March 1954

What's new in home furnishings

Hang-it-yourself wallpaper is so neat and easy to apply that demonstrators at one of the big shows wore evening clothes and stayed spotless. It's ready-trimmed and readypasted so all you do is cut off a length, dip it in water until the paste becomes gooey, then smooth it on the wall.

Breaking in a new car

There are almost as many notions about breaking in a new car as there are drivers. By far the most widely held theory is that keeping the speed below 30 or 35 miles per hour, for 500 or 1,000 miles, will start the car off to a long, trouble-free life.

Calk it to keep out

Cracks and crevices are an inevitable part of every house-- no matter how new and well built. Each joint in its construction is an opening which is an invitation to moisture that causes rot ...drafts that boost heating bills... insects that make room and board of your house... dust and dirt.

Your draperies are showing!

Draperies can be dramatic backgrounds and wonderful finishing touches for every room. Let your furnishings decide color and style. If there is a lot of pattern in your carpet or upholstery, pick a good color from one of the patterns for the draperies. Or, match the fabric to the wall color for a flattering, unconfused background.

Have you heard the Latest Garden News?

In November of last year came the first report on a remarkable compound, PR-51. A detergent or "wetting agent," compound PR-51 has no effect on the soil structure. It merely "lubricates the pipes" so water enters the soil more easily. It doesn't need to be worked in, because rain carries it down through the soil.

No more polio after '54?

In a little Southern town, a curly-haired 7-year-old in overalls headed the apprehensive line of second-grade pupils at the emergency vaccine clinic. Sidewise, he studied the doctor and the smiling lady beside him, then closed his eyes and shot out a bared arm. Deftly, using a sterile, disposable syringe, the doctor injected one c.c. of a watery-looking stuff into the boy's deltoid muscle near the shoulder.

Three polio reminders for '54

Five home-planning ideas

After Mr. and Mrs. Bennett Boskey talked over their ideas about the home they wanted, they came to these conclusions:

Garden clinic

Three ways with TV

What's your paycheck doing to your marriage?

While marriage isn't essentially an economic partnership, money is definitely one of its major cornerstones. And since the Bible calls the love of money the root of all evil, it is no wonder that so many couples quarrel about finances. Or that, according to all available statistics, our booming divorce rates (one to every four marriages) get more impetus from reasons rooted in economics than all other causes combined. It's sad, and it's a shame, but it should be no surprise. Even the most astute businessmen, working under welldefined arrangements which include auditors and a staff of secretaries, often fight and sue each other and break up over money.

Success story of a delinquent lot

Petunias to be proud of...

FIRST REPORT ON HIGH-SCHOOL DRINKING

The grim headlines keep cropping up in newspapers the country over: "Boy, 14, found intoxicated"

Nothing could be finer than to be in CAROLINA

On the east, the Atlantic surf spends itself on the sunbaked beaches near Kitty Hawk. On the west, the land hunches up into the Great Smoky Mountains. In-between, the Carolinas lie outspread like the pages of a colorful historical novel.

There's exciting glamour underfoot!

THE CLOSE-UPS show just a few of varied textures carpet designers are creating with combinations of springy loops, velvety cut pile, even deliberately skipped stitches for a carved effect.

Good planning yields more value

What makes a house, any house, important? What earns your acceptance and gives it a place in the Better Homes & Gardens Five Star Home Plan Service?

This garden could be yours

How to live in a small house and like it

To get more space, you don't have to wait until you build or remodel. Let the magic of decorating give you more room to live in, more spacious-looking rooms, now!

Color-scheme your table, too

ON THE LOVELY, rich wood of this table, you see a repetition of room colors-- gold napkins, smoky chartreuse tumblers, and deep reds, sage green, gold in the fruit centerpiece, Mesa dinnerware.

Get the most from decorative lighting

Estate, wills, and trusts

Have you made a will? If you have a will, have you reviewed it lately, and is it up to date? Or perhaps you don't think a will is necessary,

Keep track of that train Make this lamp and table

THE BEST SIDE TRIP WE EVER TOOK

A tip from a garageman at Tupelo, Mississippi, led to our discovery of Columbus. We were traveling Highway 78 from Memphis to Birmingham, when he said: "You ought to take a side trip down to Columbus. It's the only big city in the South that didn't get raided during the war between the states."

Give Coffee a break!

Good watchdogs need training

Your pet's case is not uncommon. Some cats won't accept egg yolk, pablum, fish oil, and other things on which cats are supposed to thrive. Best authorities say to go along with manifested likes and dislikes, to refrain from including items which may set up troublesome allergies.

The right wrench speeds the job

This year: Canada!

Are you making the most of tables?

Problem-too many doors and windows

Canny ways with cans and trays

Ever think of transforming ordinary tin cans, metal trays, or piepans into attractive home accessories? It's worth trying-- easy, too! You can do it with a smidgen of paint.

What yon should know about rug pads

"Everyone told us to tear it down"

Got a faucet with the sniffles?

Before four baby sitter comes

You arrive home at midnight, and your sitter tells you that 3-year-old Susan just would not go to sleep. You find Susan sitting bolt upright, feverish and tense-- unwilling to sleep, but barely able to keep awake.

Look what you can do with a quarter-inch drill!

Start seeds indoors now

Personal help in home building, remodeling, and decorating

When you're looking for ways to make your home more comfortable and attractive, look for this seal. It identifies the Better Homes & Gardens Home Planning Center, where you can get personal counsel on your own special home-planning problems.

Spring Pruning of shrubs and Vines

The diary of a Plain dirt gardener

I can actually see signs of color on the crocus plants that are up across the back side of the back lawn, along the edge of the little pool we have there.

Sitting pretty on a busy corner

Now's the time to. . .

Scratch winter covering from your strawberries-- -just enough to let light reach leaves during first warm days. Remove mulch from spring-flowering-bulb beds before tops are up far enough to grow bleached and crooked or to be injured by raking.

Answers to your Decorating questions

Our old rug is much too small for the living-dining room in our new home. Is there some way we can use it so that its small size is not too obvious?-- Mrs. C. W. K., Florida.

Give a new kitchen a good start

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Where to get it

THE MAN NEXT DOOR

March is like a lot of men-- much blow and bluster, but not really dangerous, and sure to calm down under some softening feminine influence such as April.