered his thought.

One Way to Save the Bonny Bittersweet

EVERY year, along in September and October, hundreds of folks comb the woods for branches of a certain tree-vine which bears berries of brilliant orange. No other growing thing which fruits in autumn, perhaps, is quite so much liked for furnishing a bit of bright color to the living room of a north-central or eastern home as the American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens). But the day of the bittersweet as one of America's wild beauties is soon to come to a close. Americans will have "loved it to death."

Avoid Failure With Your Tress

WHAT is the matter with the trees in front of my house? The leaves are all turning brown and the trees seem to be dying. What is the cause of this trouble and will it do any good for me to have them sprayed?" This is a sample of the inquiries that are frequently received during the summer and sometimes in spring. Oddly enough they usually come from city folks rather than from farmers. Do you suppose this indicates a greater love and appreciation of trees in the cities than in the country?

So This Is Colonial!

WHEN the American wing of the Metropolitan Museum was opened last winter more than one self-appointed authority on early American decoration and furniture was surprised to find established there many features which he had hitherto airily dismissed as "not pure Colonial!" Since Americans have awakened to the beauty of Colonial home decoration a cult has sprung up, which, like most cults, is too rigid and didactic.

Remodeling A "Gingerbread" House

DO you remember the time when we looked with longing eyes at the gingerbread cookies in the bakery window? The more colored the frosting on them the more attractive they seemed. Sometimes it was a gingerbread man or on Valentine's day a heart with a frosted house; especially the pink chimney with its snow-white smoke gave great delight to our childhood eyes. Is it the "frosting" on this home or the fact that it represents a relic of days gone by that gingerbread and the home illustrated seem associated?

Staining and Varnishing of Woodwork and Floors

IN producing a stained and varnished finish on woodwork, three kinds of materials are ordinarily used-- wood filler; stain; varnish (or shellac).

Combining the Garage and Greenhouse

SINCE the majority of suburban dwellers have been drawn from the city by love of growing things, trees, shrubs vegetables and flowers, it can not be said that the greenhouse on the medium-sized suburban plot is anything unusual. If the small cost of it, both first cost and running expense, were more fully understood, there would be thousands more.

Fall Work in the Garden

WE gardeners are very likely to rest on our oars in the fall and enjoy the fruits of our labors. This is as it should be, as, after all, we garden for pleasure, and wish to get as much of this

Nature Lore for Mouthful Readers

IF you should be lucky enough to find in some tree a nest only a little larger than a walnut, you, would surely have reason to think it had been built by the wood sprites or the forest elves.

Under the Library Lamp

ONE of the greatest goods for a child is that he shall grow up in a house with books. It does not matter if there be a circulating library in the same street-- that will never take the place of books in the home-- books in wall cases, in racks, and stands, on the tables and window seats, and on the kitchen mantelshelf beside the clock."

Garden Reminders

PLANNING and preparing the bulb garden is interesting work for September. It is supposed that all bulb orders have been sent to your nurseryman ere this and perhaps some of the bulbs have already been delivered. (By the way, you can always depend upon reliable bulb dealers sending the bulbs at proper planting time.)

Vegetables Every Month in the Year

THE home garden may be made a means of furnishing a winter as well as summer supply of vegetables, if in addition to canning and drying certain products, proper provisions are made for the storage of other vegetables in the fresh state. Many persons who have good gardens during the summer fail to make provision for a supply of vegetables during the winter, so that they must either go without vegetables at that season, or buy from band to month at retail prices.

Thrift in the Home

MANY families have only one bank account for all purposes. Emergency funds, money to meet payments of various kinds, permanent savings, and money being saved toward buying a home-- all these things are often put into a single account. The result is that frequently money put in the bank for a supposedly specific purpose is thoughtlessly drawn out and used for something entirely different.

Adding Comfort to the Home

1 The practice in modern homes built in recent years is to have the hot-air register from the furnace pipes placed in the wall along the foot-board of the room and then shoot the warm air toward the center of the room, where it is likely to give some warmth to the occupants of the room before ascending ceilingward.

Fall Work in Southern Gardens

MANY flowers will not succeed in the South unless they are planted in the fall and make root and plant growth thru the winter, then they are ready to bloom at the first herald of spring. The following varieties are included in this group:

Another Spring Beauty

Dad's Practical Pointers

SEPTEMBER usually means school for the kiddies, less attention in the garden and more attention in the house. In other words it is the beginning of indoor work.

It Pays to Cull Hens

The Scaly Leg Hen

A SCALY leg hen will break no production records. She is handicapped in that health and happiness have been taken from her. Yet thousands of poultry raisers neglect to help her when she becomes infested.

Beware of Fake Music Publishers

AT the present time one of the biggest frauds being investigated by the Federal authorities is that of the "fake" song publishing houses. It is estimated that in the last ten or twelve years the victims of these concerns have been duped by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, out of more than one million dollars a year, and a recent investigation revealed the fact that one New York song corporation alone has obtained from would-be composers and song-poem writers, between six and seven hundred thousand dollars in the past eighteen months.

Good Children for Bad

WE are taking it for granted that the parents who are enrolled in our home training school have been perfecting themselves in self-control, team work and self-sacrifice, and that they have carefully studied the course in what not to do with the children.

John's Birthday Party

BUDDIE, the younger son, wept disconsolately. Someone had torn the month of October from the calendar, and with it had gone his birthday! Yesterday it had been there, all marked off with red so that he could be sure there would be a party for him some day. His brother John, a big boy-- nine years old last week-- had celebrated with a wonderful party.

September Garden Cookery

WITH September's generous overflow we are brought to realize that frost-time is comparatively near, and that first-hand garden cookery will soon be over; the time when we can walk down the garden path and select from a dozen or more delicious vegetables and many fruits, to bring into the house to prepare for that day's meal, is getting short.

The Cooks Round Table

Chop the tomatoes, apples, onions and peppers very fine. Add to the remaining ingredients and boil until thick. Put into jars while the mixture is hot. This relish is very appetizing.-- H. A., Massachusetts.

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Needlework Directions

A SQUARE of white linen with hemstitched hem forms the background of the effective card table cover shown opposite. The cards are done in outline with six strands in needle. Outline edge of card in two colors, red and black. Outline hearts and diamonds in red; clubs and spades, black.

Along the Garden Path

A NIGHT in the woods is an experience never to be forgotten by the true nature lover. Whether it be by the campfire, with the comforting blanket of night all around one, or if one be alone in the trackless wilderness with only the brilliance of the stars to light one-- there is an assurance and a quality of peace present to be found nowhere else.

Dahlia Stakes

A Novel Bird Bath

Book Collecting As a Hobby

THERE are times in everyone's life that only books will fill, certain moments that must be tided over without friends. So a love and appreciation of books is very essential to us, and of all possible hobbies book collecting is the easiest, being within the reach of everybody's purse.

ACROSS THE EDITOR'S DESK

IT is with considerable pride that we lay this, our Birthday Number, before you. With this issue Better Homes and Gardens enters its fifth year of service to the home-makers of America. I feel sure you will agree that that service has become more important each month. Our family has grown to more than 750,000 subscribers within the past four years, and at the rate subscriptions are coming in, within the next three months an additional 100,000 will join our ranks.