October 1950

I'll take care of teaching sex!

I should like to ask a simple question: I want to know by what authority the present advisers and directors of our public-school systems feel empowered to take upon themselves the education of my children in matters which I consider none of their affair. I am speaking of the so-called "family-living courses" which are now part of the regular schedule of many high schools and, if the educators have their way, will soon be required study for every boy and girl of high-school age in the country.

Look out for the TELEVISION TINKERS!

If you are not already among the 6,000,000 Americans who own a television receiver, the chances are good that before too long you'll be shopping around for one. When that time comes, you should be forewarned against a pest that has invaded the industry-- the television racketeer.

Watch yourself in lot-line troubles

When you buy a lot, you also acquire neighbors. And it's possible to let yourself in for a lot of trouble if you forget that both you and the man next door have definite rights and responsibilities in the thin area where lot meets lot.

Here's the TRUTH about preventing tooth decay!

The next thing you know, you'll be fighting tooth decay with penicillin. Under supervised use, penicillin tooth powder has produced startling reduction of tooth decay in Massachusetts school children.

Control plant growth

There's a world of promise for the home gardener in the new chemical compound --maleic hydrazide-- which tests hint will profoundly affect man's knowledge of plants and how they grow.

Glamour touches for your kitchen

Latest Garden News?

The greatest single cause of tulip failure is too-shallow planting. Studies of reports of tulips that failed to flower the first spring showed that 90 percent of them were planted less than 4 inches below the surface.

The Daniels filled in a shell

"Compared with building a new house of the same size, we saved about $1,500 by remodeling our barn," W. E. Daniels, Jr., told me.

Doorway--classic!

Why not have decorative doors? They'll add distinction to your rooms. And they don't have to cost a fortune. When the Leon Levys of Tucson added a room at the back of their home, they changed this large window into a doorway.

Your favorite living-room colors

We recently asked you to tell us what color you preferred for a living room. Green was the outstanding choice of both men and women, but gray, red, and yellow were also top favorites. Most men preferred blue.

Article

How the bulbs do bloom in the spring

Bulbs in the fall are usually dry things. Dry and sometimes a bit dusty. They're completely misleading. For each one offered you now is a package jammed tightly inside with some of the excitement of spring.

Five Star Home

Welcome color to your hall

The house that lets you take it easy

You may like its easy-going furnishings. You may admire the rustic-Modern look of its stone walls. You may find the kitchen door catches your eye.

How to get over feeling LOW

DEPRESSION, or melancholia, is one of the commonest and yet strangest diseases to which we poor mortals are susceptible. Medical authorities tell us that, although it is "probably the most unpleasant" anyone can contract, doctors themselves often overlook it. Perhaps its greatest paradox is that it fills you with hopelessness, but actually has one of the most hopeful outlooks of any dangerous illness.

SLOW--building ahead

We wanted a house as badly as anyone else. We wanted to plan it one day and move in the next. But because we took our time, we are now enjoying the right house for us on the right lot for the house.

Water can wreck your house

Rotting walls... blistered, peeling paint... cracked, water-spotted ceilings! Moisture condensation-- a problem you may never even have heard of-- can bring these disabilities to YOUR house, unless you're protected against it. BEFORE YOU can guard against condensation troubles, though, you must know what condensation is. Here, briefly, is the story:

Pressed leaves

Cooks' contest

One-Crust Pies and Quick Main Dishes are the moneymaking recipes in this month's contest. There are 21 prizes to try for: a first prize of $10, and 20 prizes of $3.

10x10 bedroom--with lots of space

Is your CAR really SAFE?

How to get your kids to help

How much should your youngsters help you? Should they be expected to do daily chores, in and around the house? Should they go to the store, make beds, shovel snow, help with the spring cleaning?

Open your door to better living

One hot day in September, 1945, slightly more than one month after V-J Day, three Better Homes & Gardens executives rolled up their shirt sleeves in a storage loft at Jordan Marsh Department Store, Boston. They put the finishing touches on an exhibit of eight model houses.

Many-purpose room

How to make your own draperies

Read what we say about draperies--lined, interlined, and united-- and we believe you will know pretty well what type of draperies you want and how you want to make them. Refer to the detailed instructions at strategic moments, and proceed without a hitch.

Make the most of your picture window

Picture windows mean pleasant rooms. They bring both sunshine and view indoors where you can enjoy them. And they are important decorative assets to your home.

We've had FIVE fires!

I have ceased to enjoy fires. Twice, to date, our home has been leveled by flame.

Do you need a place to sew?

Three ways to add living space

A smart remodeling job not only added space to the Richard I. Daniels home in Plymouth, Michigan, but it improved the looks of the house at the same time.

Article

They can't succeed if they can't READ!

In the year 1950, what are the prospects for a young man or woman who cannot read or write? Such a question, you say, has never entered your head, and-- frankly-- you don't see why it should. All the young people you know-- your own son or daughter and those of your, friends-- know very well how to read and write. Haven't they gone to school for years, even gotten high-school or college diplomas to prove it?

Reorganize space--and get a new house

There are more ways than one to improve an old house. A good remodeling doesn't always mean extensive, costly additions.

Tapes that stick to the job

Article

Home-town beauty has small beginnings

ABCs of bookshelf arrangement

Whatever books and bric-a-brac you own, you can arrange them artfully and make your bookshelves eye-catchers.

Your dog and mine

I have raised several dogs with no whimpering at night by placing a hot-water bottle under the puppy's pillow in his basket. This apparently seemed like the warmth of his mother.-- M. P., Washington.

If someone in your family is severely depressed

Make better use of spare you have

Where to see Your favorite living-room colors

What do you know about nylon?

Good looks, long wear, easy cleaning-- you get them with a house full of nylon. This picture shows nylon upholstery, nylon draperies, nylon curtains, a nylon scatter rug. And that's just a sample of the nylon furnishings you can have.

You can grow House plants in water

You can have fun growing plants in water this winter. And you can enjoy their beauty for a long time in your home-- some kinds even years.

Keep supper piping hot

Yon can build indoor shutters

Simplicity is easy to live with

Simple way to get a study corner

Why not have a study corner of your own at home? You can if you build bookshelves-- for books, magazines, important papers-- around your desk. Shelves and desk add up to a study corner that's ready to go whenever you want to write letters, balance the budget, or do afterhours office work.

HOW TO SHARPEN

You can get more heat from less fuel

Will you be wasting fuel dollars every day your heating plant is in operation this winter? You will, unless you know the simple checks and adjustments necessary to get peak performance from your plant.

Should they get them over with?

"But he isn't even feverish!" Billy's mother protested, trying to rationalize his rash. Billy had been playing in our sandbox, and I had taken him home after noticing some small blisters near his hairline.

Subscription expiring?

Article

Article

Make your own flower pictures

Roofing materials

Do you know that there are eight types of roofing materials? Or that the type you use may depend on the slope of your roof? Or that cost and durability vary according to quality, within classifications?

October Garden Guide

Sow hardy annuals everywhere, half-hardy kinds in Lower South only. Sow seed of perennials along the Gulf Coast and in Florida; seldom do they succeed as true perennials in these areas.

Yard care now means a fast spring start

Article

The diary of a plain dirt gardener

Oct. 1 Saturday, and by early afternoon, the jolly old thermometer was up to 80. And not being the owner of a football ticket this fall, I did sally forth to work. After a bit, came back for a drink of water, sat down in the living room, and turned on the radio to hear how the game down at the college was coming on.

Garden clinic

Fall-plowing means a better garden

One chest works three ways

The MAN NEXT DOOR

"I wondered why so many of my rundown patients were successful businessmen," my doctor remarked. "Then I looked around and discovered that a successful man is one who smokes 50-cent cigars and eats a 35-cent lunch."