September 1941

THE Other Side OF THE ROOM

I ONCE visited an old lady who was recovering from a prolonged illness, and who, as the world again took shape about her, found a strange and unfamiliar quality in the appearance of her long- occupied room and in all of the ancient keepsakes which ornamented it. An upsetting experience had made, for a while, all the familiar things of life seem strange. This happened in days of peace.

Too Shady FOR FLOWERS? Grow Ferns

I USED to see spots before my eyes --spots in my heavily shaded back yard where I simply couldn't keep flowers growing. I tried and tried and the flowers died and died. I got so cross about it people thought I must be drinking stale coffee. Then somebody told me to plant ferns, and I planted ferns, and today I'm well and happy.

THE MAN NEXT DOOR

Alas, the householder knows the thin spots in his own lawn, no matter how lyrically his guests may exclaim about its beauty.

Younger as the Years Go By

"Bargain" Furniture? DON'T LET IT FOOL YOU!

"WELL, will you look at this! It's the same chair we fell in love with at Quality Inc.-- and at just half the price!"

It may be Allergy!

ALICE SIMMS, a bright, attractive, capable young homemaker and mother used to say jokingly that she "sneezed by the calendar." For 10 months of a year she could laugh at her trouble, but when late August arrived it ceased to be a laughing matter. Alice shut herself off from friends and family. She sneezed and gasped for breath.

"Never-Too-Old" Home

THE very old and the very young have subtle ways of winning the heart. In the young it's a twinkle and a sparkle that speaks of ingenuous freshness; in the old it's a mellow look of having lived thru many years, good and bad, and of being filled with the content that comes with age.

Are You . . . . . UNFAIR TO ELECTRICITY

Let me introduce you to the Scatterbrain Family, or perhaps you already know them. They're always having electricity trouble at their house. Nothing ever seems to work right.

HOLLYWOOD Cliff Gardeners

I'M WHAT you'd call a cliff gardener," laughed Jeanette MacDonald, her emerald eyes sparkling. "I'm a cliff gardener by marriage."

Arranged the Wong Way

Outdoor GARDENING GUIDE

IN SEPTEMBER when the cricket takes down his fiddle and bow it's time for you to take down your shovel and hoe. Vacation time is over. Divide and replant old perennials. Set out new perennials now to get them thoroly rooted and ready for winter. Move evergreens any time from now until cold weather. But don't move other shrubs until frosts knock off their leaves.

Which Bulbs Are Scarce? Here's How to Replace Those You Can't Get

YOU needn't worry too much over the fact that there are no Dutch bulbs coming across from Holland for planting this fall. It'll take more than war to stop us from having spring bloom.

Seasoned with Taste

ATOP a sunny Connecticut hill we found the little white home of Robert and Eleanor Powell, brimful with assorted loveliness, color fun, and a joyous disregard for staid decorators' rulings. And out in the garden we discovered the lady of the hilltop--digging and planting but managing to look incredibly fresh and poised in her tailored gray flannel slacks.

Two Homes FROM FOUR ROOMS

JUNE HOLLEY and Bernice Bruton between them have decorated some 850 homes in their three years in the small-homes studio of one of the country's largest and busiest home-furnishing stores. And one day recently they said, "Isn't it high time we did a little decorating for ourselves, for a change?"

Before You Buy That Rug KNOW THESE THINGS

"WE'RE up against buying a rug-- and don't know the first thing about it!" Don't blush-- that's a common complaint.

Moving Day CAN Be Practically Painless!

THE domestic furor known as Moving Day probably dates clear back to the morning when Neanderthal Woman first tossed Neanderthal Man a bundle of skins and a side of bear and hustled him off to that bigger and warmer cave across the ravine. And doubtless both Mr. and Mrs. Neanderthal's dispositions were edgy until they really settled down and the new cave took on that pleasant feeling of home.

Serve Mineral-Rich Foods

General Flunky? Not I!

WHEN there's a squeak or a rattle in our family day, I look to the mornings. And there, nine bets out of ten, is the sabotaging monkey wrench. Chances are I'm the culprit. General in Charge of Morning Maneuvers is my job. But it's pretty easy sometimes to slip into the lowly rank of General Flunky. And that's something I long ago resolved I would not be.

Plant Next Year's Poppies Now

AND why not grow Oriental Poppies, I say. Nothing can equal their rich, brilliant color display in May or June.

Good Neighbors . . . and Grand Homes!

PAST the edge of industrial Dearborn, Michigan, is the rolling, campus-like terrain of Henry Ford's philanthropic Ford Foundation. It's a grand community for children to grow in and a pleasant spot for oldsters. Squirrels scamper thru huge old oaks and maples; quiet streets roam among shady yards and homes with a peaceful, mellow air.

Shall We Train 'em or Just Let 'em Grow?

JOHNNY and Jimmy Woods, the famous "scientific twins," are undoubtedly the most highly publicized young brothers in the United States, yet up to now their true story has never been told.

Here Are Ideas!

If you've a white elephant door anywhere around your home, here's an idea that's a honey! This "little door that isn't there" belongs to Mrs. Frances Whatford, of Rochester, New York, who'd been biffed in the eye so often by her superfluous pantry-to-dining-room swinging door that she and her husband took off three whole hours one evening and did things about it!

Have You a Family Hobby?. . .

Refined in the Mill of Time

HERE'S a Bildcost Gardened Home that's been thru the mill of time. It's the home of the Oscar Neros, of Tacoma, Washington. Since its Early American ancestors were first built, many generations have brought perfection in appearance, modern arrangement of rooms, and greatly increased living comfort.

I married all three . .

THERE are three kinds of women: women who save things because they might come in handy sometime, women who save things because it seems a shame to throw them out, and women who save things because you never can tell. I know, because I married all three.

The "Poor Man's Orchid" Grows for Everybody Say the Gladiolus Experts

BIG fun of growing gladiolus is that they're as successful for the beginner as for the fancier who can't sleep for fear he will miss seeing the first flower open on an untried variety.

"Our New Furniture's Pedigreed" -- so Boast Betty and Bob

THE DIARY of a Plain Dirt Gardener

The boys and I are in Pontiac, Michigan, this morning, homeward bound from a business and fishing trip-- a trip which can be summarized: good business, little vacation, and no fish. This morning we drove out to the big experimental and research farm of the Ferry-Morse Seed Company near here to see the current All-America Flower Selections trials and other new annuals.

It's NEWS to ME!

1 Quicker to lay, asbestos cement strip shingles now make a fireproof, rot-proof roof that's low cost for this type of roof. In triangular-shaped strips, overlapping is fast and automatic. Of textured surface, a color blend or natural gray or white. J-M American Colonial at Johns-Manville building materials dealers, or 22 E. 40 St., New York.