February, 1912 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
borhood is permitted to pick one every 
day. 
One morning I was looking out the 
kitchen window. Two little farmer girls 
came from the alley through the board 
gate of the board fence. My circular 
spray was throwing a lace-like mist into 
the air near the pretty little willow tree 
in the center of the back lawn. The little 
girls stopped and one of them said, “Oh, 
this is just like fairyland!” 
Somehow I - forgot the fresh blisters 
which had made me cuss in the morning. 
I forgot the lame back which I had sat 
down to rest. I knew it was not really 
fairyland; it was really not like fairyland; 
it was just a back yard, and I don’t like 
to be sentimental. But that miserable lit¬ 
tle patch of ground looked to me that 
morning more like heaven with a couple 
of angels in it than anything else I have 
ever seen in a hard, drilling, heartless 
business career. 
I wouldn’t bother you with this if I 
knew anything about gardening, and flow¬ 
ers and vegetables; I know nothing. I 
never before produced anything in the 
line of flowers except a check to pay the 
florist with. But I read House and 
Garden, and got interested and got busy, 
and made our desert bloom. 
I am just a roomer in the house, that is 
all; a mere crabbed bachelor. Try it, boys. 
It beats the Club all to thunder. 
Order Your Shrubs for Spring- 
Delivery 
Another good thing to do now is to go 
over your nurseryman’s catalogue and 
pick out some ornamental shrubs to plant 
this spring. They will need the minimum 
of care, and give you beautiful results for 
years to come. Good specimens of a great 
many varieties are to be had for twenty- 
five cents apiece. Surely you can afford 
four of them, and in what better way 
could you possibly spend a dollar? Order 
them now, while you think of it, because 
if you let it go till spring you’ll never get 
time to do it. They will be forwarded at 
the proper season, when it will take you 
possibly an hour, at the most, to set them 
out. There will be an immediate return 
of several hundred per cent, on your in¬ 
vestment, in the improved looks of your 
place. Nothing is more surprising than 
the effectiveness of a few good shrubs 
judiciously placed. 
Rose Bushes from Blossoms 
I WAS first led to try this “vvhistle-from- ' 
a-pig's-tail” performance when a 
friend gave me a great, creamy, waxy 
Frau Karl Druschki rose, all too wonder¬ 
ful to live but its three little days. 
So, when the blossorti was gone, I cut 
all but the two top leaves from the stem, 
iamoniJTire# 
T he dealer who sells you 
DIAMOND TIRESis 
thinking of your profit as 
well as his own-^he is “tire-wise” 
-and believes in trading up- 
rather than trading down. 
C. He can buy cheaper tires than 
DIAMOND TIRES, and make a 
larger one-time profit, but he 
cannot sell you better tires. 
C, The dealer who sells you DIAMOND TIRES 
can be depended upon when he sells you other 
things he believes in service — in integrity. 
He’s reliable. 
In addition to dependable dealers 
everywhere, there are FIFTY-FOUR 
Diamond Service Stations. Diamond 
Service means more than merely sell¬ 
ing tires—it means taking care of 
Diamond Tire buyers. 
Thci)iainontI libber (S 
AKRON, OHIO 
Jccou 
Waterpioof the wood yet preserve its natural surface 
Dexter Brothers English Shingle Stains 
are mixed with pure linseed aud' special Dexter presen'ative 
oUs wh’cli waterproof the wood as well as bring out the beauty 
of the grain, ^yhen used on shingles, tlie soft, velvety ap¬ 
pearance of the furze is retained. Paint entirely conceals the 
surface and destroys the “texture.” 
Only the best English ground ingments are used. Tlie full, 
strong color lasts long after other stains have faded or 
turned black. 
Dexter Brothers English Shingle Stain costs far less than 
paint, and will outwear paint or any other stain. 
Write for booklet and 22 stained miniature' shingles. 
DEXTER BROS. CO., .115 Broad St., Boston, .Mass, 
218 Race St., Philadelphia, Pa. 1133 Broadway, N. Y. 
Makers of PETRIFAX CEMENT COATING 
AGENTS: H. M. Hooker «fc Co., Chicago; E. B. 
Totten. St. Louis; F. H. McDonald, Grand Rapids; 
h. T. Crowe «& Co., Seattle, SpjDkane.* Tacoma. Wash., 
and Portland, Ore.; Sherman Kimball, San Fran¬ 
cisco; Hoffschlager & Co., Honolulu; AND DEALERS. 
bringa 
out the 
RraiP. 
gives A 
soft, 
velvety 
Pamt 
hides t.he 
spoils 
the 
natural 
In writing to advertisers please mention House and Garden. 
