xiv 



AMERI 



CAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



May, 1907 



SELECTING MANTELS 



To be able to select a good jnaiitel that 

 will properly Jit the roo77i for 

 which it is intended bespeaks 

 a liberal education 



The greatest care should be exercised in 

 the selection of a good mantel; it should be 

 the best that can be afforded, of design and 

 coloring that harmonizes perfectly with the 

 furnishings of the room and one which is not 

 the freakish thing of a season but a mantel 

 that you will grow to like better every time 

 you study it. 



If the readers of American Homes and 

 Gardens desire to take advantage of it, the 

 Hartford P'aience Company will be pleased to 

 place the services of their art department at 

 any reader's disposal for suggestions and help 

 in the selection of mantels. 



The suggestion given this month illustrates 

 a Faience mantel in dark green tiling of rough 

 texture. Fitted as it is between the two door- 

 ways, the framing of the mirror and all the 

 standing woodwork of rich mahogany be- 

 speaks excellent taste on the part of the 

 decorator. 



Other good designs of mantels are shown 

 in our Catalog M, which will be sent to any- 

 one interested. Address, THF HARTFORD 

 FAHiNCE CO., HARTFORD, CON- 

 NECTICUT. 



FREE 



HairFood 



TRIAL BOX 



To Prove its Worth 



The ONLY WAY to tell the cause of falling hair in men 

 and women is to make a MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION 

 of the hair. When the DISEASE is KNOWN the CURE 

 CAN BE PRESCRIBED. Send a few hairs to Prof. J. H. 

 Austin, the 30 years' Scalp Specialist and Bacteriologist 

 and receive Al!St>I,l 'I'lOl-V I KKi:, a diagnosis of 

 your case, a booklet on Care of Hair and Scalp and a bc>x 

 of the Remedy which he will prepare for you. Enclosa 

 2 cent postagb and write to-day. 



PROF. J. H. AUSTIN, 1321 McVicker's Tlicatre BIdg., Chicago.lU 



Baumruk's Fountain Brushes 



Regular garden hose used from 

 pail or water supply 



Time and money saved 

 cleaning Windows, 



Porches, 



Floors, 



Sidewalks, Etc. 



We make Fountain Brushes of 

 all kinds, for any work where 

 brush can be used. 



Price, $2.00 



Send for frte ciltahg. 



Baumruk Fountain Brush 



Co., (Inc.) 

 599 W. 26th St., Chicago 



way, by shifting the rows yearly, and practi- 

 cally making the bed over each season, one may 

 get fine crops of berries from the same piece 

 of ground for several years in succession, if he 

 uses fertilizers liberally. If the old plants have 

 become diseased, or the grub or maggot is 

 found among them, make new beds and change 

 the location of the strawberry patch to some 

 other part of the garden. Get strong, young 

 plants from the best growers. Set them out 

 early in the season and cultivate them well, in 

 order to put them in shape for producing a 

 good crop of fruit ne.xt year. Discarded beds 

 should be turned under as soon as their crop 

 of fruit has ripened, or burned over to kill the 

 old and probably diseased foliage. 



If raspberries and blackberries have not 

 been pruned, give attention to this matter at 

 once. Cut out all old wood and all diseased 

 or w'eak growth. By old wood, I mean such 

 portions of the plant as can not be expected to 

 produce fruit. This should have been removed 

 last fall. Small fruits should be provided for, 

 if this has not already been done. No garden 

 is complete without its currants, its gooseber- 

 ries, its grapes, its raspberries, blackberries 

 and strawberries. 



Lawn-making will be in order this month. 

 If the ground is uneven, fill in depressions 

 with loose soil, but pound it down well, as you 

 fill in, to prevent further settling, which will 

 result in an uneven surface. If you want the 

 finest kind of a sward, go over the ground 

 with something that will loosen it up and 

 pulverize it thoroughly. Then sow thickly 

 with the best lawn-grass mixture you can get. 

 It pays to be liberal in the matter of seeding. 

 Thick sowing means a fine show of grass early 

 in the season, and a thick, velvety sward there- 

 after. 



Shrubs can be set out as late as May 15th, 

 though I would advise planting them earlier, 

 if possible. Always buy the best stock on the 

 market. You will be sure of getting this if 

 you patronize the dealers who have established 

 a reputation on the basis of honesty and abso- 

 lute truthfulness. 



Go over your shrubs and thin them out 

 evenly. Cut away all weak wood. Do not 

 prune healthy branches, unless it is absolutely 

 necessary to do so in order to secure symmetry. 

 As a general thing, most shrubs do not need 

 this. Symmetry is one thing — formality quite 

 another. The average shrub will be pretty 

 sure to make a symmetrical development if let 

 alone. By pruning we torture it into unnat- 

 ural shapes. That is formality. Feed a plant 

 well, prune it when and as it needs pruning, 

 and trust it to take on the shape most becom- 

 ing to it without further assistance from you. 



Do not make your flower beds on the lawn. 

 Leave the green sward unscarred by them. 

 Have your garden somewhere at the side or the 

 rear. Do not attempt anything elaborate in 

 shaping your beds. Shape is soon lost sight 

 of after the plants in them have made a little 

 growth. Depend upon the flower for beauty, 

 not upon its setting. 



If you would secure the most satisfactory 

 results, don't mix your plants. In other 

 words, keep each kind by itself. Have as 

 many kinds as you have room for and time to 

 take care of, but give each kind its own bed, 

 as a general thing. Of course, this rule, like 

 all other rules, has its exceptions. We often 

 secure pleasing effects by bordering a bed with 

 a plant which contrasts well in form and color 

 with the plant given greatest prominence in 

 the bed. But the observant amateur will soon 

 discover that the effect depends upon the sub- 

 ordination of the border plant to the other. 

 It must never dispute the claims of the other 

 to prominence. From this we deduce the rule 

 that plants can not be combined satisfactorily 

 unless one is willing to take the secondary 

 place in the combination. Attempt to grow 



Old End ish Garden Seats, Garden Houses, Rustic 

 Furniture, Bay Tree Boxes 



NORTH SHORE FERNERIES, Beverly, Mass. 



Also Hardy Flowers Feme Send for Catalogue 



Take of f your Hat to the 



For whether ; 



'are AhvaysBaal 



ntrn itnn t» 1»» maf* "*% ifi » 



hargalm t i Mt t wWa fm taj ftM MHEK 

 ui^Pat* o«wot aim dDM prtna MU*. 



r. R. MYERS & BRO. | ou» 



Mexican Palm Leaf Hat 



Hand woven by Mexicans in Mexico from palm 

 fiber. Double weave, durable and light weight, 

 with colored design in brim. Retails at SI, 

 Postpaid for 50c.. 2 for 90c-, to introduce 

 our Mexican hats and drawn-work. Same ^ 



hat. plain, 4Uc. ; both for 75c. La^E*- ~ '"J i --^i-.m' 

 medium and small sizes. Fine for fishing, ^^^^^fi^^ii^y^^^ 

 outings and gardening. Art Catalogue of ^^-^.JL^'^lff*'**'*''"**^ 



igs and gardening. Art (Jatalogu 

 Mexican Sombreros free. 



THE FRANCIS E. LESTER CO., Dept. AF5. Mcsilla Park, N. H. 



L,ir^,-l Rft.iih-rt Indian- Mexican Handicraft in the M'orld 











POT 









m 





Anchor 

 Fence 



combines service and 

 long life with a hand- 

 The man who encloses hif 

 Many 



some appearance that is permanent. 



grounds with ANCHOR FFNCE never regrets his choice 

 styles from wliich to select, suitable for yards, spacious lawns, parks 

 cemeteries, etc. Before you hnv f( nre a^ain write for our Fence 

 R-^.>k 20 fnr pr^riic.ihrs. ANCHOR FENt'E h MFG. CO.. fleveland, 0. 



SPECIAL OFFER to Carpenters 



BUILDERS AND OWNERS OF HOMES 



IVES PATENT WINDOW VENTI* 

 ■v LATINO LOCK. A Safeguard 

 H for Ventilating Rooms. Pure Air, 

 |[|, Good Health and Rest Assured, 

 illllllil. introduce this article. Foot 

 Ventilatine Locks in Genuine 

 iBronze, Brass or Antique Co^ 

 per Finish will be mailed to 

 'any address prepaid for One 

 Dollar. Will include a forty- 

 page Hardware Catalogue and 

 Workine Model to carpenter! 

 who wish the agency to canratt 

 for its tale. Addresi 



The H. B. Ives Co.^.^':;.. 



HAVEN. 

 U. S. A. 



Van Dorn 

 Ironworks Co. 



PRISON, HOUSE 

 STABLE WORKJi"' 



JOIST HANGERS 

 LAWN FURNITURE 

 FENCING, ETC. 



CLEVELAND, OHIO 



Standing Seam 

 ROOF IRONS 



PLINCH right chrough the 

 ^ standing seam of metal 

 roofs. No rails are needed 

 unless desired. We make a 

 similar one for slate roofs. 



SEND FOR CIRCULAR 



BERGER BROS. CO. 



R H I L_ A D E 1_ P H I A 



