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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



September, 1908 



CORRESPONDENCE 



The Editor of American Homes and Gardens desires to extend an invitation to all its readers to send to the Correspondence Department inquiries on any matter 

 pertaining to the decorating and furnishing of the home and to the developing of the home grounds. 



All letters accompanied by return postage will be answered promptly by mail. Replies that are of general benefit will be published in this Department. 



Problems in Home Furnishing 



By Alice M. Kellogg 

 Author of "Home Furnishing: Practical and Artistic" 



HEPPLEWHITE FURNITURE IN A MODERN HOME 



FROM a correspondent in the South comes a letter with the 

 following inquiry: "Can you give me some information about 

 Heppelwhite furniture? Is it suitable for my parlor? In 

 looking for some chairs and a sofa I find a set that I like very 

 much and which is called Heppelwhite. Please let me know some- 

 thing on this subject as soon as possible." 



The set of furniture is probably copied from or suggested by the 

 designs of the English cabinetmaker Heppelwhite, who, with Chip- 

 pendale, Sheraton and others, 

 made the latter part of the 

 eighteenth century famous in 

 the history of interior decora- 

 tion. There is a certain for- 

 mal grace and delicacy of out- 

 line about the Heppelwhite 

 chairs that render them espe- 

 cially attractive in a parlor 

 that is not of the living-room 

 type. The original, or "pure" 

 designs, show an oval, heart- 

 shaped or shield back, orna- 

 mented with inlay, paint or 

 carving. The decorations are 

 derived from the lotus flower, 

 bell flower, rosette and 

 feather. Naturally, there are 

 not many of the chairs that 

 were turned out in Heppel- 

 white's time in existence at 

 this time, but some museums 

 show some valued examples. 

 The illustration is made from 

 an original piece. Further 

 information may be found in 

 standard reference books on 

 furniture, Singleton's "Furni- 

 ture of Our Forefathers," vol. ii ; Hayden's "Chats on Old Furni- 

 ture," Morse's "Furniture of the Olden Time." 



HOW TO RENDER AN UGLY ROOM ATTRACTIVE 



"I have read with interest," writes S. E. K., of Illinois, "the ideas 

 that your correspondence department gives to readers who are desirous 

 of making the interior of their homes attractive. My own room 

 seems too hopeless to bring to your consideration, but I would be 

 grateful for any suggestions that would not entail an expenditure of 

 more than three hundred dollars to make this room satisfactory. The 

 furniture is supremely ugly, of heavy carved black walnut ; the carpet 

 is a large-flowered Brussels, unpleasantly faded ; the curtains are ex- 

 pensive, bad looking Irish point; the walls are painted a varnishy 

 green. Where to begin I do not know." , 



As the ugly furniture is aggressively prominent in this room, it 

 would be well to change it for something more simple and tasteful. 

 As the limitations of expense make this impossible, the two largest 

 pieces, bedstead and bureau, may be retained, substituting for the 

 others a white enameled washstand, a dressing table hung with cre- 

 tonne, an arm chair and rocker of stained willow and odd tables for 

 sewing and writing materials. If the floor is in proper condition for 

 rugs, some Wiltons in sizes to lay beside the bed, bureau and wash- 

 stand may be chosen. Or, if a carpet must be adhered to, an oak- 

 colored ingrain filling or a plain tan velvet may be the selection. 

 {Continued on Page x) 



Garden Work About the Home 



By Charles Downing Lay 

 SPRING BULBS 



IN ORDER to anticipate questions about planting bulbs, which 

 I know will come too late for the answers to be of any use this 

 season, I shall devote part of our space this month to the subject. 

 It is my particular desire to urge everyone to plant the less 

 common spring bulbs even to the neglect of early tulips and hyacinths, 

 which in spite of their showy beauty are unsatisfactory, because they 

 must be replanted every year. There are other bulbs, however, which 

 will usually increase in number, and many of them will persist for 

 years. 



It is always interesting to order bulbs direct from Holland, and the 

 variety to be had there is much greater than in this country, and one 

 is likely to get a better quality. The price, though, will not be much 

 different after freight and duty have been paid. 



C. G. Van Tubergen, of Haarlem, is a famous grower of fine bulbs, 

 and there are many others probably as well known. 



The earlier the orders are given the better it will be, in Holland or 

 here, because the stocks of many things are exhausted before the end 

 of the season. 



Early planting, too, is an advantage, as a good root growth can 

 be made. After October the ground may be soon frozen up. 



Cultural directions for bulbs are given at length in all catalogues — 

 but they say little of the greatest danger to bulbs in the first winter, 

 which is heaving by the frost. This can be avoided by planting deep 

 and mulching the bed after the ground is frozen. It is not freezing 

 which kills bulbs, but alternate freezing and thawing. This is pre- 

 vented by the mulch. When planting a newly prepared bed, remember 

 that it will settle a great deal through the winter and plant much 

 deeper than you would on settled ground. 



The color of tulips varies so greatly that one can do anything with 

 them. They may be planted in great masses so that the whole garden 

 will be a single color. Or one may have contrasts and harmonies 

 endlessly varied as one kind passes and another comes on. 



On a small place it will be better to plant them in little groups 

 among the shrubbery or in the wild garden, and to have a great many 

 different kinds. Five bulbs of some of the larger kinds will make a 

 very good group, and it is certainly better to have five bulbs each of 

 five varieties than twenty-five of one kind, if one cares for the flower 

 itself and not simply for its color and effect in the garden scene. 



Parrot tulips have curious feathery petals and are larger than the 

 early tulips. They bloom in May with the Darwin and single late 

 or cottage tulips and last a long time. 



Darwin tulips are good in color. Some of the dark browns, violets, 

 blue blacks and brown blacks are very interesting and unusual. There 

 are a hundred varieties, and one should choose them according to 

 color and price. 



The single late cottage tulips are the finest of all. The flowers 

 are larger, on long stems (three feet and a half sometimes), and they 

 seem to increase and do well. 



"Bouton d'or" is a good yellow, though rather too much of a but- 

 ton, since it does not open wide. 



Tulipi gesneriana spatulata is a stunning red with a black spot at 

 the base of each petal. "Innocence" is large and very late, and, of 

 course, white. 



"Picotee," white, with rosy margins deepening in color as the 

 flowers age, has a wonderfully delicate beauty. 



T. retroflexa with recurved petals, yellow, is star-like in shape. 



T. vitellina is my favorite. It is tall, pale yellow, with a large 

 flower and a certain opulent and regal air very hard to describe. 



There are a hundred varieties of these tulips also, and all would 

 be interesting to have. 



( Continued on Page xiii ) 



