30 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
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January, 1909 
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Colored Windows in the House 
HERE are in every shop pattern books filled 
with designs of the conventional kind, 
which, however handsome they may be, 
have become hackneyed to a degree by re- 
peated use; but even when an old and much 
used geometric pattern is found to be most 
available, a certain degree of artistic 
ettect can be produced by drawing the lines on the working 
drawing ‘‘free hand,” thus lessening the machine-made look 
and the rigidity of a drawing accurately executed with 
draughting instruments. It can almost be made to have 
the charm of a pencil sketch when compared with a hard 
linear design. 
The simplest leaded windows are those with small squar: 
or diamond shaped panes, but even these can be made a tes* 
of taste and feeling for proportion. Good specimens of the 
so-called square pane are shown in the paintings of interiors 
of many Dutch artists, and examples of the diamond shaped 
windows will be found in drawings of old English manor 
houses. In both of these styles of windows a note of color 
is frequently used, and used in the best of taste. 
If possible, however, something individual and personal 
in design should be sought for and the tendency among the 
most exacting and discriminating is happily now in this di- 
rection. Just where to place leaded windows is, of course, 
a problem differing with every design of house. In many 
the staircase landing offers an excellent opportunity, but 
whatever is placed there, whether geometric, ornamental, 
floral, landscape or figure, should be most carefully con- 
sidered, as the color scheme governs that of the hall and is 
about the first thing seen by the visitor on entering the house. 
Transoms of doors and the side lights should be very 
A specimen of Mamillaria rhodantha 
quiet and very simple, as they form part of the architectural 
scheme. ‘The light in the door panel can appropriately be 
made as elaborate and complicated as the owner’s purse ad- 
mits. Crinkled glass is not to be recommended here, as the 
light from it is too vivid and startling. Something quiet in 
texture of a.creamy tint is much to be preferred. The soft 
radiance of glass of this character enhances the value of all 
objects in the entrance hall and harshness of shadow is 
avoided. ; 
In the library the subject is of paramount importance and 
a great range of motives exist from which selection can be 
made; book marks, printers’ devices, emblems of the crafts 
relating to book making, printing and illustrating, seals of 
great libraries and universities, etc. Especial care must be 
taken here not to destroy the light needed for reading 
purposes. 
Perhaps the ideal conditions for beauty of effect and for 
use would be a room in which the reader faced a colored 
window, throwing no glare, low and quiet in tone and restful 
to the eye, having at his back a window filled with light 
creamy glass, harmonious in design, which would furnish the 
needed light. 
In simple windows for simple homes, glass of an almost 
uniform tone is to be preferred; and the color accents, if 
any are used, should be selected with the greatest care, and 
should seldom be vivid unless a coat of arms or a device of 
some kind is used as a spot of color. 
The question of just how much light is to be transmitted 
is of paramount importance in the selection of clear glasses, 
or of those with a certain res’stance to the free flow of light. 
Tn the latter class our opalescent glass offers a great range of 
light colors and shades of mellow tints of real beauty. 
Mamillaria Rhodantha 
HE accompanying illustration 
shows an uncommon form of 
the cactus ‘‘Mamillaria rho- 
dantha.” Whether it is a 
“sport” or a new variety is 
most difficult to determine, for 
authorities are not at all clear 
as to how the many varieties exhibited by this 
species should be classified. The more usual 
specimens of this plant are columnar aggrega- 
tions of nodules, carrying from five to twelve 
spines. ‘Ihe spherical bodies upon the upper 
boundary of the illustrated plant are units, and 
give some idea of the common appearance of 
this cactus. By the coalescence of a number of 
these spherical units the peculiar’ “crested” ap- 
pearance shown in the central and lower portion 
of the growth is obtained. 
