November, 1909 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS xi 
Awe 
The First Prize in the Garden Competition 
The garden adjudged the first prize in the recent gar- 
den competition conducted by this magazine forms the 
subject of the opening article in the December number. 
This is the garden of Charles J. Pilling, at Lansdowne, 
Pa., a charming and delightful place abounding in pic- 
turesque developments very ably utilized and beautifully 
developed. The text consists of the brief description 
prepared by Mr. Pilling himself to accompany his photo- 
graphs, together with an itemized list of his plantings. 
The illustrations, which include several full-page plates, 
are very numerous and of the deepest interest. The 
presentation of this subject is bound to attract wide atten- 
tion, as it affords the magazine some of the most beau- 
tiful illustrations it has ever published. 
A New Artists’ Home 
The beautiful, yet modest, home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert 
V. V. Sewell at Oyster Bay constitutes a notable contribu- 
tion to Barr Ferree’s series of papers on the homes of 
American artists. While modest in size, and without the 
grandiose character that is sometimes attributed to nota- 
ble homes, this house easily stands among the most 
notable private dwellings in America. Mr. Sewell, a 
painter of national renown, has lavished of his genius 
and his work in a remarkable enrichment of hand wood- 
carving, all executed by himself, which gives an intensely 
personal character to the house and is its distinguishing 
characteristic. “his house has not been published here- 
tofore, and AMERICAN HoMEs AND GARDENS is fortu- 
nate in being able to present it to the interested public. 
Hammering and Piercing Metal 
Mrs. Mabel T. Priestman contributes a valuable and 
practical paper on the craft of hammering and piercing 
metal. ‘his is an interesting and fascinating form of 
craftwork that any one, with Mrs. Priestman as a guide, 
can readily follow. ‘The illustrations show exactly how 
this work is done, and offers some interesting practical 
designs. 
American Homes and Gardens 
Bungalow Furnishings 
Kate Greenleaf Locke, whose article on four California 
bungalows is a distinguishing feature of the present num- 
ber, opens up a new theme in bungalow literature with 
an eminently readable and suggestive paper on interior 
bungalow details and furnishings. Miss locke offers a 
number of helpful and valuable suggestions on the treat- 
ment and equipment of bungalow interiors, and illustrates 
her paper with numerous and beautiful photographs 
taken expressly for this article. 
A Concrete Fence 
Ralph C. Davison’s series of papers on concrete garden 
ornaments and how to make them is brought to a close 
in an interesting paper on the methods of building a 
concrete fence. he text is very precise and definite, and 
is especially intended to enable any one to build his own 
fence from the directions given. The illustrations are 
especially numerous, and include both diagrams and half- 
tones. It is a fine article of great practical value. 
Some New Western Homes 
Francis Durando Nichols, who has been gathering mate- 
rial for the magazine in the West, offers the first fruit of 
his work in a valuable paper on some new Western homes. 
The illustrations are chiefly of Chicago houses and open 
up an entire new school of architecture to our readers. 
Mr. Nichols will have more to say on this subject in 
future numbers, but the first article should not be missed. 
Other Contents 
The lesser papers and special departments of the maga- 
zine will contain much material of value and of special 
interest. New departments are being arranged each 
month, and each number, in the interest and variety of 
its contents, yields many times its value to the subscriber. 
The December number closes the fifth volume. The 
sixth will begin with the number for January, 1910. 
