XI 1 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



December, 1908 



Holiday Suggestions in Useful Books 



ARABIC* STAGE ILLUSIONS AND SCIENTIFIC 

 lVl/\Vil\^ DIVERSIONS, INCLUDING TRICK PHOTOGRAPHY 



Compiled and Edited by ALBERT A. HOPKINS 

 With an Introduction by Henry Ridgely Evans 



8<uo. 568 Pages. 420 Illustrations. Price, $2.50, Postpaid 



"^^^-^HIS unique work appeals to the professional and amateur alike 

 ■ < ") and will prove a welcome addition to any library. It is the 

 ^,_ ^ acknowledged standard work on magic. The illusions are 

 illustrated by the highest class of engravings, and are all explained 

 in detail, showing exactly how the tricks are performed. Great 

 attention is paid to the exposes of large and important illusions, 

 in many cases furnished by the prestidigitateurs themselves. Conjuring 

 is not neglected, a selection of some of the best known of these tricks 

 having been made. The work cannot fail to be of interest to young 

 and old, and there is hardly anyone who is in anyway interested in 

 either science or magic to whom it will not appeal. It is beautifully 

 printed and attractively bound An illustrated circular and table of 

 contents will be sent on application. 



EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE 



By GEORGE M. HOPKINS 



Twenty-fifth Edition, Revised and Greatly Enlarged 



1, 100 Pages, o-ver 900 Illustrations 



Tavo Octavo Volumes; Price in Cloth, $5.00; Half Morocco, $7.00, 



Postpaid 



"^^^--'HIS book treats on the various topics of physics in a popular 

 ■ " J and practical way. It describes the apparatus in detail, and 

 ^ , J explains the experiments in full, so that teachers, students 

 and others interested in physics may readily make the apparatus 

 without expense, and perform the experiments without difficulty. 

 The aim of the writer has been to render physical experimentation 

 so simple and attractive as to induce both old and young to engage 

 in it for pleasure and profit. All intelligent persons should have at 

 least an elementary knowledge of physics to enable them to under- 

 stand and appreciate what is going on in the world. This can be acquired by reading "Experimental 

 Science." As a gift from employer to employee, from parent to child, from student to teacher, 

 nothing could be more appropriate or acceptable. It is the most thoroughly illustrated work ever 

 published on Experimental Physics, and its unprecedented sale shows conclusively that it is the 

 book of the age for teachers, students, experimenters, and all others who desire a general knowledge 

 of Physics or Natural Philosophy. Illustrated and descriptive circular on application. 



The Scientific American Boy 



By A. RUSSELL BOND 



12mo. 320 Pages. 340 Illustrations. Price, $2.00, Postpaid. 

 ^^^^HIS is a story of outdoor boy life, suggesting a large number 

 ■ * j of diversions which, aside from affording entertainment, will 

 ^E X stimulate in boys the creative spirit. In each instance 

 complete practical instructions aie given for building the various 

 articles. The needs of the boy camper are supplied by the direc- 

 tions for making tramping outfits, sleeping bags and tents, also 

 such other shelters as tree houses, straw huts, log cabins and caves. 

 The winter diversions include instructions for making six kinds of 

 skate sails and eight kinds of snowshoes and skis, besides ice 

 boats, scooters, sledges, toboggans and a peculiar Swedish contri- 

 vance called a "rennwolf." Among the more instructive subjects 

 covered are surveying, wigwagging, heliographing and bridge- 

 building, in which six different kinds of bridges, including a simple 

 cantilever bridge, are described. 



The Scientific American Cyclopedia of 

 Receipts, Notes and Queries 



In Three Bindings- Price, Cloth, $5; Sheep, $6; Half Morocco, $6. 50, Postpaid 



^^^i^HIS is a careful compilation of the most useful receipts which have 

 I ) appeared in the Scientific American for more than halt a century. 

 ^^^^ Over 15,000 selected formulas are here collected, nearly every branch 

 of the useful arts being represented. It is the most complete volume on 

 the subject of receipts ever published. It has been used by chemists, tech- 

 nologists and those unfamiliar with the arts with equal success, and has 

 demonstrated that it is a book which is useful in the laboratory, factory or 

 home. An alphabetical arrangement, with abundant cross references, 

 makes it an easy work to consult. The Appendix contains the very latest 

 formulas as well as 41 tables of weights and measures and a dictionary of 

 chemical synonyms. A full table of contents will be sent on application. 



Home Mechanics for Amateurs 



By GEORGE M. HOPKINS, Author of "Experimental Science" 



12mo, 370 Pages, 320 Illustrations. Price, $1.50, Postpaid 

 ^^^^HE book deals with wood-working, household ornaments, metal-work- 

 I ) ing, lathe work, metal spinning, silver working; making model en- 

 ^^^/ gines, boilers and water motors; making telescopes, microscopes and 

 meteorological instruments, electrical chimes, cabinets, bells, night lights, 

 dynamos and motors, electric light, and an electrical furnace. A thoroughly 

 practical book by the most noted amateur experimenter in America. For the 

 boy and the more mature amateur. Holidays and evenings can be profitably 

 occupied by making useful articles for the home or in building small engines 

 or motors or scientific instruments. Table of contents furnished on application. 



MUNN & CO., Publishers, 361 BROADWAY, NEW YORK 



PROBLEMS IN HOME FURNISHING 



(Continued from page 4$4) 

 PAPERING TWO PARLORS 



H. J. S., of West Virginia, in a letter 

 about her parlor, inquires how to change the 

 wall paper to improve its appearance. "My 

 rooms are rather small and dark," she writes, 

 "and the green paper now on the walls has 

 intensified these disadvantages. I hear so 

 much about the good results of proper wall 

 papering that I would like to know if it is 

 worth while to change mine. What color 

 would be the best to use with my green velour 

 curtains?" 



The slight expense of changing the wall 

 paper in these rooms would be fully com- 

 pensated by the general appearance it would 

 create of space and light. To accomplish 

 this an ecru color or buff should be selected, 

 preferably in a two-toned pattern. A stripe 

 could be used, but would be less interesting 

 than the design. A very good paper may 

 be had in this style for sixty cents a single 

 roll. 



DECORATION FOR A MANTEL 



J. C. N., of Oregon, writes: "We are 

 building a new house and are discussing the 

 two mantels in living and dining-room. My 

 husband and I disagree on having some kind 

 of decoration put in with the woodwork. 

 He would have the space left plain above 

 the mantel. I have seen some illustrations of 

 pictures fitted into a paneling, and also of 

 some plaster casts, and would like something 

 of this kind. We are each willing to abide 

 by the decision of the Home Furnishing 

 department of our magazine." 



A set decoration above a mantel (that is, 

 one that is incorporated with the architec- 

 tural finish of the room) should be chosen 

 with great deliberation, as it is a permanent 

 feature, and, at the same time, a very con- 

 spicuous one. For the home described by this 

 correspondent it would be better to keep the 

 space free above the living-room mantel for 

 an interesting picture, one that, when there 

 ir. no fire on the hearth to enjoy, will still 

 center the attention pleasingly at the fireplace. 

 In the dining-room, a good plan would be 

 to hang an upright mirror, framed in Colonial 

 lashion with a picture fitted into the upper 

 panel. With this size of mirror there will be 

 space left on either side to hold a pair of brass 

 candlesticks or flower vases. 



BRUSSELS CURTAINS FOR THE LIVING-ROOM 



Two questions on the same subject have 

 come in this month from different subscribers. 

 In one letter the writer, L. G., speaks of a 

 recent removal from one house to another 

 and finding that the curtains of Brussels lace 

 fit into the living-room, where there is 

 Mission furniture and roughly woven rugs. 

 Another letter, from D. E. R., inquires 

 about the advisability of buying curtains of 

 this kind for her dining-room. 



Curtains of Brussels lace are the most deli- 

 cate that are manufactured and seem to find 

 their appropriate setting among fine mahogany 

 or gold pieces of furniture, Aubusson or Sav- 

 onnerie rugs, and over-curtains of silk or 

 brocade with finely finished white woodwork. 

 Their character, in fact, is so essentially 

 that of the formal drawing-room, that rather 

 than use them in the living or dining-room 

 it. would be better to substitute one of the sim- 

 ple filet nets in ecru or white. This material 

 comes in a great variety of designs, and may 

 be finished with hems or a lace edge. 



In still better keeping with the living-room 

 of L. G. is a heavy scrim that can be finished 

 with hemstitching along the sides and bot- 



