July, 1910 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



XI 



CORRESPONDENCE 



TTie Editor of America.n Homes a.nd Gardens desires to extend an invitation to all its readers to send to the Correspondence Department inquiries on any matter 

 pertaining to the decorating and furnishing of the home and to the developing of the home grounds. 



All letters accompanied by return postage will be answered promptly by mail. Replies that are of general benefit will be published in this Department. 



Problems in Home Furnishing 



HALL FURNISHINGS 



A SUBSCRIBER from Baltimore, ^I. 

 D. E., asks for some ideas for fur- 

 nishing her hall that will be out of 

 the commonplace. "There is not much 

 space, but what I get for my hall I would 

 like to have distinctive, in a way. There 

 seems to be nothing interesting in the halls 

 nowadays. I need a table, a settle, a chair 

 and a mirror. Also, a holder for an um- 

 brella, if you can suggest anything unique." 

 The English furniture made of oak with 

 cane seats stained an antique color are ap- 

 propriate for a hall and have a distinctive 

 charm. A table can also be had with a 

 cane top. For a mirror one could have the 

 glass selected to fit the space and then have 

 the frame carved by hand and covered 

 with gold leaf. Such a frame can be hand- 

 some yet extremely simple in its design. 

 The best holder for umbrellas is one of 

 Japanese bronze, but as this costs forty 

 dollars, something less expensive may be 

 necessary. In the Chinese crackled ware 

 with a dragon design one may find some- 

 thing less ordinary than the Japanese blue- 

 and-white. 



SUMMER CANDLE LIGHTS 



'"What is there to use in a city home that 

 is kept open during the summer months in 

 the way of table lighting? In the winter I 

 have the silver candlesticks and metal 

 shades, but these seem unseasonable dur- 

 ing the warm weather."' — G. F. 



The glass shades made in square col- 

 umns are attractive for summer use. 

 These can be fitted with shades made of 

 parchment and with a pattern stencilled on 

 them, or, a pattern may be cut out from 

 the parchment and filled with a contrasting 

 color. Some of the prettiest shades are of 

 thin metal imitating silver with pine needle 

 design cut out, showing the pink or yellow 

 lining underneath. These shades cost a 

 dollar each. The linings cost sixty cents 

 each and are protected with isinglass. 



A YOUNG MAN'S SUITE OF ROOMS 



A mother whose son is returning from 

 college writes about fitting up his rooms. 

 "My son has not been home to stay for 

 four years and now that he is to be with 

 us again we have arranged a little suite of 

 rooms, bath, bedroom and study, which 

 can be made very attractive, I think. The 

 bedroom faces the south, but has only one 

 window. The study faces the east with 

 one window. What would you paper these 

 rooms with, and how would you fit up the 

 windows. Also, please suggest rugs and 

 furniture that are up to date and suitable." 

 — T. P.. Toledo, Ohio. 



The bedroom may have a single mahog- 

 any bed with slender four-jjosts and rail 

 across the foot. A chififonier with a glass, 

 a side chair and a slipper chair would be 

 needed. .Also a table at the side of the bed 

 with a night light. If the bed stands out 

 from the wall a rug could be laid on each 

 side, with a larger one at the foot. The 

 plain color Scotch rugs would be suitable 



in this room, choosing those that would 

 harmonize with the wall-paper. One of 

 the English chintz papers in stripes and 

 strings of flowers would be attractive, with 

 over curtains of cretonne. The latter 

 could also be used as a cover for the bed. 

 ]\Iuslin curtains looped back could be hung 

 under the chintz curtains, and hemstitched 

 linens laid on the table and chiiTonier. 



In the study with the eastern outlook a 

 buff paper in texture efl:ect would be pleas- 

 ing, with long over curtains of printed 

 linen. A writing table or dts^ with a 

 chair, a lounge, two arm chairs and a small 

 table could be the furnishings to start with 

 until the needs of the occupant were de- 

 fined by living a while in the room. If 

 there is a fireplace it could be fitted with a 

 pair of quaint andirons and firepieces. 



FITTING UP A KITCHEN 



The proper fitting up of a kitchen is now 

 considered an important part of the home 

 maker's duties, and expert advice is often 

 given for this department. A bride in- 

 quires as to the cost of the complete outfit 

 for such a room. 



The following list would cost about fifty 

 dollars, but every article is not essential in 

 starting to keep house. From this list cer- 

 tain articles could be eliminated until ac- 

 tually required for use. Table, chair, step 

 chair, pastry board, bread board, knife 

 board, pail, flour sifter, cofifee mill, towel 

 roller, potato masher, wood spoon, rolling 

 pin, knife box, meat chopper, carpet 

 sweeper, salt box, broom, steak broiler, 

 toaster, frying basket and pan, scoop, 

 gravy strainer, tea strainer, coffee strainer, 

 jelly cake pans, pie pans, muffin pan, angel 

 cake pan, roasting pan, griddle, biscuit pan, 

 bread and cake mixer, quart measure, Qgg 

 beater, paring knife, cake turner, lemon 

 squeezer, corkscrew, can opener, basting 

 spoon, dipper, dish, pan, ladle, skimmer, 

 agate sauce pans, rice boiler, soup pot, tea 

 kettle, coft'ee pot, bread box, cake box, 

 spice set, flour canister, sugar canister, tea 

 canister, coffee, oatmeal and rice canister, 

 brown china tea pot, clay casserole, butter 

 crock, yellow bowls, pot chain, floor cloth, 

 dish cloths, chamois skin, dusters, scrub 

 brush, silver brush, dust brush, dust pan, 

 pastry brush. 



WHAT KIND OF A FOOT REST? 



A masculine reader of the magazine asks 

 for information on some kind of a foot 

 rest that he can use in the living-room ? 

 The ordinary foot stool he finds is agree- 

 able to look at but not high enough for real 

 comfort. 



A mahogany foot rest covered with pad- 

 ding and velvet is made for this special 

 use, but it is not an object of Ijeauty and 

 the cost is considerable. In a home where 

 several of the men of the household enjoy 

 smoking and reading after dinner, the foot 

 rest question lias l:)een settled Ijy using 

 camp stools covered to matcli the furni- 

 ture. These are folded away int(j tlie hall 

 closet and brought out when really put 

 into use. They have been found conven- 

 ient, inexpensive and comfortable. 



Garden Work About the Home 



SEWAGE DISPOSAL ON A SMALL PLACE 



A correspondent has submitted for our 

 approval the following scheme for dispos- 

 ing of the sewage on his small country 

 place. The whole scheme seems so ad- 

 mirable and is worked out with such care 

 of detail that we publish it in full as a sug- 

 gestion to other of our readers who may 

 have similar problems. 



"When we bought our house twenty 

 years ago the only plumbing was a pump 

 at the kitchen sink which drew water from 

 a cistern. Since then we have added two 

 bathrooms, a laundry, kitchen sink and 

 pantry, all with hot and cold water. 



The water is pumped from a well driven 

 partly in the rock and 100 feet deep. It 

 is on the lowest part of our acre place, just 

 where it seems most likely that sewage 

 would seep in from an ordinary cesspool. 

 The place is so small and the land avail- 

 able for a disposal field for the eflluent 

 from a septic tank is so limited that we 

 have had to devise a special system. 



Because the plumbing was put in grad- 

 ually it was easy to separate the waste, so 

 we have one soil pipe connected with the 

 water closets and another connected with 

 the bath tubs, laundry, sinks and hand 

 basins. 



The pipe from the water closets goes to 

 a small septic tank which discharges as 

 we wish into a gridiron of pipes laid 

 eighteen inches deep in the asparagus bed. 

 or into another under the rose bed, or to 

 a third about some small pear trees. The 

 operation of the septic tank is automatic. 

 All the attention it requires is turning the 

 valve once a week so that each field re- 

 ceives the effluent for one week and rests 

 for two weeks. 



We have a wonderful asparagus bed. and 

 the roses and pear trees flourish in the 

 driest weather. 



From the tubs and sinks the water goes 

 to a large water-tight tank or cesspool, 

 which is piped to the garden so that in drv 

 times the garden can be irrigated. The 

 pipe laid on top of the ground connects 

 with a pipe running across the ends of the 

 rows in the garden, and this cross-pipe has 

 holes in it at regular intervals so that the 

 water will run in and fill the trenches be- 

 tween the rows. There is also a connec- 

 tion for a hose to use in watering the 

 flower garden. 



For fear the cjuantity or water might be 

 too great to use in the garden in a wet sea- 

 son, we have provided a blind drain or 

 ditch filled with stones, into which the cess- 

 I)ool can be emptied. 



It is a rather complicated svstem but so 

 far works very well. Every drop of water 

 is used twice and in the worst droughts 

 our garden is luxuriant. How it would 

 work in winter we do not know, as we use 

 tlic ])lace onl}- six months in the summer. 



it is absolutely inoffensive and unobjec- 

 tionable and the extra trouble is well worth 

 wliile if one has a small water supplv and 

 is interested in gardening. 



