XIV 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
April, 1909 
aS 
———~ 
ANY 
We 
Bor / WX 
a bi 
A SPLENDID GREENHOUSE 
COMBINATION 
The curved roof house in the center is for palms; those on either side for roses, carnations 
and a compartment devoted to general plants such as stocks, sweet peas, snapdragons and 
the like. 
This group of houses is pleasing in effect and right down practical in every way—and that 
is what you want first of all. 
would prefer. We will gladly send it. 
However, our illustrated matter may contain houses that you 
HITCHINGS & COMPANY 
1170 BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY 
CLEANER 
DOES THE WORK OF A LARGE POWER PLANT 
Many persons think of Vacuum Cleaning only in con- 
nection witha big gas engine hauled around ona wagon or 
a big stationary power plant costing $500, $1,000 and 
upwards. 
Therefore they are astonished when told that the 
IDEAL VACUUM CLEANER, which weighs only 20 
pounds and is operated either by hand or a little electric 
motor, is the perfection of the Vacuum Cleaning principle. 
For this astonishment there is no need. Here are the 
facts: 
Every Vacuum Cleaning system consists of four 
essential parts: (1) Motor Force; (2) Suction Pump; (3) 
Filtering ‘lank or Separator; (4) Hoze with nozzle, 
The Motor Force operates the Pump. The pumpsucks 
the air from the Tank or Separator so as to create inita 
Vacuum, To fill this Vacuum air whirls in through 
Nozzle and Hose, carrying with it dirt, dust, grit, germs 
and all other foreign matter. 
Why heretofore has there been need of a Motor Force 
of great power? Simply because the Pump and Separator 
have been far from the spot where the actual cleaning is 
done—out in the street or down in the cellar—so that the 
Force has had to operate through pipes and tubing over 
long distances and around sharp angles. 
Only that and nothing more. 
The Ideal Vacuum Cleaner 
OPERATED BY 
HAND 
—right on the spot. 
(FULLY PROTECTED BY PATENTS) 
“IT EATS UP THE DIRT” 
In this strong, compact, nortable machine, all the parts of the most efficient Vacuum Cleaning 
OR ELECTRIC 
MOTOR 
system are for the first time scientifically and economically concentrated. ; oon 
And that is why the force you put init by hand, or the force from a little motor connected with any electric light 
fixture, does the same actual cleaning work that is done by the big engine—and does it better and with more 
convenience. 
All the power of the Ideal Vacuum Cleaner is right where it is wauted. No surplus power 
has to be developed to take it there, and all its power being directly applied to cleaning pur= 
poses, none is wasted. Order at once so as to have your Ideal before house-cleaning time. . 
to operate it, 
at all. 
Illustrated Booklet. 
strength. 
You can’t keep your carpets, rugs, curtains, uphol- 
stery, wall decorations, etc., clean with broom and brush, 
and least ofall with carpet-sweeper. Vacuum 
Cleaning is the only right means, and with the 
IDEAL VACUUM CLEANER at your service, there is 
no longer any excuse for your being without its benefits. 
Everybody can afford the IDEAL. No skill needed 
Compared with sweeping, itis no work 
Every machine guaranteed. 
Your Protection 
That you may safely place your confidence in it and 
order a machine now, is shown by the large book of en- 
thusiastic testimonials sent us by many of the nearly 
12,500 purchasers of the machines, sold in less than nine 
months. This proves its merits and is your protection. 
Let us tell you how you can get one of these won- 
derful machines promptly. 
It tells an interesting story of a 
remarkable saving in money, time, labor, health and 
Send for it to-day. 
American Vacuum Cleaner Co. 
225 Sth Ave., New York City 
Also send for our Free 
Pyrus arbutifolia is a charming shrub at any 
season. 
Hypericum aureum, with golden flowers in 
August, relieves a dull season with its brilliant 
blossoms. 
Crataegus, a small tree, which is now said 
to be found in more than fifty-seven varieties, 
is quite perfect from an artistic standpoint. 
Among evergreens there are, of course, 
the rhododendron and laurel, Lencothoe and 
Andromeda, all expensive, but long-lived, and 
the most gratifying and satisfactory of all 
plants. 
Among the conifers we might include the 
red cedar, juniper, ground yew, pines and 
spruces, all of which are uncommon compared 
with the Norway spruce. 
Oaks, unfortunately, are hard to transplant. 
There are many besides the pin and scarlet 
oaks, and if small sizes are bought the propor- 
tion which will live is greater and the cost less. 
In planting these things put them in masses 
on the borders of the lawn or to hide the 
foundations of the house. Do not dot the lawn 
with shrubs until it looks like a growing set of 
dominoes. 
A single magnolia, for instance, might be 
on the lawn a little in front of the shrubbery, 
so that it will get light on all sides, and grow 
symmetrically. That will be very nice, but half 
a dozen dotted about would be horrid. The 
popular way is to have groups of three little 
evergreens disposed at various intervals and at 
unimportant points on the lawns, but such 
commonplace grouping is the expression of a 
rudimentary artistic sense. 
I think it is a mistake to plant shrubs and 
herbaceous flowers together. It never looks 
quite right, and the shrubs are bound to grow 
larger than one expects and shade the flowers. 
It is better to have a flower garden or an her- 
baceous border separate from the shrubbery. 
A ROSE GARDEN 
“I have a great many rose bushes which are 
now planted in a bed in the lawn and at one 
side of the house. They are fine varieties, but 
I must say they look pretty ragged most of the 
season. What can I do with them to make 
the place look better?” 
_I should certainly advise you to have a spe- 
cial rose garden, where all the bushes can be 
segregated and enjoyed by themselves. 
Rose bushes are not an ornament to the 
lawn. Their foliage is poor and their growth 
straggling and untidy. Even when in full 
bloom they do not look well in the landscape, 
and all their beauty is lost when seen from any 
distance. 
The flowers themselves are their only beauty, 
and these, if they are to be enjoyed, must be 
picked and worn or used in the house. [I left 
to decorate the bushes they open too wide. A 
rose wide open is an ugly thing and should 
never be seen in that condition. 
Roses in a special garden are more easily 
cared for, and at the best they are the most 
dificult of all flowers to grow in -perfection. 
They must be cultivated, manured, sprayed, 
and watered constantly. Every day one must 
look each bush over carefully and pick off 
worms and beetles. For people who enjoy 
growing roses this work is not hard, but it is 
nice to have all the bushes collected in a se- 
cluded spot, where one may work at ease. 
The rose garden should be small, intimate, 
and with a simplicity befitting the glory of 
the flower. Comfortable paths, but not too 
wide, should be provided, and many seats. It 
should be a garden without long vistas, so that 
one never sees the bushes in mass, but always 
near at hand and in minute detail. 
A jar of water constantly overflowing, in 
which the long stems may be plunged for a 
time, a table on which they may be arranged 
