xvni 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



April, 1907 



PAIlvT^AhCs 



PAINT is a thing the average house owner knows less 

 about than he thinks he does — 

 Yet it is a subject that is vitally important. 

 Common regard for appearances makes a man want to keep 

 the face of his home bright, clean, cheery and beautiful. 



Sound business sense makes him want to get paint that 

 will give the best service — that will fail gradually, leaving a 

 clean, smooth surface for repainting, that is most easily and economically applied, and that, 

 when'properly applied, avoids all the common paint faults of cracking, peeling, blistering, etc. 



Lowe Brothers 

 High Standard" Liquid Paint 



Gf-Ves 'Best 'Results 



The Little 

 Blue Flag" 



It is made from the materials that thirty-three years of progressive paint-making have taught 

 us rc«M6z</^ 6^5/ to the working, wearing, looking qualities of paint. 

 These are ground by the '"High Standard'' perfected process, finer than 

 other paint— more particles to the gallon — and the mixing is so thorough 

 that each fine particle is covered by a separate film of oil. 



''High Standard'" Paint \s sold in seal«d, air-tight cans, always 

 fresh and ready to use with uniform result!. Look for "The Little 

 Blue Flag"— your protection. "Little Blue Flag" Varnish— the best. 

 Our free booklet, "Paint and Painting:"— is full of hard, practical paint 

 common-sense. Let us mail you a copy, tree, together with name 

 of your nearest " Hif^h Standard" agent. 



The Lowe Brothers Company, 450-456 E. TKird St.. Day(oi\. O. 



Palntmakers, Varnlshmakers New York Chicago Kansas City 



— Your 

 Protection 



A "CHICAGO" Dryer means Sanitary 



Clothes 



A Chicago Dryer is so ven- 

 tilated that a <"0«j/<2«/ current 

 of fresh air is kept circula- 

 ting at all times, leaving the 

 clothes fresh, puremAs^eet. 

 Clothes are dried in this 

 manner in a fra£lion of the 

 time required by ordinary 

 methods. Every Dryer is 

 a hsolutely gua ra nteed again st 

 discoloration of the clothes. 



Waste Heat Used. 



It costs absolutely nothing 

 to operate a Chicago Dryer 

 as heat ordinarily wasted 

 when boiling clothes, heat- 

 ing irons, etc. , used to heat 

 the Dryer. One Stove and 

 one fire is all that is required. 

 The CHICAGO Dryer consists of a metal cabinet, fireprooj, with sliding racks on which the clothes 

 are hung. Every Dryer is thorouglily inspected and guaranteed to be and do exactly as represented. 



We build :iiid equip Dryers for Residences, Apartment Buildings, Hotels. Hospitals and similar insti- 

 tutions. Special designs to meet special requirements. Send for our Illustrated Catalog No. Hit). 



CHICAGO DRYER CO., 381-383 Wabash Ave., CHICAGO 



Dryer and Laundry Stuve. 



Intend to Build? 



It will cost y(iu le. (postal card) to learn all about 



Cabot's Shingle Stains 



which may be very valuable to you. Samples on 

 wood of all colors will be sent, with circulars 

 and beautiful litho-watercolor sketches showing 

 harmonious color combinations. Ottr stains are 

 50 per cent, cheaper than paint and loo per cent, 

 better for shingles and all rough woodwork. ^ Mellen, Architect, New York 



SAMUEL CABOT, 131 Milk St., Boston, Mass. Agents at all Central Points 



eORTRlGHT METAL SHINGLES 













■ifS n w n 11 



NEVER LEAK 



THEY CANNOT 

 BURN, 



never need repairs, 

 last as long as the 

 building itself, and 

 with it all they 

 make the hand- 

 somest covering 



that can be put on any kind of a building — even a cheap ordinary building will stand 

 out as a landmark when covered with CORTRIGHT SHINGLES. 



CORTRIGHT METAL ROOFING CO., Philadelphia and Chicago 



floor. This is never quite so beautiful as the 

 fine waxed surface, but it may be made nearly 

 as fine looking by putting on several coats of 

 varnish and rubbing down each coat as soon 

 as it is dry. Following the varnished floor 

 comes the oiled floor. This may be clean and 

 beautiful if properly done. As a rule, oiled 

 floors are not satisfactory, because they are 

 carelessly oiled. The room should be perfectly 

 clean before the oil is applied. This should be 

 allowed to dry and then the boards should be 

 rubbed hard with a clean woolen cloth. Use 

 the best boiled linseed oil, and to each pint 

 add one pint of turpentine. All of these fin- 

 ishes may be applied to the natural or the 

 stained wood ; or the floor may be painted any 

 color and varnished. 



The best way to treat a floor that has been 

 subjected to various preparations until it has 

 become dirty looking and sticky is to give it 

 a thorough scraping. It is useless to try any 

 new treatment until the natural wood is 

 reached, and no amount of scrubbing will re- 

 move the hard, greasy crust formed by suc- 

 cessive coats of oil and varnish. If it is not 

 possible to obtain the regular scraper used by 

 workers in wood, sheet tin can be cut in 

 crescent form, using a common vegetable 

 chopper as a model for shape and size. A 

 small plane also answers the purpose. Both 

 the scraper and plane are generally found in 

 the tool-chests sold in toy shops. The worker 

 should begin at the upper end of the room and 

 follow the grain of the wood. As the layers 

 of varnish and paint scrape off, the accumu- 

 lation should be carefully swept up in order 

 to keep the freshly exposed surface perfectly 

 clean. Going over the floor with the glass 

 and sandpaper used by cabinetmakers in reno- 

 vating old furniture produces a fine polish 

 and remove any streaks left by the scraper. 

 After the floor has been smoothed with the 

 sandpaper it may be varnished, painted, or 

 stained, as may be desired. Shellac will give 

 a pine or natural wood effect, and possesses 

 the advantage of showing the dust very little. 

 Two coats should be applied, the second after 

 the first is thoroughly dry. When a darker 

 shade is desired, oak, cherry, or mahogany 

 stain may be used. When the second coat of 

 stain is dry the floor may be varnished and 

 waxed. The wax should be rubbed on with 

 a piece of chamois skin and left to dry, espe- 

 cially after the first application, for fully two 

 hours. Then the floor should be gone over 

 with the brush and lastly the entire surface 

 polished with chamois skin or heavy flannel 

 cloths. To do all this properly requires the 

 strength of a man. Of course, after the first 

 treatment the work is not so difficult, and a 

 floor can be kept in good condition by a weekly 

 rubbing with the brush. It may be dusted 

 daily and kept in good condition by going over 

 the entire surface with an ordinary broom over 

 which a large square of cheesecloth has been 

 wrapped. Occasionally a large piece of cheese- 

 cloth moistened with kerosene may be used 

 after all loose dust has been removed from 

 the floor with a soft brush. A few general 

 rules for staining woods will help anyone to 

 get the effect he or she may desire. The 

 wood to be stained should be clean, smooth, 

 and dry. The stain should be tried on a 

 piece of the same kind of wood as that on 

 which it is to be used, because different kinds 

 of woods absorb more or less of the coloring 

 material, as the grain is open or close. The 

 stain may be put on with a brush or with a 

 cloth, preferably the latter, because the stain 

 can be rubbed in with it. Measure the sur- 

 face to be stained, then mix the amount of 

 stain required for that amount of surface. 

 Rub the stain in and let it dry perfectly. It 

 should stand at least twenty-four hours and 

 then be gone over with a woolen cloth wet 

 in linseed oil, rubbing the oil in well. Let 



