November, 1906 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



303 



1 — A Well-furnished Apartment 



chairs have no unalterable headquarters in a scheme of fur- 

 nishing. See the rocking-chair well placed in Fig 10. 



If the legacy of a square piano remains with the family, it 

 should be set out in the room rather than against the wall, 

 as was the invariable custom during the "Dark Ages," other- 

 wise the sixties and seventies of the last century. See again 

 observation concerning the piano in Fig. 8. 



Many pieces of furniture people have inherited, and, I 

 regret to say, occasionally purchased themselves, are entirely 

 too large and cumbersome for the cottages they occupy — 

 huge davenports and bookcases, ponderous tables and drop- 

 sical-looking sideboards with meaningless mirrors, after the 

 fittings of a "Tenderloin" bar-room. All this kind of fur- 

 niture can not be placed successfully anywhere, neither it nor 

 its characteristic accessories I have had occasion to mention 

 several times already, such as piano-lamps, gas-logs, grilles 

 over doorways, mantel-scarfs and bric-a-brac generally, ex- 

 cept, indeed, with some second-hand dealer. 



A gate-legged table drawn to one side of a fireplace in the 

 living-room is a charming device, and if it be actually used 

 for the supper-table upon occasions is more charming than 

 ever. Informal breakfasts, luncheons or suppers served in 

 the living-room, upon a porch or in a generous hall are always 

 delightful repasts, common enough in England but rare in 

 America. The fact is, we have been so busily engaged in 

 trying to make money in America as to have had practically 

 no time to cultivate the thousand and one graces there are 

 about ideal home-living, particularly in the country. Like 

 Joshua Whitcomb in the "Old Homestead," who hail not 



1 1 — A Successful Hallway 



been fishing since he was a boy, we have had no time. But 

 I fancy I can see evidences that we are about to make the 

 time, which, I hope, have given these papers the right to be. 



Humus and Air and Their Value 





N ORDER to produce a ton of dry hay on an 

 acre of land it is necessary that the growing 

 grass pump up from that acre approxi- 

 mately 500 tons of water. In order to 

 supply this enormous quantity of water, 

 the soil must not only be in condition to 

 absorb and hold water well, but it must be porous enough to 

 permit water to flow freely from soil grain to soil grain. 

 The presence of large quantities of decaying organic mat- 

 ter (humus) adds enormously to the water-holding capacity 

 of the soil. One ton of humus will absorb two tons of wa- 

 ter, and give it up readily to growing crops. Not only that, 

 but the shrinkage of the particles of decaying organic mat- 

 ter and the consequent loosening of soil grains keep the soil 

 open and porous. 



Furthermore, humus of good quality is exceedingly rich 

 in both nitrogen and mineral plant food. The maintenance 

 of fertility may almost be said to consist in keeping the soil 

 well supplied with humus. The first step in renovating 

 worn-out soils is to give them an abundant supply of humus 

 of good quality. Perhaps the best source of humus is stable 

 manure containing both the liquid and the solid excrement, 

 especially when the stock are fed rich nitrogenous foods. 

 Even a poor quality of barnyard manure, which has had 

 much of the plant food leached out of it, has considerable 

 value because of the humus it makes. 



Another cheap and valuable source of humus, but one 

 which must be used understandingly, is crops grown to turn 

 under as manure. The legumes are especially valuable for 

 this purpose because of the nitrogen they contain, but other 

 crops, such as rye, and even corn sown thick, may sometimes 

 be made to supply large quantities of humus of fair quality. 

 Crops thus used are called green manures. They are more 

 fully discussed farther on. 



A proper circulation of air in the soil is just as important 

 as any other factor of plant growth. Nearly half of the 

 volume of ordinary soils is occupied by air spaces. The 

 air spaces in the soil wind in and out between the soil parti- 

 cles, just as they do in a pile of larger stones. If the layer 

 of water on the surface of the soil grains becomes so thick 

 as to stop the air passages here and there the soil is then too 

 wet for most crops and needs drainage. Plants have no 

 special breathing organs, the oxygen required in their 

 breathing finding entrance all over the surface of the plant. 

 Plant roots must therefore be supplied with air, and hence 

 the soil must be porous enough to permit of free circulation 

 of air. A good supply of humus and proper tillage will ac- 

 complish this result in clay soils. Sandy soils are usually too 

 porous, needing humus to help them retain water. 



Another reason why air must circulate freely in the soil is 

 that large quantities of oxygen are required to insure proper 

 decay of organic matter to supply plant food. 



