June 1950

Family defects

The doctor finally comes out of the delivery room, and you rush to him with the two standard questions-- "How is my wife?" and "Is it a boy or a girl?"

I got to know my boy

AS a father of three boys, I've had (and will have) my share of the problems and more than my share of the happiness that comes with being a dad. Last summer I took a pack trip into the wilderness with one of our older boys, and several of those problems were happily solved --and, more, I discovered the heart-warming satisfaction of learning to really know my son. That trip was an experience I'd like to tell you about.

Tune np tee bikes for summer

June means the end of school-- and the end of school marks the beginning of the big racing-and-rolling season for the family bikes. Right now is the time to give those bikes a thorough conditioning check.

HAVE YOU HEARD?

If you're one of the millions who consider White Dutch clover in lawns a nuisance, here's good news. The new weed killer, 2,4,5-T (a close relative of 2,4-D) has been found to be deadly to clover. Previous attempts to kill the clover with 2,4-D have been far from successful. At least one manufacturer now includes 2,4,5-T in his 2,4-D weed killer, and has had excellent kill on all broad-leaved weeds that ordinarily infest the lawn.

Old-fashioned charm in modern kitchens

How to beat the heat

Whoever first said, "It's not the heat; it's the humidity," started a lot of confusion. The two are inseparable. For summer comfort you must overcome both heat and humidity.

Easy-to-clean upholstery

You're building a new kind of house

If you are like your fellow Americans, your likes and dislikes in house styles-- and your notions of what you want most in a home-- have undergone pretty much of a revolution since the war.

Get double value from your flowers

Cool summer living

Are you a good mixer?

We arrange your favorite flowers

Your garden is a place to relax

See the jobs one room can do for you

The most exciting two weeks on wheels

Would you like to travel with your family down the corridors of history and see America as it was 300 years ago, plus a good taste of the old world as it is today? How? By making a motor tour of Eastern Canada-- Quebec and the sea-washed maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

Family room

Family rooms are as necessary in most homes today as basements were a generation ago. In fact, a recent Better Homes & Gardens survey shows that almost half of all homes being built have recreational space.

Live in comfort on your porch

You'll still find them on elm-shaded side streets that look like a page out of a Booth Tarkington novel-- wide porches that sweep around the front of the house like the brim of a Stetson. The big veranda with its fancy balusters has gone the way of other types of Victorian elegance. But the summer habit of sitting out is as popular today as it was when Grandpa hooked his heels on the front porch rail and loosened his celluloid collar.

Five Star Home

What's new for your table

More comfort in four kitchen

How to starch your clothes so they'll look their best

Starching today is easier than ever. There are new starches you can buy ready to use. For those of you who like to make your own, we have recipes below. On page 116 we give amount of water to add to starch solution for each type of material. Tips on page 114 make the job faster, better. Here are the starches you can buy or make:

Dainty vanity

Scotch vanity

how-to helps

Slipcovers Booklet-- Slipcovers work magic. They'll make an old room gay, start a dull color scheme humming, perk up a tired sofa or chair. And best of all, slipcovers are one brand of decorating magic that you can work yourself-- at very low cost.

Land for sale--half-price or better

Parcel No. 1, located in Black-acre Heights tract, lot 17, block 5, with a minimum bid set at $125," the tax collector began. "What am I bid?"

Two pictures can be better than one

How to finish walls with gypsum board

Keep one room and the whole family cool

If your baby is nervous

If your baby cries a lot or is restless or jumpy, chances are you blame it on a feeding disturbance or uncomfortable clothes. Or maybe you assume that he's too warm or too cold. If everything seems to be all right, you probably decide that your baby is just plain "spoiled."

Plans and Home Plan Book

Better Homes & Gardens Five Star Home 2006, shown in this issue, is one of the series of one- to four-bedroom homes which make up the Five Star Home Plan Service. These homes, designed by America's foremost architects, range in style from Cape Cod to Contemporary, Traditional to Ranch type.

Simple tailored furniture--at a price

You can got what you want now

Garden clinic

Pepper grinders spice up your meals

How to reach a fiery finish

H-bombs for germs

After months of secrecy, testing, and trial use by doctors and surgeons, revolutionary new types of antiseptic products are at last ready for your home medicine cabinet. In the form of soaps, lotions, liquids, and creams, these new germ-busters are unbelievably deadly to bacteria, but harmless to humans.

How to get a home for $4,400

Affairs are somewhat muddled for Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Rogers and their sons Donnie and David. They are living in a house they never intended to build, on a part of their lot they never planned to be their homesite. And they're building the garage they thought they were building when they hammered together their present home.

Bedroom lavatory

How bad is it to spank your kids?

Have you ever spanked your boy or girl and then wondered whether you were doing the right thing or not? Or have you ever not spanked and worried for fear you should have? Do you spank and then feel guilty about it afterward?

Garden conversation pieces

Save sewing time with cellophane tape

Hang your pictures this sure-fire way

Landscape your own home-V

The key to lasting landscape beauty lies in choosing the right plants. Previous articles in this series told you how to place plants to get a pleasant home grounds. Now your final step is to decide on the plant varieties to use.

A big-house look

Poison ivy and poison sumac

With summer here, poison ivy and poison sumac have again taken their places as menaces to human happiness. Countless picnics and vacations have ended in misery-- even in hospital beds-- because of these two.

Slimmer care for house plants

JUNE GARDEN GUIDE

Sow flowering annuals such as alyssum, balsam, cosmos, marigolds, nicotiana, tithonia, and zinnias for summer and fall bloom.

More beauty all summer from your roses

Garden clinic

The diary of a plain dirt gardener

Juno I Had you come along, toward evening, you would have found me out behind the bushes, down on my knees, trowel in hand, painfully weeding the annuals growing from the seed sown here in cool weather. Slowly I made free from weeds the California poppies, calendulas, larkspur, and ragged robin.

Your lawn this month

By now you should have done everything necessary to give your lawn a good start. It's too late to do much seeding or feeding, so from now until fall your main job is to keep the lawn you have in good condition.

The MAN NEXT DOOR

There's one big advantage to living on a street of owned homes. You can't move away from a neighbor after you quarrel with him. You just have to grin, apologize, and shake hands.