January 1940

ACROSS THE Editor's Desk

HOME has no dependence on the seasons. Winter or summer, spring or fall-- all are one to the dwelling which, in its full depth of meaning, is a home.

THE DIARY of a Plain Dirt Gardener

This morning I awakened in the Fayette Hotelin Lexington, Kentucky, to which I came last night. A new day and a new year has come and I'm bound way down South to Fairyland.

At Home With Walt Disney

WALT DISNEY, the fellow who has re-created and re-vitalized Pinocchio, has two outstanding yens-- his home, with all that it implies, and animals.

Twins Under the Skin

FOUR from two leaves four. That's not Wizard of Oz arithmetic. Only what has been done with the two latest Bildcost Gardened-Home plans shown here. Both homes on the left-hand page are from the same plan, 1001A; the only difference between them is the exterior treatment. And both on the right-hand page are from a similar but slightly smaller plan.

Architect Smith Designs His Own

AN ARCHITECT'S home isn't his castle but his best advertisement. So into it he puts his best ideas-- not all of them, because one home won't hold anywhere near all-- but his best just the same.

LIVING DINING ROOM 2 IN 1

DON'T read this if you have a butler, two maids or more, and if you habitually entertain visiting royalty. But if you want to save money, save housework, and make your living-room a genuine "living" room, then some of the ideas on these two pages are for you.

Pruning Rights and Wrongs

WHEN I got over to Ossie Whalen's he was sitting on his steps reading a book and looking worried and black. "I've been out here two evenings now studying this book and trying to prune those lilacs," he growled, "and the rules don't fit." He slapped his pruning shears into my hand. "You're a nurseryman. Go to it."

This Hoosier Grows Lemons

When a Lemon's Not a Lemon: Here's some background that just goes to show the kind of fun a horticultural hobbyist gets into. In Mr. Douglass' story, he devotes some six long paragraphs to the "Otaheite Lemon."

Backyard Winter Fun

I CONVERTED our backyard into a small- scale winter resort. Not a whole miniature Sun Valley, or Lake Placid, or St. Moritz, but the equivalent of it in ice-skating fun. Our entire lawn became an ice-skating rink.

Gardening Guide

Elfin Gardens Stage Comeback: Terrariums-- the name is awfully stuffy, isn't it-- are back for a rollicking new fling. Climb on the bandwagon and have some fun with them.

Gardening Guide

IN JANUARY we become restless. The studious ones among us take advantage of the cold to bring ourselves up to date on new theories, experiments, and swoppin' of ideas and criticisms with the likewisers.

$ 4800 + $1200 $ 7500 AND THE MODERNIZING MASONS CAN PROVE IT

HOISTING a skeptical eyebrow over our little problem in addition? Then hold it a minute-- for here's the story:

So Good Meals

BROILING--HOT FROM YOUR RANGE

AGOG ABOUT GADGETS

WEBSTER failed. Oh, indubitably! Have you looked? He failed to define adequately a "gadget." We'll try. A gadget is a widget that does something-- more easily, neatly, amusingly, perhaps. Frequently it's a specialist. Again, you may gasp at a gadget's versatility. Usually it's a "what'szit." A new gadget from your kitchen drawer?

Of Course You Want to Be Popular

You're 16. You've been having your first taste of popularity and loving it. And now something has happened that you fear is going to spoil everything.

In Garden or Home

THE more I study how to add charm to my garden, the more I'm impressed by the similarity of the elements which produce beauty indoors or out. I find that the simple home- furnishing principles so familiar to most of us can be applied to the home grounds.

COLOR PREVIEW OF SPRINGTIME

A IS FOR AERATING B IS FOR BEAUTIFUL BEGINNING C IS FOR CHEERFUL CALISTHENICS

MAKING a successful perennial border-- one that grows flowers like the catalogs show-- is like riding a bicycle, making feather-light biscuits, or playing piano duets. You have to have a plan, know which are the essential steps, and get your timing right.

Furniture Pleasingly Placed

"PLEASINGLY placed" might mean the good fortune of finding an intriguing dinner partner on your right, or, as here, just a frank appraisal of good judgment in placing everything in the house, from the baby grand to the grand babies!

KITCHENS

Last Call

Speedy Spaghetti Dinner

AT LAST we've found it-- a grand Spaghetti Dinner that takes no long simmering, just 45 minutes to gain its subtle blend of flavoring. It's our current Dish of the Month, $5 prizewinner in the Cooks' Contest for Macaroni-Noodle-Spaghetti Dishes and Tempting First-Course Favorites announced last July.

Meet the Macaroni Family

TATTLE TALES

Goat-Gland Stuff: We don't remember when the people of a nation have become so excited over anything as they have over Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1 to you!).

TRY MY SIMPLE RECIPES FOR Laying Out Your Garden

GIVE a man a good garden recipe and he can design himself a good garden.

"How to Be a Grafter"

They Heat a House

SINCE the parlor stove and the fireplace have been superseded by the air-conditioning furnace, the National Warm Air Heating and Air Conditioning Association has studied the effectiveness of the different systems that have been introduced.

Article

The Man Next Door

If you're like our lackadaisical family, the extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas didn't speed up your shopping any, and, privately, I doubt that it would for us if we ate the turkey in August.

Along the Garden Path

AFTER CHRISTMAS the leaves began to turn yellow and drop off my poinsettia. A florist said this was normal and advised me to water the plant sparingly. When the plant was only a dead-appearing stick, I placed it in the warm basement and forgot it.