Xll 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GA 



R D E N S 



December, 1907 



This is where we manufacture our Monarch Porcelain Ware 

 Trenton, New Jersey 



Uniformity of Design 



Architects DO appreciate the fact that by specifying 

 Wolff Plumbing Material exclusively they are 

 protecting their clients from the annoying con- 

 fusion of design and mechanical standards that 

 is sure to creep into even the most carefully 

 selected line of "assembled" plumbing equipment. 



L. WOLFF 



MANUFACTURING 

 COMPANY 



Established 1855 



Manufacturers of PLUMBING GOODS EXCLUSIVELY 



The Only Complete Line Made by Any One Firm. 



Showrooms: 91 Dearborn St. 

 Denver CHICAGO Trenton 



Paint 



That Wears 



is Paii\t Based on 



Oxide of Zinc 



THE NEW JERSEY ZINC CO, 



71 Broadway, New York 



We do not grind z! c in oil. A list of manufacturers of zinc paints sent on application. 



GARDEN NOTES FOR 

 DECEMBER 



DO NOT neglect to take in the lawn- 

 mower, and all other tools used about 

 the home grounds, before the closing in 

 of winter. To leave these exposed to the 

 w eather the year round is to shorten their 

 usefulness at least a third. Neglected tools 

 are never in satisfactory working condition. 



Last season I had an old hoe, which had 

 outlived its usefulness in its original shape, cut 

 into V-shape at the blacksmith shop. This 

 1 found extremely useful in working among 

 seedling plants, as its point enabled me to pick 

 weeds away from the seedlings growing near 

 them without disturbing the latter in the least. 

 This one can not do very well with the ordi- 

 nary wide-bladed hoe. Another hoe was cut 

 away on each back corner, leaving the blade 

 a-^ wide in front as it was originally, but only 

 an inch in depth at its ends. This reduction 

 of its surface prevented it from clogging when 

 working in damp soil, and just as much work 

 could be done with it as with a hoe of ordi- 

 nary width. 



If the cellar wall is high and exposed, bank- 

 ing may have to be resorted to to keep out 

 frost. This ought to be done before very cold 

 weather sets in. Frozen soil will not pack 

 down compactly. Make the bank rather 

 wide, and slope it at such an angle that boards 

 can be laid over it, overlapping in shingle 

 fashion, to carry off rain. A dry soil keeps 

 out the cold much more effectively than a 

 wet one. It also prevents a good deal of the 

 dampness which is found in many cellars, 

 banked in such a manner that the soil used 

 becomes wet with fall rains, and remains in 

 that condition throughout the winter. Of 

 course freezing puts an end to the moisture's 

 seeping through the wail, but it does not re- 

 move the disagreeable and unsanitary condi- 

 tions which result from defective banking on 

 the interior of the cellar. 



Let me put in a plea for the above-ground 

 cellar. I would never use a cellar under the 

 dwelling for the storing of vegetables. Noth- 

 ing more unsanitary can well be imagined. 

 Alany a case of typhoid and diphtheria has 

 been directly traced to the germ-breeding at- 

 mosphere of the cellar, laden with the poi- 

 sonous gases from decaying vegetable matter. 

 An aboveground cellar is more convenient to 

 every way. It is easier to clear. It costs but 

 little more than the old-style cellar. It can 

 be s(j arranged that light, heat and ventilation 

 can be regulated to suit the requirements of 

 the season and the weather much more effec- 

 tively than in an underground cellar. The 

 man who makes himself a new home makes 

 a serious mistake by locating his cellar under 

 the dwelling simply because others have done 

 so so long that few think of putting it any- 

 where else. Study up on the advantages of 

 a cellar aboveground if you contemplate 

 building. 



We are in the habit of thinking that the 

 cellar requires but little attention until quite 

 late in the season — along toward spring; in 

 fact, such is not the case. More attention is 

 needed now, and a little later, than at any 

 other time. Many of the vegetables stored 

 away will begin to deca\' almost from the 

 time of storage. This is especially true of 

 im,perfect, injured or unripe ores. If these 

 are removed promptly, those which remain are 

 pretty sure to keep well, and much of the gen- 

 eral unsanitariness which characterizes the 

 average cellar during the earlier spring 

 m.onths can be avoided. Therefore let me 

 urge at least a weekly inspection of the con- 

 tents of your cellar, and a sorting out of all 

 vegetables v hich show a tendency to decay 

 and contamira'e others with which they come 

 in contact. Attention of this kind, given now, 



