November, 1916 
45 
from taxes, is so largely problematical that 
if it is not ignored altogether, it is usually 
“lumped off” or left with a vague faith 
that somehow it will be decent enough to 
stay within bounds. 
This is wrong. The secondary cost—the 
overhead—of land should be estimated and 
figured in, quite as certainly as the cost of 
tires and gasoline and what not is figured 
in when an automobile is purchased. Gar¬ 
dens will supply vegetables, to be sure, but 
not by any magic processes, unless you are 
content with salads of ragweed and chicory, 
plantains boiled or baked, and delicacies of 
such unusual character. Beware of the man 
who tells you that he works ten or fifteen 
minutes in his garden every morning before 
breakfast, and that it supplies all the family 
vegetables. Either he is lying about the 
length of time he works in it or the quanti¬ 
ties of vegetables it vields, or else there is 
a hired man or a half-grown youngster, 
or a devoted housewife who puts in the 
other two hours a day which are required. 
Why, just to pick the vegetables which 
a fair-sized garden produces will occupy an 
hour daily, along with watching for the 
bugs and blights that are always hanging 
around, and keeping up plant succession. 
So again: every foot of land costs some¬ 
thing, apart from the taxes, after you have 
bought and paid for it, unless you let it 
run absolutely to weeds. Every flower and 
every shrub you own or acquire contributes 
to your “overhead”; and never a head of 
lettuce comes out of your ground and on to 
your table without a cost as definite and real 
as the ten cents you would have paid into 
the green-grocer’s hand in exchange for it. 
So the question is, how much is this cost ? 
How is the amount of it to be determined, 
without trying it all out? How on earth 
is an intelligent choice to be made? Really, 
it is almost as difficult for the man with 
thousands a year as for the man with hun¬ 
dreds. Each is as likely as the other to get 
something he does not want. 
For bound up and inextricably entangled 
with each other are these economic con¬ 
siderations of like and dislike, of habits 
formed, of work to be done, family needs 
to be met, and the esthetic soul demands. 
Is there room for any such distracting an 
element as enthusiasm in the deliberations 
upon this matter? Is there room for any¬ 
thing but the most calm and cool-headed 
caution? It seems to me there is not. 
A Continual Expense 
I have said that every foot of land con¬ 
tinually costs you something, after it is 
bought and paid for. To this proposition 
another must now be added: up to a cer¬ 
tain point, it is absolutely impossible for 
land itself to return you anything. In other 
words, there must be continual outgo or 
overhead, with no income; as with a manu¬ 
factory, let us say, where the wheels go 
round and raw materials are consumed, but 
the product is not sufficient for the small 
margin of profit to cover the total cost of 
these materials, the handling, and the power 
which makes the wheels turn. 
This phase of it is not altogether a ques¬ 
tion of the amount of land, though the 
amount is of course important. The cir¬ 
cumstances and manner of handling are 
large factors in the case. 
Between the plot of land that is all outgo 
and no return, and the holding that can be¬ 
come actually profitable as a home, there 
are all sorts and conditions of places. To 
many it does not matter whether income 
approaches within sight of outgo or not; to 
many more, it does matter a great deal. To 
some, it is important that income shall more 
than balance expenditure for maintenance, 
although it is not my purpose here to go 
into this phase of the question of home 
purchase to any extent. 
A plot of three lots, or 60' x 100' is 
as much as one suburbanite can take care 
of himself, if he is to have any time off 
for golf, swimming, motoring or any other 
of the lighter occupations of summer. And 
by “take care of” I mean keep neat, with 
well-trimmed lawn, spick and span edges 
and no weeds among the flowers nor insects 
to chew and disfigure them. If there is 
a hedge, he will have one strenuous week in 
spring with it, and another in August, with 
nibbles in between, to keep it shapely. 
Of course, there are many suburban 
dwellers who do a great deal more than 
care for 60'xl00'; but their gardens are 
at the expense of something else, every time. 
It is a matter of what a man is willing to 
give up, and keep on giving up, of the rela¬ 
tive value to him of other things, of whether 
or not he likes to potter around and keep 
busy over lawns and flowers and vege¬ 
tables instead of over golf or tennis balls. 
There is no efficiency in a large place un¬ 
less it is large enough to demand the entire 
time of a gardener, and to return conse¬ 
quently a sufficient amount in personal 
satisfaction to make up the equation. A 
man hired for one day a week can do 
about what has been outlined above as pos- 
(Continued on page 64) 
Because it has been used extensively on porches, many folks do not consider willow, 
rattan or reed suitable for winter use. This is quite wrong. A piece of willow, suitably 
upholstered, will lighten up a room furnished with darker pieces. It can be painted to 
match any color scheme. For the sun room and the enclosed porch it is eminently 
fitted. For further suggestions write HOUSE Sr GARDEN, 440 Fourth Avenue, New 
York City 
A pleasant grouping can be made in a living- 
room. Radiator and flower box. 4' x 3' x 1', 
$30; armchair, $18; cushions, $3 up; round 
table, $14.50; Chinese work basket with jade 
ring and silk tassels, $5 
In a sunny bedroom corner can be set the 
group shown above. Chaise longue, enameled 
antique blue. $50; cushions, $15; table to 
match, $27.50; lamp, including silk shade, 
$20; Chinese fruit basket, $2.50 
