August, 1912 
Sat 
CN, 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS vii 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS FOR SEPTEMBER 
N article of unusual interest, touching upon a subject 
A in aeronautics that has not heretofore received much 
attention, will be Mr. Harold Donaldson Eberlein’s ‘“The 
Aeroplane as a Factor in Civic Improvement,” which, finely 
illustrated, will be the opening article in the September 
number of AMERICAN Homes AND Garpens. Mr. Eber- 
lein is one of the best writers on architectural subjects of 
the day, and while this article for the September number 
is mainly a forecast of future possibilities, in connection 
with the utility of air-craft in the public service of civic 
planning, it is full of interest and good sense and readers 
will turn to it and find therein something wherewith to re- 
fresh themselves. 
UCH has appeared in periodical literature on the sub- 
ject of Japanese gardens from time to time, but Mr. 
Harold J. Shepstone’s article in the forthcoming number on 
“The Real Japanese Garden,” is one which no garden 
lover can afford to miss reading; inasmuch as it clearly de- 
fines the real Japanese garden and points out the fact that 
it is a thing apart, so far as a Japanese would consider the 
matter, from the pseudo, so-called Japanese gardens that 
have come to be numerous within the last three or four 
years. 
DELIGHTFUL mountain-side home designed and oc- 
cupied by a woman architect will be described by Miss 
Ida J. Burgess in this September number, fully illustrated 
with reproductions of photographs by the author. ‘This 
house is somewhat Japanesque in the motif of its exterior 
design, and is one of the most attractive homes in the Cat- 
skills. Another beautiful country home will be illustrated 
and described in the September number, accompanied by 
floor plans. 
HE September center-page feature will be devoted to 
the subject of Evergreens. Many handsome types suit- 
able for the adornment of the home grounds will be shown. 
Another horticultural article of value to the home garden- 
maker will be one upon “The Peony,” giving much in- 
formation as to when, what and where to plant these beau- 
tiful perennials, which, after years of neglect, are again 
coming into their own, winning from us to-day, as they do, 
the admiration bestowed upon them in the days of our great- 
grandmothers. Few perennials, if any, are so hardy, re- 
quire so little care, or bloom so gorgeously and profusely. 
Aside from this, few perennials present such a luxuriant 
wealth of rich green foliage, and the Peony, in consequence, 
is unsurpassed as a plant for lawns and borders and gar- 
den masses. 
HE article by Mr. Robert H. Van Court on a garden 
house of originality in design will suggest what can be 
done in reviving the French idea of a little house for rest 
and recreation in one’s garden. he floor plan and pho- 
tographic reproductions adequately illustrate this article. 
OLD Fish and their care is the subject of a mono- 
graph-in-little by Miss Ida D. Bennett and readers of 
AMERICAN Homes AND GARDENS will find this feature one 
of absorbing interest. We have followed the Japanese in 
our desire to add loveliness to every nook and corner of 
our homes, and like the Japanese, we have come to under- 
stand the fascination of watching gold fish playing in foun- 
tains, pools, and within the confines of the indoor aqua- 
rium. Everything one needs to know in the beginning 
about raising gold fish will be found in Miss Bennett’s 
article. 
HE various departments of AMERICAN HoMEs AND 
GARDENS, ‘“‘Within the House,” ‘Around the Garden,”’ 
and “Helps to the Housewife,” will, as usual, be filled with 
practical suggestion. he readers of the magazine continue 
to avail themselves of the Editor’s invitation to feel free 
to ask information on various subjects connected with home- 
building, connected both with the house and with garden- 
making, and the publishers fully appreciate the many let- 
ters constantly received from readers who are subscribers 
and readers who intend to give expressions of their interest 
in the magazine and their courteous acknowledgments of 
its service to them. 
SHORT MEASURE IN FOOD-PRODUCT CANS 
Y a recent decision of the Board of Food and Drug 
Inspection, reported in the U. S. Daily Consular and 
Trade Reports, the practice indulged in by a small minority 
of packers of only partly filling food-product cans, is de- 
clared to be adulteration. The statement of the net weight 
of canned-food containers is now required by eight States, 
and a table of minimum net weights has been adopted by 
the executive committee of the National Canners’ Associa- 
tion. In view of the decision of the Board of Food In- 
spection it has now been suggested that the cans be here- 
after filled by measure instead of by weight. The text of 
the decision is as follows: ‘‘The can in canned food pro- 
ducts serves not only as a container but also as an index of 
the quantity of food therein. It should be as full of food 
as is practicable for packing and processing without injuring 
the quality or appearance of the contents. Some food 
products may be canned without the addition of any other 
substances whatsoever—for example, tomatoes. The ad- 
dition of water in such instances is deemed adulteration. 
Other foods may require the addition of water, brine, 
sugar, or sirup, either to combine with the food for its 
proper preparation or for the purpose of sterilization—for 
instance, peas. In this case the can should be packed as 
full as practicable with the peas and should contain only 
sufficient liquor to fill the interstices and cover the product. 
Canned foods, therefore, will be deemed to be adulterated 
if they are found to contain water, brine, sirup, sauce, or 
similar substances in excess of the amount necessary for 
their proper preparation and sterilization. It has come to 
the notice of the department that pulp prepared from trim- 
mings, cores, and other waste material is sometimes added 
to canned tomatoes. It is the opinion of the board that 
pulp is not a normal ingredient of canned tomatoes, and 
such addition is therefore adulteration.” 
HE form for the article, “An Old Colonial Farmhouse 
That Became a Modern Home,” appearing on page 
284, went to press crediting the authorship of this article to 
Beatrice C. Wilcox. This article was written by Mrs. 
Sarah Whitlock Jones, and we regret the oversight which 
should have occasioned this mistake. 
