Vili AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS September, 1912 
Take a good look—more like a fine piece of furniture than a door, isn’t it? That’s true of every 
MORGAN ‘zi. DOOR 
Every one is a picture—worthy of filling the most conspicuous and prominent place in any 
house. Built for permanence—will look as well after ten, fifteen, twenty-five years as it does today. That’s 
the kind of doors you want. And they are guaranteed with this iron-clad guarantee of perfect satisfaction: 
“Every Morgan Door with the Morgan stamp on the top rail, which with proper 
care fails to give perfect satisfaction, will be replaced free of charge.” 
Learn al about them in ‘‘Door Beautiful,’’ an artistic, illustrated, de-luxe book of authentic, essential 
information for people about to build or remodel. Write today for free copy. 
Morgan Company — MORGAN SASH & DOOR CO., 92% Chicago, U.S.A. “>yeqaatitwegts co 
ARCHITECTS: Descriptive details of Morgan Doors may be Pound in Sweet’s Index, pages 910 and 911. 
_tLook for the Morgan Stamp on the top Fail 
- Accept no doors without it 
Morgan dealers do not substitute 
LE: BrookseCo. CLevELAN. 0. 
FLOoRsSIDEWALK LIGHTS. 
F EVERY DESCRIPTION. 
SEND OR CATALOGUE. 
ETL 
JUST PUBLISHED 
Popular Handbook for Cement and Goncrete Users 
By MYRON H. LEWIS, C. E. 
Octavo (6% x 9% inches) 500 Pages, 200 Illustrations. 
Price, $2.50, Postpaid 
HIS is a concise treatise on the principles and methods employed in 
the manufacture and use of concrete in all classes of modern work. 
The author has brought together in this work, all the salient matter of 
interest to the users of concrete and its many diversified products. The 
matter is presented in logical and systematic order, clearly written, fully 
illustrated and free from involved mathematics. Everything of value to the 
concrete user is given. It is a standard work of reference covering the 
various uses of concrete, both plain and reinforced. Following is a list of 
the chapters, which will give an idea of the scope of the book and its 
thorough treatment of the subject: 
I. Historical Development of the Uses of Cement and Concrete. II. Glossary of Terms Employed in 
Cement and Concrete Work. III. Kinds of Cement Employed in Construction. IV. Limes, Ordinary and 
Hydraulic. V. Lime Plasters. VI. Natural Cements. VII. Portland Cement. VIII. Inspection and 
Testing. IX. Adulteratiou; or Foreign Substances in Cement. X. Sand, Gravel, and Broken Stone. 
XJ. Mortar. XII. Grout. XIII. Concrete (Plain). XIV. Concrete (Reinforced). XV. Methods and 
Kinds of Reinforcements. XVI. Forms for Plain and Reinforced Concrete. XVII. Concrete Blocks. 
XVIII. Artificial Stone. XIX. Concrete Tiles. XX. Concrete Pipes and Conduits. _XXI. Concrete 
Piles... XXII. Concrete Buildings. XXIII. Concrete in Water Works. XXIV. Concrete in Sewer Works. 
XXV. Concrete in Highway Construction. XXVI. Concrete Retaining Walls. XXVII._ Concrete Arches 
and Abutments. _XXVIII. Concrete in Subway and Tunnels. XXIX. Concrete in Bridge Work. 
XXX. Concrete in Docks and Wharves. XXXI. Concrete Construction Under Water. XXXII. Con- 
crete on the Farm. XXXIII. Concrete Chimneys. XXXIV. Concrete for Ornamentation. XXXV. Con- 
crete Mausoleums and Miscellaneous Uses. XXXVI. Inspection for Concrete Work. XXXVII. Water- 
proofing Concrete Work. XXXVIII. Coloring and_ Painting Concrete Work. XXXIX. Method for 
Finishing Concrete Surfaces. XI. Specifications and Estimates for Concrete Work. 
MUNN & CO., Inc., Publishers 361 Broadway, New York 
BLOWING UP THE GARDEN 
By H. D. E. 
T may be our wont to blow-up the 
gardener, to blow him up hard and often; 
we may also blow-up the cook or the coach- 
man and, perhaps, we ought sometimes to 
be blown up ourselves. But how many of 
us, think you, are in the habit of blowing 
up our gardens, literally blowing them up 
with explosives? If we were to pursue 
this practice somewhat it might be more to 
the purpose than blowing up our servitors 
in a burst of temper. 
Now this blowing-up is nothing more nor 
less than the scientific application of dyna- 
mite in the operations of farming and 
gardening. It is, possibly, a bit misleading 
to speak of blowing up when we really 
mean blowing down or blowing sidewise. 
If dynamite blew up, it wouldn’t be of the 
least use in gardening. But just because it 
blows down, just because its action in ex- 
ploding is downward and sidewise, it is of 
tremendous value, as has been abundantly 
proved by results. 
A friend told the writer recently that he 
had been planting some trees with dyna- 
mite. A cartridge containing a proper 
charge was placed in a little hole at the de- 
sired spot and the fuse lighted. Standing 
thirty feet away, he distinctly felt the 
ground move under his feet at the moment 
of explosion although the loose earth was 
thrown upward not more than several feet 
and but a small quantity at that. The sod 
round about was raised but not broken. 
This instance will serve to show what a 
powerful loosening influence is exerted by 
an explosion of dynamite. This loosening 
of the soil is the very thing that is needed 
to increase its fertility. It enables the roots 
of trees and plants to assimilate far more 
easily their chemical foods. The loosened 
soil allows the rain to penetrate more 
deeply and hence retains the moisture for 
a longer time. As plants can absorb their 
nourishment only in conjunction with mois- 
ture, this preservation of moisture means 
a more regular food supply and_ better 
nourished plants capable of withstanding 
drought because their source of nutriment 
far underground is not affected. 
Ploughing (or, in a small patch, spad- 
ing) is absolutely necessary; without it 
nothing could be raised. But the effects 
of ploughing extend downward only a 
short distance. 
THE STABILITY OF THE SKY- 
SCRAPER 
HE recent demolition of one of the 
first sky-scrapers erected in New York 
city was the occasion of a number of sur- 
prises to inquirers and scientific men and 
proved conclusively the stability of the steel 
construction frame, says a writer in Har- 
per’s Weekly. 
Very many eminent civil engineers have 
contended from the outset that no steel 
frame could possibly escape rust and that 
sooner or later the building must collapse 
from this cause. The New York sky- 
scraper, however, was found in excellent 
condition, especially the steel part of it, 
which showed no signs whatever of deteri- 
oration from rust, although some of the 
rivets were slightly corroded. The paint, 
however, had almost entirely disappeared 
owing to some kind of chemical action. This 
proved the necessity of some better paint. 
But the most surprising part of the ex- 
amination was that the building showed the 
greatest stability just where the experts 
predicted there would be the most decay— 
that is, in parts surrounded by mortar. 
