AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



August, 19 13 



f mdtrg. fit 

 anu Situ? ^tnrk 

 Stmtary 



G. D. TILLEY 



Naturalist 



Beautiful Swans, Fancy 

 Pheasants, Peafowl, Cranes, 

 Storks, Ornamental Ducks and 

 Geese, Flamingoes, Game and 

 Cage Birds. 



"Everything in the bird line from a 



Canary to an Ostrich" 



I am the oldest established and largest exclusive 



dealer in land and water birds in America and have 



on hand the most extensive Stock in the United States. 



G. D. TILLEY Box A, Darien, Conn, i 



A SAFE COMPANION 

 For Your Children or For Yourself 



A Necessity for your Country Home 



A GOOD DOG 



Write to the advertisers in our columns for information 

 about the dogs they handle. If they do not advertise 

 what you want, write " Poultry, Pet and Live Stock De- 

 partment, American Homes and Gardens. 



^■■■■■^■■■■■■■■■■HfiBHBBBHHa 



I YAMA MINORCA " 



EGGS are 

 % larger 



•^Nrag; 



p 



than the so-called large first-class eggb 

 in the New York market— they are infer- 

 tile and are produced under modern 

 sanitary conditions and shipped in 

 sealed packages practically the hour laid. 



YAMA 



Napanoch. 



FARMS 



New York 



IBBHaBBBBaHBOnSSaHB 



SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL 



BOOKS 



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a trifle larger and possess coats so prettily 

 marked that the term mock ermine has been 

 given them. The eyes are bright rich 

 crimson. The rabbits of this breed are 

 docile, yet lively, hardy and neat. They 

 are among the best tor children. 



One would hardly expect rabbits to yield 

 wool lung enough to be of commercial 

 value, but such is the fact in the case of 

 the Angoras, which, like the cats and goats 

 bearing the same name, grow very long and 

 silky coats. In Europe these coats are 

 clipped or else the wool is taken from the 

 nests after the does have partly denuded 

 themselves to line them. This wool is often 

 used for caps for babies. 



In spite of their handsome appearance 

 Angoras are not recommended as pets for 

 children, as no little time and work are 

 required in order to keep the coat clean 

 and free from snarls. Most children are 

 not willing to give the animals the care they 

 need. It is natural, though, that this breed 

 should be especially popular with fanciers, 

 for the animals are delightful to watch 

 from the time they first show their pink 

 eyes until they reach their eight- or nine- 

 pound maturity. 



Other breeds seen at the shows are the 

 Silver Grays, the Black or Blue Tans and 

 the true English, which resemble the Dutch. 

 Altogether ten standard varieties are bred 

 and exhibited in this country. The fancier 

 selects, of course, those kinds which make 

 the strongest appeal to him for one reason 

 or another, but the varieties which are hardy 

 and easy to care for are to be preferred 

 when choosing pets for boys and girls. 



Rabbits need hutches large enough to let 

 them move about freely, with the front 

 open and covered with one-inch mesh poul- ; 

 try wire. They should be tight, except in 

 front, and roofed over or placed where they 

 will be protected from the rain. Draughts ! 

 and dampness are two evils which must 1 

 be avoided. Very good hutches may be 

 made from packing boxes by giving them 

 a sloping roof covered with roofing paper. 1 

 The floor should be covered with an ab- 

 sorbent of some kind, preferably shavings 

 or sawdust. With a pan of earth in a cor- 

 ner, rabbits often learn habits of neatness. 

 It is important that the hutches be cleaned 

 out at short intervals. 



Each hutch should be equipped with a 

 nest box, which is dark, but which has ? 

 square opening at one side. This box should 

 be partly filled with hay, in which the rab- 

 bits will burrow for warmth and which will 

 help the does in making their nests. Aus- 

 tralia and California have learned, to their 

 cost, that the members of the rabbit tribe 

 are very prolific. Domestic rabbits are best 

 restricted to four litters a year and not al- 

 lowed to breed until eight months old. The 

 bucks must be kept in separate hutches, 

 for they will often kill their newly born 

 young. Bucks kept together have terrific 

 battles. Their hind legs are like trap springs 

 and are used vigorously in a battle. When 

 startled, rabbits make a loud noise by 

 stamping with these powerful hind legs. 



If given a large enclosure many does 

 may be kept together. Most rabbits thrive 

 best if kept on the ground. Half a hun- 

 dred of mine kept indoors one Winter were 

 in poor condition all the time. Finally I 

 constructed a large yard outdoors and ar- 

 ranged boxes filled with hav for shelter. 

 Then I turned the rabbits loose. After 

 that I bad no more trouble, although they 

 had to die paths for themselves through the 

 snow drifts. 



When rabbits are yarded they will dig 

 out, though, unless wire or boards can be 

 sunk eighteen inches into the . ground. 

 Tf rabbits break jail they are likely to do 

 much damage to garden crops and trees. 



Everyman's Encyclopaedia. Edited by 

 Andrew Poole. New York: E. P. Dut- 

 ton & Co.: 1913. Volumes I and II (to 

 be completed in twelve volumes). Cloth 

 16mo. Fully illustrated. G28 pages (Vol- 

 I) ; 640 pages (Vol. II). Price, per vol- 

 ume 35 cents net. 



Notwithstanding the many works of a 

 similar character "Everyman's Encyclo- 

 paedia" present a new production for which 

 there has been a true want for years past. 

 Unless an encyclopaedia is furnished with 

 information that is up-to-date, its office as 

 a well of knowledge is purely of a nominal 

 character. The present work gives all the 

 information required by the ordinary reader 

 and student and its excellent typography, 

 clear illustrations and convenient (pocket 

 size) format commends it to every home- 

 maker's library. It is clearly to be seen that 

 the greatest care has been exercised in 

 the compilation of "Everyman's Encyclo- 

 paedia." Only authorities have assisted in 

 the preparation of its articles. Volume I 

 covers those articles under titles from A to 

 Bac and Volume II continues the work to 

 Bri. As an instance of the up-to-date char- 

 acter of "Everyman's Encyclopaedia," the 

 reader will find included in the second vol- 

 ume a seven column article on the Balkan 

 war to the end of January, 1913. When the 

 volumes to come are issued this work will 

 stand as one of the most practical products 

 of the famous "Everyman's Library," 

 which has already given us evidence of its 

 value in the way of reference books in 

 "Everyman's Encyclopaedia of Gardening" 

 and in other ivolumes invaluable to the 

 home library. 



Success in Gardening. By Jessie Pea- 

 body Frothingham. New York: Duffield 

 & Company: 1913. Cloth. 8vo. Illus- 

 trated. 333 pages. Price $1.25 net. 

 "Success in Gardening" is a book along 

 new lines in gardening manuals— that is, 

 a chronicle week by week of the necessary 

 things for the garden. The result is at the 

 same time a primer for beginners and a 

 serviceable manual for older hands. Lists 

 of flowers, seedsmen, nurserymen, plans 

 and plantings complete the whole. An ap- 

 propriate feature is apt quotations in verse 

 and prose for each chapter from older 

 writers on the fascinating subject of gar- 

 dening and flower culture. The book 

 possesses one serious blemish, however, — 

 it has no index, although its table of con- 

 tents is well arranged. A reference book 

 without an index is like a garden without 

 a path to it, around it or through it. 



THE ARRANGEMENT OF A 

 COLLECTION 



By R. H. VAN COURT 



ONE of the chief joys of collecting con- 

 sists in the contemplation of the array 

 of spoils which one has gathered in. A 

 certain very famous American collector 

 tells me that his greatest pleasure is found in 

 entering the rooms where his treasures are 

 arranged, admiring their rarity and beauty, 

 living over again the adventures which 

 made acquiring them possible, and con- 

 stantly discovering new details of interest 

 in the wonderful collection which he has 

 assembled. Another collector, almost as 

 eminent, says that he derives a great pleas- 

 ure in showing his treasures to visitors who 



