222 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



June, 1 910 





*fV;,"y » " 



Fig. 1 — A lodge in the wilderness 



''The Summer Lodge" 



Built, Furnished and Equipped with Garage, Automobile and Motor Boat for $2,000 



By Esther Singleton. 



[HE problem of how to live with comfort 

 and pleasure during the long summer sea- 

 son strikes with dismay many brave- 

 hearted persons who do not own cottages 

 or country homes. Desirable cottages, 

 moreover, are expensive, and hotel life 

 soon palls upon the homeless wanderers 



of both days and nights when Sirius shines upon a torrid 



world. 



Suppose a Genie were to 



appear from the pages of 



the "Arabian Nights" on * 



your bookshelf and an- ; 



nounce that he is able to '. 



erect, furnish and establish 



two or three persons, or 



even a small family, in a 



modest but perfectly com- 

 fortable house of several 



rooms, in the heart of the 



wild wood, or by the shore 



of lake, stream or river — 



in such a dwelling, for in- 

 stance, as those shown in 



our illustrations, Figs, i, 



2, 3, 8 and 14 — within the 



space of a week. "De- 

 lightful, but impossible," 



you would probably reply. 

 The Genie would smile 



and continue that it is not 



only possible, but that it 



has been done several 



times; and, moreover, he 



will supply this house, the 



furniture, a garage, an 



automobile and a motor- 

 boat, all for the small sum 



of $2,000; and then he 



asks if you can suggest 



anything better for the 



same amount of money? 



"Will you itemize this?" you 

 tainly," says the Genie. "Look 



House 



Extra fittings and furniture . . . 



Garage and boat house 



Motor boat, eighteen feet long 

 Automobile 



ask incredulously. "Cer- 

 here : 



$460 



575 



200 



280 



485 



Fig. 2 — A summer retreat 



$2,000 

 Now let us see how this 

 can be done. In the first 

 place, you will order a 

 portable house made prin- 

 cipally of hard wood, with 

 strong frames, and air- 

 tight joints, which is deliv- 

 ered to you in sections. 

 You will order what you 

 please, specifying the num- 

 ber of doors and windows; 

 and when it arrives, with 

 everything completely fur- 

 nished and fitted, with the 

 plates and diagrams and 

 all the necessary screws 

 and bolts, you will be able 

 to have it put u^ in a cou- 

 ple of days, by two inex- 

 perienced men (perhaps 

 one of them yourself), who 

 will only need a screw- 

 driver, a wrench and a 

 hammer. When it is 

 erected, you can have it 

 painted any shade you 

 please, or you can leave the 

 natural wood to wind and 

 weather, and by putting up 

 a few wooden or wire trel- 

 lises and planting such a 

 rapidly growing and com- 

 mon creeper, as the 



