XI 1 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



May, 1907 



Ref inish 



Your Furniture 



Do it Yourself 



Old finish partially 

 removeil with John- 

 son's Electric Solvo. 



Interesting, simple and 

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 an easy matter to finish 

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 floors in Weathered, 

 Mission, Forest Green, Flem- 

 ish, Mahogany and other 

 latest effects at little cost with 

 Johnson's Wood Dye and 

 Johnson's Prepared Wax. 

 Always remove old finish before putting on 

 the new finish. It is impossible to produce 

 a good finish by applying new finish over the 

 old finish. Apply our Dye to the clean, 

 bare wood and when dry apply our Wax 

 with cloth and rub to a polish with dry 

 cloth. A beautiful wax finish will be immediately produced. 



Our book explains how to change the color and finish of furniture 

 to harmonize with your woodwork and furnishings. 



We save you money by telling how old, discarded, poorly 

 finished furniture can be made serviceable and stylish. 



Johnson's Wood Dyes for the artistic colorinir of woods (all shades) half-pint 

 cans SO cents, jiint cans 5U cents. 



Johnson's Prepared Wax — 10 and 25c. packages and large size cans. Sold by 

 all dealers in paint. 



Postpaid upon receipt of price if your dealer will not supply you. W rite 

 for 48-page color book- — "The Proper Treatment for Floors, Woodwork and furniture." 

 Regular 25c. edition sent free for hmited fime — mention edition AH5. 



S. C. Johnson & Son, Racine, Wis. 



"77/6' Wood-Finishing Authorities.''' 



cTVIcCrajr 

 Refrigerators 



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 CATALOGUES AND ESTIMATES Catalogue No. 8i for Residences ; No. 46 for Hotels, Restaur- 

 ants, Clubs, Public Institutions, etc.; No. 57 for Meat Markets 5 

 Xo. 64 for (irocers ; No. 71 for Florists. 



ARE SENT FREE 



Branches in all 

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McCRAY REFRIGERATOR CO., L^ndl'iLrUri 



GARDEN WORK FOR MAY 



By Eben E. Rexford 



SEED can not be safely sown in the open 

 ground, at the North, before the first of 

 May, and frequently not until the middle 

 of the month. Exception should be made, 

 however, in regard to peas and other very 

 hardy vegetables. These can be put into the 

 ground as soon as it can be properly vi^orked. 

 Development will be slow while the weather 

 remains cool, and plants from seed sown after 

 the weather has become warm and settled will 

 almost invariably get the start of those from 

 early sowings. All that is gained is — so much 

 work is disposed of. 



Weeding must begin as soon as the seed- 

 lings are large enough to enable one to distin- 

 guish between them and weeds. Most of the 

 weeding can be done rapidly and well by the 

 use of the garden cultivator. But, at first, it 

 will be necessary to pull out the weeds in the 

 rows, among the vegetables, by hand. Those 

 close to the rows, where it would hardly be 

 safe to run the cultivator, can be uprooted 

 with the weeding-hook — a most efficient little 

 instrument, costing only ten or fifteen cents. 



Frequently seed will fail to germinate 

 evenly. There will be vacant places which 

 must be filled by transplanting seedlings from 

 the rows where there are more plants than can 

 be allowed to remain. This can be done 

 safely if one takes pains to disturb the roots 

 as little as possible. Do not pull up the seed- 

 ling you propose to remove, but pick it away 

 from those among which it grows with a sharp 

 piece of wood — like a toothpick, but larger 

 and longer — in such a manner that some soil 

 adheres to it — enough to prevent the exposure 

 of the tender and delicate roots to the air. If 

 this is done, and a cloudy, lowering day is 

 chosen for transplanting, not one seedling out 

 of fifty need be lost. Make a little hole in the 

 ground for the reception of the plant, corre- 

 sponding as nearly as possible in depth to the 

 length of its young roots. Take the plant 

 between the thumb and finger of the left hand, 

 drop it into the hole, and with the fingers of 

 the right hand draw the soil about it as firmly 

 as can be done without exerting much pres- 

 sure. If transplanting must be done in sunny 

 weather, shade the plants for two or three 

 days. If the season happens to be a dry one, 

 it is an excellent plan to cover the soil imme- 

 diately about the plants with road-dust. This 

 prevents the too rapid evaporation of moisture 

 from the soil. 



When your plants have fairly got under 

 headway, attend to thinning out the rows 

 where they are too thick. Never allow unnec- 

 essary plants to remain and rob the others of 

 the richness of the soil. In the case of beets, 

 or other vegetables which can be used as 

 "greens," this thinning out need not be all done 

 at once. Pull the surplus plants as you can 

 make use of them. 



A good word may be said for the dandelion. 

 If a small space in the garden is given up to 

 this plant, it can be grown to large size, and 

 the rich earth in which it is planted expedites 

 its growth to such an extent that its leaves are 

 tender. 



Look over the strawberry beds and decide 

 if new ones are needed. If you conclude to 

 make new plantings, let the old bed concen- 

 trate all its efforts on the production of fruit. 

 But if you think it advisable to continue the 

 old beds for another season, go between the 

 rows with the garden cultivator and tear up 

 the soil well, to put it in condition for the 

 reception of the runners which the plants in 

 the row will send out by and by. Later in 

 the season, when runners have taken hold of 

 the soil and developed into strong plants, spade 

 up the old plants. Turn them under. In this 



