328 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



November, 1905 



Andirons and Fire Tools 



his own personal pleasure, he was also arranging for an 

 agreeable lesson in the art of household decoration, which is 

 not the less important because concerned with one of the 

 minor matters. His fire irons not only have utility, but they 



have artistic merit of a very unusual order. Mr. Lawson's 

 purpose was not so much to teach a lesson as it was to obtain 

 some useful articles for his house which should have merit 

 in themselves. 



Utilizing the Cellar in Winter 



By George Ethelbert Walsh 



HE cellar of the modern country home should 

 be a dry, hygienic place, where a multitude 

 of things can be safely stored, and at the 

 same time it should be utilized for purposes 

 which will add to the pleasure and profit of 

 the occupants. The cellar has undergone 

 rapid evolutions in the past dozen years, and instead of a wet, 

 unfloored place, where disease germs were bred, it is usually 

 provided with a cement or concrete bottom, brick walls and 

 plastered ceilings. With the heating apparatus located in it 

 the cellar is kept from freezing in the coldest weather, and it 

 can be made as clean and sweet as desired. 



However, the cellar is primarily intended for the storage 

 of certain perishable articles which need a low temperature, 

 and it is unwise to use it exclusively for other purposes. The 

 heating apparatus is very apt to make the average cellar too 

 warm for the safe-keeping of fruits and vegetables, and also 

 for many dairy products. The ideal place for keeping per- 

 ishable goods of this nature should have a cold, dry tempera- 

 ture just above the freezing point. To obtain this at all 

 seasons requires a little foresight and preparation. 



The cellar of the modern house should be divided into at 

 least three compartments. One for coal and wood, which need 

 not be large, but the partitions of which should be so tight 

 that coal dust and ashes from the furnace can not escape to 

 other parts of the cellar. The second compartment should be 

 for the storage of perishable goods, such as winter fruits, veg- 

 etables, and butter, cheese and eggs. This, in turn, should be 

 subdivided into separate compartments for the dairy prod- 



ucts and fruits and root crops, so that the former can not 

 get tainted by the odors from the latter. The third com- 

 partment should be for a general workshop, flower boxes 

 and for miscellaneous storage of articles that are not needed 

 in the living-room. 



Assuming that the cellar floor is of good concrete, which 

 will insure protection from dampness and excessive moisture, 

 it is wise to make the division into compartments according 

 to the special needs of the different work. The perishable 

 goods require no sun, and it is better to locate the compart- 

 ment for them on the north or northwest side of the cellar, 

 where it will be easier to secure an even temperature through- 

 out the winter. To insure this, however, double sash win- 

 dows should be supplied, and as the winter advances the 

 windows should be closed by piling straw litter or hay against 

 them on the outside. At least one or two should be left 

 unprotected in order to secure proper ventilation and sun- 

 light. Fresh air should be admitted every pleasant day, 

 and when the temperature is not excessive outside a con- 

 tinuous circulation of air should be obtained by an outside 

 shaft and an open window. 



The ventilating shaft is nothing but a simple, elongated 

 box or trough which enters the cellar opposite the window 

 which is to be left open. This ventilating tube should have 

 an inside and outside door or sliding board to close it in cold 

 weather. The window that is not closed tight for the winter 

 should have an outside wire netting to prevent the sifting of 

 articles in the cellar. By having double window sashes the 

 cold can be kept out of this single window very well, but an 



