March 1977

WHAT'S WHAT IN CAR SOUND SYSTEMS?

Several years ago, the only decision you had to make when choosing a radio for your car was whether to buy the standard model with two knobs or the deluxe model with push buttons. Today, you can pick from dozens of different brands and types of sound systems designed for in-dash or under-dash mounting-- at prices ranging from under $20 to well over $1,000.

How to make the most of a mini chain saw

Thanks to shrinking sizes and prices, the chain saw has recently moved out of the tall timber and into the homes of weekend lumberjacks. Unfortunately, making the saw smaller and cheaper didn't make it any safer-- and a lot of mini chain saw owners lack the professional lumberman's experience and knowhow. ...

Is Owning A Home Still A Sound Investment?

Every time you open up a newspaper, it seems, out jumps a headline about another alarming increase in the cost of either buying or maintaining a house:

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

The parent-teacher conference has become an important extension of the report card in recent years. Teachers and school administrators generally believe that the conferences are beneficial.

Do-it-yourself brick wall--in a bucket

Hassle-free aquarium

This stopwatch never forgets

Pushbutton foam insulation

Battery-operated doorbells

HOW CAN THE ARMED SERVICES HELP COVER COLLEGE COSTS?

With four-year costs already topping $16,000 at many colleges and heading nowhere but up, the military may provide just the financial help your youngster needs to get through school. The armed services are eager to sign on college-qualified personnel, especially in these days of zero draft, and excellent educational benefits are one of the inducements.

GARDENING IN MARCH

When the growing tips of early-flowering spring bulbs measure an inch or two, clear the winter mulch away. If you leave the mulch on longer, the tops will grow bleached and crooked, and you might injure the tops when you rake.

How to order material from the magazine

MAKING BIG ROOMS OUT OF LITTLE ONES

Remember the great old homes built around the turn of the century-- the ones with a separate room for everything? A home wasn't a home if it didn't have a parlor and a vestibule and a butler's pantry, and if the sleeping quarters weren't honeycombed with little anterooms.

How to make a room special with Accessories

What you hang on your walls or cluster on the coffee table is just as important to a room as the colors or the furniture you choose. Accessories can tie a room together and turn it into your own very personal place. To some people, accessories are valuable antiques and rare art; to others, simply knickknacks that match the color scheme.

Step-by-step project scrapbook

LUMBER-BUYING TIPS FOR WEEKEND CARPENTERS

If you find shopping for lumber as mystifying as bartering in a foreign land, you have lots of company. But the basic facts about lumber really aren't complicated. What causes the confusion is that there are a lot of terms floating around, and some of them are misused.

TIPS TOOLS & TECHNIQUES

A REGULAR FEATURE DESIGNED TO MAKE AROUND-THE-HOUSE JOBS EASIER FOR YOU

A DOWN-TO-EARTH GUIDE TO GROWING VEGETABLES

You can raise more, bigger, and better vegetables this year, and you don't have to buy an acreage to do it.

Great Sewing Machine Projects You Didn't Know You Could Make

Whatever its make or model, your home sewing machine can stitch up a whole lot more than an occasional seam. Here and on the following pages are eight versatile projects to introduce you to creative machine stitchery, a technique that lets you use your straight stitch, zigzag, or decorative stitch settings in exciting new ways.

UNUSUAL DOGS YOUR FAMILY WILL LOVE

No doubt about it, exotic pets are bound to attract attention. But unusual animals that make good family pets are a hard-to-find combination. If you're in the market for an out-of-the-ordinary pet, don't overlook "man's-best-friend." There are literally dozens of novel canines that make outstanding companions.

GUIDE TO EUROPEAN PACKAGE TOURS

European package tours are multiplying like rabbits these days. There are now thousands of packages available, and the number of Americans using them to travel in Europe grows every year. While the proliferation of enticing European travel packages gives you a practically endless choice of ways to tour Europe, it also complicates selecting what's best for you.

Shopping editor's choice

Discover the ease and pleasure of shopping by mail. Order from the convenience of your own home with complete confidence. If not delighted, each company will happily refund your money.

The Man Next Door

Grandpa Hillis recalls that he thought nothing of walking three miles in a snowstorm to school when he was a boy, and Burt, Jr., says that he really doesn't think much of it, either.