XXIV 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
June, 1909 
bug eaters that we can not dispense with them 
altogether. I admit them to the general gar- 
den as soon as the gooseberries and strawber- 
ries are picked. / Before that they have a large 
run that includes the plum yard and a por- 
tion of the lawns that need to be watched 
against slugs, crickets and grasshoppers. 
Birds, however, are more valuable to a fruit 
grower than even hens. “They must be fed, 
and their/music alone deserves a salary in 
cherries and berries. With the provisions I 
have described elsewhere in the way of wild 
fruits, I leave uncovered some of my cherry 
trees, and expect them to take their share of 
the berries and currants. It is, however, quite 
a problem for a very small place, if there are 
no neighbors who also grow fruit. Our 
policy is to secure the planting of bird-loved 
fruits as abundantly as possible. It is a good 
thing to plant them in the streets, and it is 
also a good thing to secure the planting of as 
many basswoods as possible in the streets and 
elsewhere to feed the bees. 
RICH WARM TONES 
RESULT FROM THE USE OF WOOD DYES 
FOR FINISHING TRIM AND FURNITURE 
HO nowadays trusts to the shiny ob- 
trusiveness of varnish for the note of 
beauty in wood trim and furniture in 
the home—or anywhere, for the matter of 
that? 
Wherever you see the natural beauty of the 
wood marred by the use of unnatural—I had 
almost said impossible—attempts at finishing 
with varnish stains, be sure the hand of the 
amateur, or worse, the hand of the perverter 
of Nature, has been at work. 
The true lover of the beautiful recognizes 
the responsive quality of beautiful wood. It 
has so much beauty to give, and under the 
treatment of one who knows, it readily yields 
its best and its all. 
How many times have you rebelled at the 
sight of a perfectly grained piece of wood 
entirely robbed of its beauty by some fruitless 
attempt at decoration? Smears of varnish 
and splotches of stain—like clothing a beauti- 
ful form in ill-fitting garments and inharmo- 
nious colors. 
On the other hand, one who sees the pos- 
sibilities of the wood, and sets himself intelli- 
gently to the task of developing it, is rewarded 
with results that are nothing short of marvel- 
ous in their artistic value. 
Who wants slippery looking pieces about the 
house to repel all friendly advances lest they 
get scratched and spoil their glossy surfaces? 
Not the real home-maker whose heart is bent 
upon the enjoyment of his home and upon 
extending its hospitality. 
He strives rather to obtain rich, subdued 
warmth of coloring which softens the lights 
into a dreamy glow—which invites to an inti- 
mate friendliness—which gives promise of mel- 
low tones under the wear of every-day con- 
tact—and which conveys the impression of 
beautiful usefulness. 
But like everything else worth while, this 
effect is not a thing to be picked up haphazard 
in the shops—nor to be had through the effects 
of the first painter who appears with his sam- 
ple color card. 
Only those who have attempted and failed 
again and again in accomplishing satisfactory 
results with wood finishes know the difficul- 
tiles encountered. 
And only those who have used wood dyes 
of the right sort and proved their effective- 
ness know how simple it is after all—when 
you know how. 
Wood, in its natural state, has a beauty of 
its own which puts to shame the little attempts 
of artificial means. Wood dyes find their mis- 
4) 4 CRAFTSMAN HOU 
Ot ba Ee yi) o | 
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by installing 
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which removes all objections of the old swifl-tub. 
The Stephenson UNDERGROUND REFUSE RECEIVER 
for Ashes, etc. 
The Stephenson UNDERGROUND EARTH CLOSET for 
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The Stephenson PORTABLE METAL HOUSE for Above. 
The Stephenson SPIRAL RIBBED ASH BARREL — 
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C. H. STEPHENSON, Mfr. 
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Send for Circulars on each 
Established 1875 
“Rustic Work” 
This beautiful Rustic Settee, delivered to 
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WHICH GIVES THAT 
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Rustic Tea Houses, Boat and Bath Houses, Arbors, 
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et, Give the Birds 
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sketches or have our repre- 
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Send for catalogue and 
sion in supplementing and preserving this 
natural beauty. In developing it to a degree 
absolutely beyond the reach of the common 
application in use by the unknowing. 
Study the character of your wood, as you 
Would study the artistic framing of a picture. 
Select your wood dye in some one of the soft 
tones which harmonize with your general color 
scheme for the room to be furnished. Use it 
according to the instructions which accompany 
the package, and you can not fail to be heartily 
satisfied with the result. 
Polish? O, yes, indeed, it can be polished. 
True, it won’t shine like the golden oak din- 
ing-table in the instalment-house window, but 
it will have a velvet sheen which suggests the 
rich, soft glow of a mellow old age rather than 
anything artificial. 
NEW BOOKS 
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND SUPERIN- 
TENDENCE. By F. E. Kidder, C. E., 
Ph.D., Architect, Fellow of the Ameri- 
can Institute of Architects; author of 
“Architects’ and Builders’ Pocketbook.” 
Revised and enlarged by Thos. Nolan, 
M.S., A.M., Fellow of the American 
Institute of Architects, Assistant Profes- 
sor of Architecture, University of Penn- 
sylvania. Part 1, ninth edition, revised, 
Mason’s Work. 628 illustrations. Pp. 
985. One 8vo volume. Cloth. Price, $6. 
New York: William T. Comstock. 
The first edition of this work was brought 
out in 1896, and had 421 pages and 260 illus- 
trations, and since then, as the different edi- 
tions have been issued, slight revisions have 
been made and occasional pages interpolated, 
but meanwhile the art of masonry has ad- 
vanced so that it was necessary to reconstruct 
the whole work. 
The work when first issued was the most 
complete representation of masonry that had 
up to then appeared, and the present edition in 
like manner represents the latest and_ best 
modern practice, and all the new ideas and 
their application as developed up to this time. 
The work bears evidence of the time, labor, 
thought and persistent effort that has been 
put forth to collate, arrange and properly 
classify all the data that belongs to the latest 
and modern accepted practices. 
The chapter on “Concrete and Reinforced 
Concrete Construction” is entirely new, and 
contains much more detailed information than 
many books on the subject. The chapter on 
“Fireproofing” is substantially new, and has 
over 200 illustrations. Even in the old 
stand-by brick great changes have taken place, 
sand-lime brick being a new building material 
since Mr. Kidder’s day. The chapter on 
“Specifications” shows many and important 
changes, such as those on cement and concrete 
construction, where new specifications are 
given. 
who undertook the work for Mr. Kidder, has 
devoted his entire time, outside of college 
duties, to gathering the material and putting 
the work in shape for publication, and as a 
result we have before us the most complete 
encyclopedia of masonry that has ever been 
offered to the American architect and builder. 
Ss 
For more than a year past Professor Nolan, 
