Xll 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



August, 1908 



SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 

 REFERENCE BOOK 



12mo; 5I6pages; illustrated; 6 colored plates. Price $1.50, postpaid 



^ The result of the queries of three generations 

 of readers and correspondents is crystallized in this 

 book, which has been in course of preparation for 

 months. It is indispensable to every family and 

 business man. It deals with matters of interest to 

 everybody. The book contains 50,000 facts, and 

 is much more complete and more exhaustive than 

 anything of the kind which has ever been attempted. 



The "Scientific 

 American Ref- 

 erence Book" 

 has been com- 

 piled after 

 gauging the 

 known wants of 

 thousands. I t 

 has been re- 

 vised by eminent statisticians. Infor- 

 mation has been drawn from over one 

 ton of Government reports alone. It is 

 a book for everyday reference — more 

 useful than an encyclopedia, because 

 you will find what you want in an 

 instant in a more condensed form. 

 The chapter relating to patents, trade- 

 marks and copyrights is a thorough 

 one and aims to give inventors proper 

 legal aid. The chapter on manufac- 

 tures deals with most interesting fig- 

 ures, admirably presented for refer- 

 ence. The chapter dealing with Me- 

 chanical Movements contains nearly 

 three hundred illustrations, and they 

 are more reliable than those published 

 in any other book-they are operative. 

 Weights and measures occupy a con- 

 siderable section of the book, and are 

 indispensable for purposes of refer- 

 ence. Sixty years of experience alone 

 have made it possible for the publish- 

 ers of the Scientific American to pre- 

 sent to the purchasers of this book a 

 remarkable aggregation of information. 

 The very wide range of topics covered 

 in the "Scientific American Reference 

 Book" may be inferred by examining 

 the table of contents sent on request. 

 The first edition of this work is 10,000 

 copies. The readers of the Scientific 

 American are requested to send in 

 their orders promptly. Remit $1.50, 

 and the book will be promptly mailed. 

 Send to-day. 





18 Sen 



ntipio American Refebe 



nce Booh. 

















w 





v O/7 







■m 



UJVffJ 



wtWi 



c 

 m 



< 



a 







o 



a 







'S-ji 



mm 



fs 







, « , « 



( L 



a 







-: 





a 









Wi'M 



h 

 









ll&£ %j 



X 





^jj 





■ 





i*y> 



H 







-■ 







1 





■■.-•. '' 



=E 



Bvl 









nTifi 



HUBS 



9 



=£^\ 









ji_ 



L«ni. 











, 





REDUCED FACSIMILE PACE 110. 



MUNN & CO., Publishers 

 Scientific American Office 



361 Broadway, New York City 



gest also some light-weight rugs to take the 

 place of my heavy Oriental ones." 



The slip covers of gray, white and buff linen 

 are being superseded, in rooms that are oc- 

 cupied during the summer, by pretty chintzes, 

 cretonnes, printed linens and taffetas. These 

 are made up without binding the seams with 

 braid, as formerly done. If there are heavy 

 portieres and lined window curtains, these are 

 left hanging but covered with slips of the same 

 material, but made into loose bags. 



If very fine wood is exposed on the frames 

 of the chairs and sofas, a cretonne with a 

 swan's down backing will prevent injury to 

 the surface. The same kind of material may 

 be made into covers for polished tables, leav- 

 ing an edge six inches wide to hang over. 



Of the many kinds of summer rugs, jute, 

 cotton, grass, wood pulp and fiber, the last- 

 named is probably the most satisfactory, and 

 the neutral tones will be found more helpful 

 in creating a cool-looking interior than bright 

 red, blue, yellow or green. 



By removing some of the heavier of the 

 upholstered chairs, and using the Chinsse 

 rattan chairs instead, another means will be 

 found for rendering the summer sitting-room 

 pleasant. 



In regard to the question about buying an 

 extra set of curtains for the warm months, to 

 take off the bare look of the windows when 



the lace ones are stored away, this would be 

 an excellent plan, and not expensive to carry 

 out. An ecru fishnet may be bought from 

 twenty cents a yard upward. By sewing this 

 material to flat brass rings it will be easy to 

 push it back in the extremely hot weather, and, 

 on cooler days, to draw it across the glass to 

 soften the light. 



GARDEN WORK ABOUT THE HOME 



(Continued from page 334) 



will grow in shifting sands or survive the 

 gales of wind and the salt spray. 



One should preserve all the things which 

 are growing on the place and disturb them as 

 little as possible, because nothing can be more 

 beautiful than the tangled masses of scrub oak, 

 the bay-berry and cedar, beach grass and roses. 



I have in mind a charming bungalow built 

 just at the edge of the inmost dune at Amagan- 

 sett. The dune rises steeply some eight feet 

 above the arable land behind it, and then drops 

 perhaps fifteen feet, in a long irregular slope 

 to the salt meadow, over which the sand dunes 

 are marching in an endless though unobserved 

 procession. On this side is the shore drive, cr 

 highway, and consequently the front of the 

 house. 



The bungalow is in two stories, but only 

 one is seen in front. The first story is on the 



level of the good meadow at the back, and 

 contains the kitchen and servants' quarters. 

 On this level is the drive to the house, and the 

 service court, etc. This side of the place is 

 more civilized and more conventional, with its 

 lawns, garden and play grounds. The second 

 story is just on a level with the top of the 

 dune, and the piazza barely touches it. 



The dune is now nicely covered with beach 

 grass, small cedars, golden rod, scrub oaks, 

 poison ivy, and other common plants. 



No paths lead through it, as it was not con- 

 sidered safe to give any excuse to people to 

 walk through. Instead of paths we have built 

 a picturesque plank walk in the Japanese man- 

 ner, supported on stakes driven in the sand. 

 This walk is about three feet from the ground, 

 and leads from the piazaz to the shore road. 

 As one walks along the bridge, as it is now 

 called, one sees all the plants of this wild gar- 

 den from above, and they are a wonderfully 

 beautiful foreground for the view from the 

 piazza. 



At one end of this dune there is a peak 

 higher than the rest which must be protected 

 with the utmost care or it will be blown away. 

 If this happens its picturesque effect will be 

 a severe loss. Little can be done to save it 

 except to leave it absolutely alone. 



The further treatment of this wild space in 

 front of the house will be a constant endeavor 

 to increase its beauty and variety without de- 

 stroying its character. This can be done by 

 planting other native shrubs and plants, by 

 cutting out those which grow too fast or too 

 strongly and by the introduction of plants 

 which are not native but which seem likely to 

 grow well and promise to be in keeping with 

 their surroundings. 



Back of the dune where there was formerly 

 a potato field the planting will be of similar 

 character, though not strictly indigenous. 

 Pitch pines {Pinus rigida) and red cedars will 

 be planted for the beauty of their wind-tossed 

 tops and knarled branches. 



Oaks will be planted in the hope of their 

 struggling above the line of the dune, but only 

 in the following varieties: 



Quercus digit at a — Spanish oak. 



Q. nana — scrub oak. 



Q. Marylandica — black Jack. 



Q. minor — post oak. 



O. Prinoides — scrub chestnut oak. 



Of other trees the Ailanthus and Oriental 

 plane (Platanus orientalis) will be given a 

 trial. 



Among other shrubs which will be planted 

 are the following: Bay-berry, Myrica cerifera; 

 with shiny fragrant leaves and waxy berries. 



Beach plum, Prumus maritima, which has 

 beautiful pink or white blossoms and wine col- 

 ored fruit which makes a delicious jelly. 



Wild roses, such as Rosa humilis, R. Caro- 

 lina, R. nitida, R. setigera, R. multiflora, all 

 beautiful and giving a long season of bloom. 



The Tamarisk, Tamarix gallica, with its 

 feathery foliage and mist of pink flowers will 

 be used, as it does not mind salt spray. 



The groundsel bush, Baccharis halimif olia . 

 which will grow on the salt marsh, will be 

 used in quantity. 



Among the tangled masses many lilies will 

 be planted — all will be tried in the hope of 

 finding many that will increase. 



For covering bare spots of sand we shall try 

 heather, Calluna vulgaris, the red bearberry, 

 Arctostaphylos Uva-JJrsi, the most beautiful 

 trailing plant that grows, and two Hudsonias. 



All of these things and many more can be 

 obtained from collectors in large quantities 

 and at low prices. 



If they are properly cared for the luxuriance 

 of their growth will be as surprising as their 

 beautiful effect, and at any rate it will be a 

 comfort to see a place on Long Island without 

 a hydrangea or a crimson rambler. 



