﻿338 
  

  

  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  September, 
  1907 
  

  

  The 
  Gourd 
  Garden 
  Fully 
  Grown 
  Is 
  Thickly 
  Screened 
  with 
  Handsome 
  Foliage 
  

  

  specimens 
  should 
  be 
  used. 
  Take 
  a 
  bottle 
  gourd 
  and 
  cut 
  off 
  

   its 
  stem, 
  and 
  you 
  have 
  a 
  flower 
  vase; 
  make 
  a 
  cut 
  further 
  

   down, 
  and 
  you 
  have 
  a 
  jardiniere, 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  decorated 
  in 
  

   oil 
  colors 
  as 
  your 
  fancy 
  pleases; 
  make 
  another 
  cut 
  and 
  you 
  

   have 
  a 
  bowl. 
  This 
  may 
  be 
  decorated 
  in 
  pyrography 
  and 
  

   used 
  for 
  crackers, 
  fruits 
  or 
  other 
  purposes. 
  Even 
  a 
  plain 
  

   Hercules 
  club, 
  decorated 
  with 
  pyrography, 
  may 
  be 
  effectively 
  

   used 
  as 
  a 
  den 
  ornament. 
  They 
  can 
  be 
  transformed 
  into 
  musi- 
  

   cal 
  instruments, 
  forming 
  horns 
  with 
  quite 
  a 
  real 
  tone, 
  and 
  

   they 
  can 
  be 
  used 
  as 
  ball 
  clubs 
  for 
  light 
  work. 
  

  

  Sugar-troughs 
  can 
  be 
  put 
  to 
  many 
  useful 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  orna- 
  

   mental 
  purposes, 
  such 
  as 
  jardinieres, 
  seed-dishes 
  and 
  punch 
  

   bowls, 
  by 
  cutting 
  away 
  a 
  por- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  top 
  and 
  dec- 
  

   orating 
  with 
  oil 
  colors 
  or 
  

   pyrography. 
  Or 
  they 
  can 
  

   be 
  turned 
  into 
  drums 
  by 
  cut- 
  

   ting 
  away 
  a 
  quarter 
  of 
  the 
  

   top 
  and 
  stretching 
  a 
  parch- 
  

   ment 
  over 
  the 
  aperture. 
  

   Among 
  many 
  African 
  tribes 
  

   these 
  drums 
  have 
  a 
  practical 
  

   utility. 
  The 
  green 
  skin 
  of 
  

   a 
  young 
  goat 
  is 
  stretched 
  

   over 
  the 
  aperture, 
  drawn 
  

   very 
  tightly 
  and 
  allowed 
  to 
  

   dry 
  thoroughly. 
  Such 
  drums 
  

   yield 
  a 
  very 
  penetrating 
  

   sound 
  when 
  beaten, 
  and 
  are 
  

   used 
  as 
  a 
  wireless 
  system 
  of 
  

   communication 
  between 
  sep- 
  

   arated 
  tribes, 
  each 
  village 
  

   having 
  its 
  trained 
  drummers 
  

   who 
  will 
  send 
  these 
  signals 
  

   from 
  hill 
  to 
  hill 
  for 
  several 
  

   hundreds 
  of 
  miles. 
  

  

  The 
  dipper 
  gourd 
  is 
  the 
  

   easiest 
  variety 
  to 
  use, 
  and 
  

   permits 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  useful 
  

   applications. 
  They 
  make 
  

   beautiful 
  long-stemed 
  flower 
  

  

  vases. 
  Clip 
  off 
  the 
  top 
  and 
  

   use 
  as 
  a 
  fancy 
  perfume 
  bottle, 
  

   with 
  a 
  miniature 
  bottle 
  as 
  a 
  

   stopper. 
  Cutting 
  out 
  a 
  third 
  

   of 
  the 
  side 
  and 
  neatly 
  sand- 
  

   papering 
  the 
  edges 
  makes 
  a 
  

   good 
  dipper 
  and 
  an 
  attrac- 
  

   tive 
  article 
  for 
  decoration. 
  

   Cut 
  the 
  bulb 
  part 
  in 
  the 
  

   middle, 
  rounding 
  the 
  edges 
  

   with 
  sandpaper, 
  and 
  use 
  the 
  

   upper 
  part 
  as 
  a 
  calling 
  horn 
  

   or 
  megaphone, 
  and 
  one 
  will 
  

   be 
  surprised 
  with 
  the 
  sounds 
  

   that 
  can 
  be 
  made 
  and 
  the 
  

   audibleness 
  of. 
  words 
  at 
  a 
  

   considerable 
  distance. 
  The 
  

   bowl 
  part, 
  when 
  decorated 
  

   say 
  with 
  bronze 
  designs, 
  py- 
  

   rography 
  or 
  oil 
  colors, 
  makes 
  

   an 
  attractive 
  nut-bowl. 
  No 
  

   change 
  is 
  needed 
  to 
  trans- 
  

   form 
  this 
  into 
  a 
  child's 
  eating 
  

   dish, 
  save 
  a 
  spoon, 
  and 
  this 
  

   can 
  be 
  formed 
  from 
  a 
  spoon 
  

   gourd, 
  cut 
  as 
  a 
  perfect 
  spoon. 
  

   A 
  vase 
  can 
  be 
  made 
  by 
  

   taking 
  a 
  long 
  bottle 
  gourd 
  

   and 
  supporting 
  its 
  bulb 
  part 
  

   by 
  spoon 
  gourds 
  as 
  legs. 
  Miniature 
  bottles 
  can 
  be 
  trans- 
  

   formed 
  to 
  salts 
  or 
  peppers 
  by 
  puncturing 
  the 
  stem 
  and 
  mak- 
  

   ing 
  a 
  small 
  aperture 
  on 
  the 
  bottom, 
  which 
  should 
  be 
  closed 
  

   with 
  a 
  cork. 
  A 
  whole 
  tea 
  set, 
  in 
  fact, 
  can 
  be 
  made 
  from 
  

   the 
  various 
  varieties 
  that 
  any 
  one 
  can 
  grow 
  easily. 
  

  

  If 
  the 
  gourds 
  have 
  turned 
  black 
  or 
  rusty, 
  paint 
  them 
  and 
  

   cover 
  up 
  their 
  imperfections, 
  for 
  the 
  beauty 
  of 
  their 
  forms 
  

   will 
  still 
  be 
  preserved. 
  If 
  one 
  is 
  not 
  handy 
  with 
  the 
  brush, 
  

   they 
  may 
  be 
  decorated 
  with 
  cut-out 
  pictures 
  or 
  with 
  photo- 
  

   graphs 
  pasted 
  on. 
  In 
  short, 
  by 
  the 
  application 
  of 
  a 
  little 
  

   taste 
  and 
  ingenuity 
  a 
  host 
  of 
  beautiful 
  and 
  useful 
  objects 
  

   can 
  be 
  made 
  from 
  this 
  fruit 
  of 
  the 
  garden, 
  a 
  fruit 
  interesting 
  

  

  The 
  Gourd 
  Garden 
  in 
  Early 
  Spring 
  Is 
  a 
  Barren 
  Waste 
  of 
  Stones 
  and 
  Base 
  Supports 
  

  

  