XX 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



April, 1 90S 





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Our Book Department 



E OFFER our patrons and subscribers the advantages of a long 

 established and widely experienced department, devoted to the 

 publication and distribution of modern, up-to-date books pertaining 

 to all branches of Engineering, Mechanics, Chemistry, Science, Industrial Arts, 

 Trades and Manufactures. We shall be glad to aid our patrons in the proper 

 selection and purchase of books on the subject in which they 

 are interested. Our 1 1 2-page catalogue of general, scientific | ' 

 and technical books will be mailed free 

 to any address upon application. 



Some of the Scientific American Publications 



The Scientific American Reference Book, compiled by A.A.Hopkins, 12mo, cloth, 



516 pages, illustrated $1 50 



The Scientific American Boy, by A.R. Bond, l2mo, cloth, 31 7 pages, 320 illustrations 2 00 

 Home Mechanics for Amateurs, by Geo M. Hopkins, 12mo, cloth, 370 pages, 326 illus. 1 50 

 Experimental Science, by Geo.M Hopkins, 2 volumes, 1 100 pages, 900 illustrations... 5 00 

 The Scientific American Cyclopedia of Receipts, Notes and Queries, edited and com- 

 piled by Albert A Hookins, revised edition, containing 15,000 selected formulas, 



734 pages.... 5 00 



Magic, Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, by A. A. Hopkins, 8vo, cloth, 556 



pages, illustrated 2 50 



The New Agriculture, by T. Byard Collins, 8vo, cloth, 374 pages, 106 illustrations... 2 00 

 Industrial Alcohol, Its Manufacture and Uses, by John K. Brachvogel, 8vo, cloth, 516 



pages, 107 illustrations 4 00 



Practical Pointers for Patentees, by F. A. Cresee, l2mo, cloth. 144 pages 1 00 



American Estates and Gardens, by Barr Ferree, quarto, I 1x13,' 2 inches, 340 pages, 



275 illustrations 10 00 



The Design and Construction of Induction Coils, by A. Frederick Collins, 8vo, cloth, 



400 pages, 125 illustrations 3 00 



The Technological Dictionary, Spanish-English, (Vol. I, Ingles-Espanol, $8.50 ( Two •/• /y, 

 English-Spanish, by N. Ponce De Leon, \ Vol. II, Spanish-English, 7.50 j vols. 



Full descriptive circulars of the above books will be mailed free upon application 



MUNN <&, Co., Publishers, 361 Broadway, New York 



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flowers which cover the plants in great pro- 

 fusion. The flowers are waxy and of good 

 substance, and occur in pure white, white 

 with rose eye and rose colored. The plants 

 are easily moved, and at the approach of cold 

 weather may be lifted and grown in the house 

 if desired. They are easily growm from 

 spring-sown seed which should be sown in 

 the house or hot-bed early in March to insure 

 plants of a good size for bedding out about 

 the last of May. 



Any good garden soil, well enriched, will 

 grow' the vinca to perfection and they should 

 be well watered throughout their season of 

 growth. 



Coleus may be used for low hedges and is 

 always popular. Plants are so easily and 

 cheaply obtainable of the florists that it hardly 

 pays to bother to propagate them oneself, but 

 they are one of the easiest plants to raise from 

 cuttings, and may also be raised from seed. 

 Leaf mold suits the coleus very well, but 

 any good garden soil will grow them to per- 

 fection, and the sunnier the exposure the 

 richer will be the color produced. 



Coleus should never be allowed to bloom, 

 but the tips of the branches should be kept 

 nipped out and the plants encouraged to make 



a stocky growth. Left to themselves they are 

 a little inclined to grow straggly and the 

 lower leaves to droop. For this reason they 

 must be continually pruned and kept in sub- 

 jection. If two or more tiers of leaves are 

 nipped out each time these may be thrust in 

 the ground about the base of the plant or 

 around the edge of a bed it is desired to bor- 

 der, and they will quickly take root and go 

 on growing as though nothing had happened. 

 Another attractive plant rarely seen at the 

 North is the crape myrtle. These are con- 

 sidered indispensable at the South, and may 

 be grown in the open ground at the North 

 by lifting and storing them in a warm cel- 

 lar in winter. They are not as handsome in 

 foliage as the preceding plants, nor do they 

 make as symmetrical growth, but need to be 

 trimmed into shape; but the beautiful, crape- 

 like flowers fully compensate for all short- 

 comings of foliage and symmetry. There are 

 three colors — white, pink and crimson, and 

 all are well worth cultivating. No especial 

 treatment is demanded, any soil which will 

 grow good dahlias will grow this plant satis- 

 factorily. It should be supplied with suffi- 

 cient water for its needs and given, when in 

 bloom, a little manure water. 



The bougainvillea is another fine plant 

 which, when in bloom, is a wonderful mass 

 of rosy-crimson. The flowers, themselves, 

 are inconspicuous white tubes, but each flower 

 is surrounded with large rosy bracts which 

 have the effect of flowers. The plants, though 

 straggly in growth, are so compact as to be 

 easily kept in symmetrical shape. It is rather 

 inclined to trail, and for that reason is a won- 

 derful plant for the top of walls or embank- 

 ments. I like a mixture of leaf mold or peat 

 with warm sandy loam and old, well-decayed 

 manure for this plant. It is a hard wooded 

 plant, and in planting or potting the soil 

 should be made very firm about the roots. 

 It blooms from May to November, making 

 it very desirable for bedding out. It should 

 be lifted and stored in a warm cellar during 

 winter. 



The tender hydrangeas are among the most 

 available plants for planting out in the sum- 

 mer. Unlike the hardy hydrangeas they show 

 attractive shades of pink and rosy red as well 

 as white, and one — Hortensis Mariesii — 

 changes from the light pink of the newly 

 opened flower to a pure mauve, the blue 

 hydrangea as it is sometimes called. 



Good garden culture is all this class of 

 plants require. This means keeping the soil 

 mellow and loose and not allowing the plants 

 to suffer at any time for water. 



The foliage of this class of plants is very 

 handsome, being quite a distinct departure 

 from that of the hardy varieties. They do' 

 somewhat better in partial shade, as too hot a 

 sun is apt to burn the beautiful large leaves. 



Then there are the brugmansias, single and 

 double, whose beautiful, immense white 

 flowers like fluted satin fill the evening air 

 with perfume which reminds one somewhat 

 of vanilla. In fact I heard one man say that 

 they smell like cake, but, if cake, it is cer- 

 tainly a very delicate and delicious confection. 



Cottage Designs 



No. 1. 



Goflage Designs 



Twenty-five designs, ranging in cost from 



$600 to $1,500 



Low Cost Houses 



Upward of twenty-five selected designs, 



originally costing from $750 to $2,500 



Modern Dwellings 



Twenty designs, at costs ranging from 



$2,000 to $5,000 



Suburban ironies 



Twenty selected designs, ranging in cost 

 from about $3,000 upward 



One "Dollar gach, "Postpaid. Sold Separately 

 Munn y Co., 361 Broadway, NewYork 



No. 2. 



No. 3. 



No. 4. 



A Hammock that s Right 



The only Hammock made that combines quality, 

 durability and beauty •with comfort. Can be 

 used indoors or out. For further particulars write 



Queen Hammock Co. 



184 Lake St., Muskegon, Mich. [Formerly Kalamazoo} 



