April, 1909 
w CORRESPONDENCE & 
The Editor of American Homes and Gardens desires to extend an invitation to all its readers to send to the Correspondence Department inquiries on any matter 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS ix 
pertaining to the decorating and furnishing of the home and to the developing of the home grounds. 
All letters accompanied by retum postage will be answered promptly by mail. 
Problems in Home Furnishing 
By Alice M. Kellogg 
Author of “Home Fumishing: Practical and Artistic ” 
THE PRACTICAL VALUE OF ACETYLENE LIGHTING 
OME specific information in regard to the new method of 
lighting by acetylene gas has been asked for by a “Country 
Reader.” How is this gas made? What is the character of 
the light? Can ordinary fixtures now in use for common gas 
be utilized for acetylene gas? Is it considered a safe means of 
illumination? Is it also capable of being used in a cooking stove? 
How about heating? Give some idea of the cost of its use after the 
apparatus has been installed. 
Acetylene gas is generated from calcium carbide (commonly called 
“carbide”’) and water. Carbide is made of lime and coke, melted 
together in an electric furnace. To make the gas the carbide is 
brought into contact with water. The acetylene flame is of great 
intensity, its illuminating power being fifteen times greater than that 
generated by coal or city gas, with clear, white and well-diffused 
rays. Its steady, unflickering light is claimed to be the most perfect 
for reading, as it prevents eye strain. It throws off very little heat, 
consumes a small amount of oxygen, and leaves no trace of soot or 
carbon. 
As the piping and fixtures for acetylene are the same as those used 
for ordinary city gas (with the exception of a burner tip made 
especially for the acetylene) it is entirely practicable to utilize the 
ones already in use in changing to the newer method. 
Since the discovery in 1862 of the intense illuminating qualities 
of acetylene gas there have been rapid developments and improvements 
both in simplicity and safety of apparatus. The greatest source 
of danger is in using a gas generator that is defective in principle or 
in its construction. For this reason the claims of certain manufac- 
turers that they are permitted to install their apparatus inside the 
home without increasing insurance rates is worthy of note. At present 
there are nearly 200,000 country dwellings and other places in the 
United States that are lighted by acetylene gas, besides many Govern- 
’ ment buildings and small towns. 
For cooking as well as heating the acetylene has been made availa- 
ble, and, in portable form, it is of help to the camper, photographer, 
lecturer and contractor. The average cost of using this gas is about 
the same as city gas and one-half as much as electricity. 
FURNITURE THAT IS EASILY HANDLED 
Quoting from a letter received this month from an Illinois reader, 
Mrs. C. N. J., “My objection to the Mission furniture is that it is 
so heavy to move about. As I take care of my home myself, and am 
not very strong, this is an important consideration to me. And yet I 
do not know what other style to buy that is easy to handle, tasteful 
in shape and not too expensive.” 
Nothing could meet the requirements of this correspondent better 
than the wicker furniture, in which one may now find not only chairs 
and tables, but bureaus, cabinets, toilet tables, settles and side tables. 
In fact, so thoroughly practicable is this furniture that any need of 
the home may be met by the manufacturers. From time to time this 
furniture has been illustrated in the pages of this magazine, and 
particular attention was given to illustrating some good types in the 
special number for May, 1908. Of course, a careless buyer might 
make the mistake of selecting too ornate or too clumsy a pattern, but 
there are simple designs always to be had. In comparison with uphol- 
stered furniture the wicker is very inexpensive, as arm chairs may be 
had from five dollars upward. Seat cushions may be made of cotton, 
felt or hair, the latter, of course, costing more than the former. If a 
cushion is not fastened to the back of the chair, a loose down pillow 
may take its place. 
(Continued on page *%) 
Replies that are of general benefit will be published in this Department. 
Garden Work About the Home 
By Charles Downing Lay 
PLACING THE HOUSE ON THE LOT 
oS E have a corner lot in one of the suburbs of New York, 
and intend to build a house there this summer. ‘The lot 
is square, one hundred and twenty-five by one hundred 
and seventy-five feet, and it seems a simple thing to 
locate the house, but we are in doubt whether to have the house face 
the avenue, which is at the north, or the side street, which is at the 
east. All the houses now built there face the avenue, and we should 
like ours to be the same, but we do not want to have the whole rear 
of the place taken up with the service court, drying yard and garage, 
because we want to have a garden there and we want the living 
rooms to have a southern exposure and to face the garden. We are 
South 
STREET 
East 
West 
POPLAR 
North 
Showing how the same house would be treated and arranged on four different corner lots 
hoping that AMERICAN Homes AND GarRDENS can help us to a 
decision of this difficult question,” writes E. J. R. 
Your question is indeed a difficult one, and one in which you will 
probably have little help from your architect. Apparently architects 
design pleasant little houses to fit their drawing boards, for the 
average house seems to fit nothing else, and seems to be designed 
with no idea of the possibility of planning it to get the most out of 
the peculiar conditions of its site. 
We are notoriously wasteful in this country, but there is no excuse 
for wasting room on a small lot, and certainly the owner will be 
glad to get all he can out of the space at his disposal, and he has a 
right to ask the architect to spend some time and thought not only 
(Continued on page x) 
