May 1936

Across the Editor's Desk

HAVE you a little lumbricus in your home? If so, guard it well, for Peter Noblet, of Hickory, North Carolina, has discovered, after long and patient research, that the lumbricus is the best possible means for making antique furniture out of Grand Rapids 1936.

She's worth it all!

THE Dairy OF A PLAIN DIRT GARDENER

The whole family had planned to set out on a trip today, but Donald kept to his bed this morning-- measles. Outdoors, I hurried about, watering the seedframes as needed, finished mowing the lawn and getting out ashes. Then at 2 this afternoon I set out alone to drive southward. At 1 in the morning I was in Nashville, Tennessee, 411 miles from home.

IT'S News TO ME!

1 Pineapple Spears (lengthwise cuts, canned) are good broiled with ham and make a neat pinwheel on up-side-down cake. I tell Nick they're streamlined for quick pick-up-- he finds it so handy to purloin 'em, stick by stick! [Dole, Hawaiian Pineapple Co., Ltd., 215 Market St., San Francisco]

LET'S GET INTO THE GARDEN

NATURE will soon be staging the mysterious transition from April to May in its own inimitable fashion. With scant regard for Gregorian calendars and man-made dates, the approach of May is now heralded by a veritable fanfare of bird song. Paeans of praise and prophecy are tumbling riotously from every post and tree.

PLANNING A POOL THIS SPRING?

WHY is it that of the hundreds of pools we've seen, some linger in our memories as being completely satisfying? How did they differ from others?

Garden Veils

THIS season's hat styles have given us a new version of veils that are worn for lure and enchantment alone. Under their softening gauze a straight nose looks more classic still, or eyes glow more deeply colorful. Yet those veils our mothers used to wear had a more utilitarian purpose: they kept a party coiffure trim, or softened the nip of winter. Then, too, in other countries, jealously guarded women retire behind a veil from the stare of inquisitive eyes.

Tame the Wildflowers

A WILDFLOWER garden, however small a patch of ground, brings the rare, beautiful native plants into our own grounds where we can watch the first green leaves unfold, the shy buds lift their heads, the blossoms open, and the fruit form in autumn.

SPRAY OR PAY

"COME here, Topsy," said Miss Ophelia. "I shall severely punish you." With this re mark she struck Topsy several blows with her lace fan.

A LITTLE BIG HOUSE THAT HAS EVERYTHING

BAY WINDOWS PAY SUNNY DIVIDENDS

BATHED in sunshine, facing a distant view or close upon a garden, radiating cheer, comfort, and intimacy--a bay window is the fireplace's only rival. In any home it is a livable feature that pays pleasant dividends on its cost. No other one feature of a home seems to have the marked possibilities for creating a cozy atmosphere or becoming a center of interest. No home should be without one.

CABIN IN THE WILDERNEESS

SCORES of years hence descendants of Dr. Erroll W. Rawson, promnent young Seattle surgeon, and ... slim blonde wife Leotta, profession pianist, will probably marvel at the permanence of their cedar log ...

Cabin on a Lakeside

A Home You Look at Twice

MOST of us have had the experience of passing many houses with only a casual consciousness that they're there, and then have come suddenly upon one which compelled us to turn to look at it again. It isn't more imposing. It may not even differ radically from its neighbors, architecturally. There's just "something" about it.

Know Your Silverplate

IF YOU'RE a stranger in New York, driving down Broadway, perhaps, in a car whose license tag proclaims you a simple-hearted visitor from the Great Open Spaces and therefore fair game for any city slicker who can take you in, a car is likely to draw up beside you at the next red light; and the driver of it, leaning toward you, will say in a voice confidentially low: "Say, would you be interested in picking up a fine fox fur?

A BILDCOST GARDENED HOME IN KANSAS

Another Prizewinner!

THE MAN NEXT DOOR

And this is the May I plan to put in those stepping-stones across the lawn for the postman, so he won't trample down the dandelions. It's simply amazing how his 11 trips a week leave a definite path, and in wet weather his footprints seem enormous and permanent.

PICNIC PARADISE AT HOME

WHAT a delightful spot!" you're bound to exclaim when you glimpse this shady, grass-carpeted bowl in the Livingston yard. And when you've broiled a steak at the fireplace, made coffee with the water tap right at hand, and danced by the light of the electric lanterns, you'll agree that here's a most convenient and restful way to picnic.

"Happy Years Ahead"

OUR house is in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, on the Poland-Barneveld road, just midway between these two villages and 13 miles north of Utica, New York. Close by is the old Military Road that connected Albany with Sacketts Harbor, and spanning the creek is an old covered bridge over which the Redcoats marched during the War of 1812.

Should I Prepay?

DR. FRANK C. and his wife recently left for a trip of indeterminate length around the world. They may be back home in nine months' time or not for two years. One problem which bothered the Doctor was that of taking care of his life-insurance premiums when they fell due.

It's Better to Know the Rules!

LOOKING back to my first club presidency, I'm appalled to remember how joyously I accepted it. I was so flattered by the distinction that I quite overlooked the responsibilities involved. Perhaps it was a good thing. If I'd known that day all that I knew a year later, I might never have had the courage to accept!

THE CLUB AID FOR MAY

Needles, Hooks, and Hostesses

WHEN the club comes to your house, then it's fair open season for all sorts of feminine accessories husbands normally glare upon. Dainty pillows in the boudoir, tricky towels on the bath rails, and luncheon linens lovely enough to make sorority sisters go gunning for like trophies. This month we're bringing you hits that ask only for finishing touches to become treasures indeed.

Always Underfoot

FLOORS get hard wear-- and they should. After all, houses are made for people, not people for houses. I'm not encouraging spiked boots and muddy rubbers in the living-room, but I do believe that constant "don't's" are hard on active, happy, home life, both of children and grown-ups. Homes are meant to be used freely, joyously, vigorously.

THAT BOLD, BAD Two-Year-Old

MY VERY happiest moments come when I'm able to assure parents that a terrific problem disrupting their home is really no problem at all.

Slices of Green Goodness

WOULD you add fresh interest to your dishes? Put new life in mealtime planning? Would you give your family a taste sensation that leaves everyone begging for more?

Those Embarrassing Moments

Everybody Likes These Two Gardened Homes

Planning a May-Day Luncheon?

The Question Before the House

IN BUILDING a log cabin is it necessary to apply a preservative to peeled logs?

"Naturals" IN WOOD

IF YOU'RE an unfinished furniture enthusiast-- and who, having once tried it, isn't? --you'll be interested in all I've discovered about natural-wood finishes. It seems nearly every one who thinks about unfinished furniture at all considers it only in terms of paints and enamels.

Tattle Tales

THAT mysterious god of chance who spreads things out evenly has ordained that during every week Better Homes & Gardens will receive an average of 408 contributions for publication, including full- size articles, poems, and recipes.

What Is "Truth in Advertising"?

BECAUSE of the great and general use you Better Homes & Gardens' families make of the advertisements in the magazine, we think you'll be interested in going behind the scenes for a moment to observe some of the things we do to insure the dependability of our advertisements, behind which we place our guarantee.

More Fireplaces

A Home-Made Valance for Your Summer Curtains

GRACEFULLY draped curtains of sheer, summery material can have the sleek, tailored appearance of those above when once you know the mechanics of hanging them. For ours we made a wooden hood, called a "valance," which fits over the top of the window frame, under the draperies.

NOW THE Dahlia HAS ITS DAY

THE dahlia is capturing the fancy of an increasing number of people. Its wonderful range of color and types offers unlimited possibility for study. The number of dahlia societies and dahlia shows in all sections of the country is proof that it's really the most popular fall flower.

Permanent Perennials

AS WE revel in the fresh, crisp colorfulness of the spring garden, we find our enjoyment of it tempered with a sense of regret that its beauty is so fleeting.

"Bring June Beauty Indoors"

ALONG THE GARDEN PATH WITH THE WEEK-END GARDENER

IT'S just as impossible for week-enders to resist buying too many annual seeds as it is for a politician to forego making promises. Who can blame us? For months we've been deluged with enthusiastic catalogs, brimming with heroic flowers. We half expect plants to reach us in full bloom, perhaps smelling slightly of printer's ink.