January 1928

Wages of Understanding

Along the Garden Path

IT is a theme that has been touched upon more than once in this magazine, but I wonder if it has struck you just as it did me. I would be interested in hearing from you if you have had this sort of psychological experience.

A Home Built Around An Idea

BUILDING a house is one of the mixed pleasures. Like most things worthwhile, it costs something, not only financially, but in heartaches and disappointments. The man who has just finished his first house has the smile of sympathy and wisdom dearly won for the man in the throes of the ordeal.

Annuals That Help Perennials

WE are painting pictures in living colors when we begin to plant flowers. And in this pleasant occupation we can well afford to permit a sort of joyous abandon.

Golden Gate Gardening

NO matter how good a gardener you were "Back East," no matter if your house-plants were the pride of your life and the admired of all beholders, you "don't know nuthin" about raising things in California. At least that was my experience when we gave up our mid-western garden to build a bigger and better one in the San Francisco Bay region.

Eddie Guest in His Garden

THE state of Michigan has a section of its oddly-shaped self which is called The Thumb. Because this projecting digit of Michigan's mitt sticks up. however, is no sign said thumb is sore. Far from it! In fact, the farther north you go into the Thumb district, the more likable it is.

Five Ways to Beauty In an Old House

CAN you help me remodel my house?" is a favorite question among our readers. Our mail often includes many letters containing this appeal. In response we are showing herewith a typical small home and illustrations giving ideas for improving it.

What to Look for in a Rug

AT first glance choosing a rug would seem to be a simple affair, and, I imagine, men for the most part believe it to be so. Any housewife, however, knows that a surprising lot of things have to be considered, such as, for instance, its color, pattern (if any), tone value (whether light or dark), wearing qualities, and size (whether one large rug or several smaller ones), in addition to the cost.

Houses Need Underwear

WE have never had to be converted to heating our homes or to wearing proper underwear. We have never had to be converted to keeping the rain out of our homes or putting glass in our windows instead of cheese cloth.

Do You Know Your Onions?

ONIONS in the home garden will add zest to the salads, flavor to the stew, decorate the steak in a tasteful manner, upholster the onion sandwich and prove to be a joy generally to the housewife as well as to the gardener. In addition to these strong arguments, the onion is a satisfactory vegetable to grow since it is practically free from pests and disease and because its green tops waving aloft add a decorative note to the small garden plot.

Planning a Workable Kitchen

WHEN we study the tasks of the homemaker, we find that approximately 70 percent of the day's work centers about the kitchen. It is natural, then, that we turn in this direction to find a solution of the management problems of the home. Every minute that can be saved in the kitchen makes the other jobs of homemaking easier, because it means additional time to plan and think.

The Case of Home vs. Child

EVERY housekeeper knows the difference that is made in her work by a convenient kitchen. As great or greater difference is made in the task of parents if their home is equipped for children to live in.

Why Families Stay Home

NO, A. A. Milne didn't say that, but he almost did, and I feel quite sure he won't mind my paraphrasing him here since I intend to say, in the course of my argument, that the Milne rhymes are the kind of rhymes that live only in the Right Houses. But I mustn't overstep myself. Lines like the ones above have a way of tripping thru my head and making me keep up with them, regardless of the weightier ideas puffing in the rear.

Beauty on a Budget

IN the days when I was a poor working girl, I always reasoned that even if one could not have the smartest of clothes, it was still possible, with careful management, to look attractive. Later, when the best man in the world and I were confronted with the similar problem of how to clothe the exterior of our shiny new cottage with shrubbery, flowers and other accessories that go with a well-dressed garden, we found the same reasoning to be true.

Birds Have Home Problems

IF you want to read birds' minds, you have only to take a careful look at the homes they build. They will go to no end of trouble to find ideal spots in which to bring up their children. And they try to make the houses themselves as comfortable and protective as they can according' to their own individual ideas for "better bird-babies."

The Crowning Glory of a Good Cake

EVEN the most prosaic of cooks must believe in magic! How could she help doing so when, by combining some sugar, water and egg whites, she can transform a commonplace cake into a mound of delicious confection covered with a creamy billowy snow, otherwise known as frosting?

Garden Reminders

A LONG with the new year comes the making of resolutions. In case you cannot think of enough to make, here are some suggestions; Resolved, to read at least one good book on gardening this winter; resolved, to try at least one new flower in my garden this coming year; resolved, to make a plan of my yard and garden some time before spring and to plan definitely how it can be made more attractive; resolved to have a better home and garden in 1928.

How to Make a Work Bench

EVERY home should be equipped with a workbench and some tools so Dad and the boys will have a place to do work or make repairs.

Candles, Firelight and Wrought Iron

LAST evening, as I sat by the fireside, long after the rest of the family had retired, I saw picture after picture unfold itself in the flames, scene after scene outlined in the light of the fire. The firelight of the burning logs filled the room with a dim radiance, while the strains of an opera being sung in a city a thousand miles away filled the room.

From Another Amateur

My January Chore

New Help for Mothers

I WISH someone would tell me," said the pretty mother in gray, "how one woman can get three meals a day and wash the dishes and do the washing and ironing and keep the children's .clothes looking half-way decent and stay sweet-tempered and patient from morning till night"-- a second's pause for breath, "and take time to listen to all the questions and answer them and do all these other things we've been reading about in the books.

The Children's Pleasure Chest

JOE and Jerry had been studying about the Eskimos. It did not seem like studying, tho, for it was such fun to read about these queer people of the Far North who live in houses made of ice, dress in suits of soft fur, and eat chunks of fat, raw meat and fish for breakfast, dinner and supper.

From Stravinsky to Schubert

THE best basis of program building for the average music study club undoubtedly is a biographical one. Chronology based on biography lingers in the memory. Then, too, appropriate musical illustrations of all grades of difficulty and a wealth of biographic material are always available, an item which is not to be ignored or overlooked in planning a year's work.

Adventures in Home Beautifying

AT various times thru the passing years, even the plainest of us does receive compliments. They may concern our currant jelly, our permanent wave, or the upbringing of our children. Usually we know that we deserve them, and will admit a modest glow of satisfaction whene'er appreciation comes our way.

Across the Editor's Desk

ONE million circulation! This little sentence is almost breath-taking, for it means so much in the life of Better Homes and Gardens.