February 1949

The ultimate family

I KNOW a man, who, as a boy, lived for a while in Mexico. Too young to excite the prejudices of the people among whom he was living, but old enough to form valid judgments, he lived-- not with the charming, cultivated classes of that misunderstood country --but with illiterate Indians.

How to fasten two boards together

Once a terrace... Now a porch!

How to Shape their habits

GOOD habits are like tomatoes. They're a fine thing but don't just happen. It's up to you to plant and cultivate them. Here's how.

Know your evergreens

Suit your kitchen to YOU

Put empty corner space to work

Designed for air conditioning

HOME air conditioning is here. It's no longer a dream, but something you should consider when remodeling or building, just as you do indoor plumbing and central heating.

Planned around an entrance hall

ALL too often these days, cost becomes a more important factor in building a house than does comfort. In looking for a place to cut costs, one of the best seems to be a hallway. Halls take up costly space that could be put to better use in other rooms.

You can grow fruit on a 50-foot lot

WHAT could be more fun than picking fruit from your own trees? Flavor-filled fruit that's not been picked while still hard so it will ship well, but perfect fruit that's ripened on your trees getting sweeter and sweeter.

We enclose space

WHEN my husband and I decided to build a house with our own, then uncallused hands, people said we couldn't do it. They were wrong, because here it is, only about a year later, and we expect to get the last of the windows in any day now. Then, as soon as we finish slamming the wall board up, we can get the stove and refrigerator out of storage.

We chose a farmhouse

BEFORE Philip left for the army, we bought a small farm outside Salem, Oregon --a beautiful wooded tract with a house and barn we considered liabilities, to be torn down when we built our permanent home.

REMODELING: The best way to get a home?

We chose a barn

OUR housing problem was the same as that of many other people-- dreams well beyond our pocketbook.

High blood pressure

THEY took Henry to the hospital last week. Henry was always the first man off the 5:25 from Grand Central. By the time the rest of us commuters had trudged up on the station steps to the suburban bus, there was Henry triumphantly occupying his favorite corner seat. One evening Henry wasn't there. His next-door neighbor told us why.

Voted the dozen favorite roses of American men

IF YOU want to plant a dozen roses this spring, you can't do better than consider this list of hybrid teas. Here are the top 12, the favorites named by members of the Men's Garden Clubs of America, Inc., in a recent Better Homes & Gardens poll.

Grow roses where you want them

JUST name the spot where you want to grow it, and there's a rose for the place. Unless the spot is shaded. Roses need sun for at least four hours a day. More is better. But for lamppost, garage wall, fence, or a bank too steep to mow, and to loop over a wall that's bare and unneighborly, there's a wide choice in climbing roses.

They got drama from problem windows

How to beat the high cost of family vacations

HOW would you like to own an 11-million-acre estate, practically tax-free? Well, you do.

Your garage

A RECENT cartoon showed a man putting his car away. He had no trouble. He simply folded back the sides of his garage.

So good meat pies

SAVORY meat pie, an old-fashioned dish that satisfies even the biggest appetites, is a perfect supper on a blustery day.

Hawaiian sunshine for winter meals

YOU'VE had the idea that food from the Islands is much too exotic for your own table? We'll agree that it's out of this world in flavor but not out of this world when it comes to your being able to cook it.

It's FUN to cook in these kitchens

KNOW WHAT A Dryer CAN DO FOR YOU?

DRYERS are energy-and timesavers. With a dryer there need be no more waiting for a clear day to dry the family wash; no more toting and hanging of heavy wet clothes. You can slip clothes from washer directly into dryer beside. It's so convenient to use a dryer that with one you'll wash oftener, need fewer clothes and linens. Here are questions you'll have about dryers, and the answers to the questions.

Contest for good cooks

RECIPE contest this month pays $70 for Pressure-Pan Specials and Rolled Cookies. If you send us the best recipe, you'll receive $10; if you are one of 20 others sending prize recipes you'll get $3. All you do is mail your recipe to us. Here are some tips:

Are you helping your daughter to be popular?

JINNY is a pretty girl of 17. Jinny has a nice home, nice family, and nice clothes, but surprisingly few friends. "Jinny likes Mother and Daddy best," her mother eagerly explains. "Aren't we lucky? She isn't always running around with boy friends and girl friends, and we don't have to worry about her."

Popularity

BEAUTY isn't everything; but to feel attractive gives a girl that self-confidence so necessary to social balance. Teach her the principles of beauty care. Equip her with the proper beauty aids. Until she has established the habit, see that she uses them. Give her some of the excellent girls' magazines abounding in beauty advice-- they will help to inspire her, and will save you considerable nagging.

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Rolls sweet and hot!

Twice-cooked--that's the trick

Longer life for your home motors

It's easy to grow African-violets

THERE'S a good reason for the amazing popularity of the African-violet or saintpaulia. It gives you a wealth of delicate bloom over a long period, it doesn't need a sunny window, and it gives you a wide choice of varieties whose colors range from plum red through purple to blue, pink, and white.

The Killingsworths

Cooking secrets

To make crumbs stick to chops or croquettes, first roll the chops or croquettes in flour, then dip them into beaten egg, then into crumbs. Let stand a little while if possible. This lets coating dry slightly so fat won't spatter during frying.

Your BASIC home tool shelf

How to start your dwarf fruit trees

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at your service

A weather-proof barbecue

HERE is one of the best barbecue shelters we have seen. It was included as part of the Peter Henderson & Co. exhibit at the International Flower Show in New York last year, and will do everything you want and more too. You'll find it just as effective in a shady spot as a sunny one because it provides not only sun shade but also shelter against rain and protection from wind on three sides.

Berries to eat from your hedges

NO ONE has yet discovered a way to stretch the size of a yard or garden, but here is one way to stretch the returns from a small space. Make your hedges grow berries by planting raspberries or blueberries instead of the traditional hedging shrubs.

Grow cacti in table gardens

PITTSBURGH PLATE GLASS COMPANY

Ways to cook and serve onions

INSTEAD of reaching in the onion sack for one onion to season a salad or chop into the stew or into a casserole, get out enough onions to fill the vegetable dish for dinner tonight.

NATIONAL PRESSURE COOKER COMPANY

Rubbers slip on

Earning by eating

Your dog and mine

What is the best way to train our 6-months-old pup to be a good watchdog?-- E. R. L., California.

Indoor travel

I ALWAYS used to dread the coming of bad weather that confined the children to the house. Then one morning I brought out an armful of old magazines, several pairs of scissors, and an inexpensive scrapbook.

Here's an idea!

FEBRUARY GARDEN GUIDE

Feed roses heavily-- at least 5 pounds of plant food for each 100 square feet of bed. Dust or spray roses at the first sign of new growth.

New beauty for your yard

YOU don't need special equipment or skill to build yourself a good garden path. Attention to these simple know-hows will make you a successful path maker. But first, ask these questions:

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Diary of a Plain dirt gardener

Feb. 1 Ground covered with snow. Thermometer hunting for the zero mark. Birds eating their heads off at my high-priced feed.

These dishes do double duty

how-to helps

HOW many times have you just missed a bad fall, over toys left scattered around by your youngest? You'll find it easy fun to teach him to pick up and put away his playthings if he has this gaily painted Toy Chest on Wheels. He can push it around himself, making a game of pickup time; yet it's big enough to hold all his blocks, balls, and animals. Using Pattern 3.465, Dad can make the chest in a jiffy, with only basic tools. Price, 25 cents.

Through the Shops

THE MAN NEXT DOOR

One of our flossier friends vows she'd rather have a maid than be a two-car family.