HOUSE AND GARDEN 
August, 
19 1 3 
hi 
The Right Use of Evergreens 
(Continued from page 99) 
of activity we may be laboring. If we fail 
to achieve beauty, it is simply because we 
have not recognized — or have not been 
willing to be guided by — truth, so keen 
has been the thirst for novelty. Beware 
of novelty always, therefore; and especial¬ 
ly when it comes in the form of as perma¬ 
nent a thing as a tree or shrub! Among 
flowers it may be endured and even 
adopted sometimes, but nowhere else in the 
garden. Stick to the truth. Plant rhodo¬ 
dendrons in places that rhododendrons 
would choose; that is, within the at least 
partial shade of trees, under their drip 
— never on an open lawn, unshielded and 
unsheltered, or against house walls where 
they sit painfully upright, in conscious and 
unlovely stiffness. Plant arborvitaes or 
cedars as thickly as you wish in any loca¬ 
tion save this same unhappy and unnatural 
one, and stick to whichever kind you, 
choose, remembering always that they 
grow in time to fifty or sixty feet in 
height. Dispense with the fancy Retino- 
sporas and the Biotas altogether; or else 
select one or another that suits your par¬ 
ticular requirements, and use it and no 
other. 
In certain formal schemes, the tiny 
Biota- orientalis aurea nana is undoubtedly 
a delightful sunshiny little exclamation 
point, cheerful and happy and optimistic 
in every line and branch. But it is quite 
as unadaptable as all its lordly tribe, and 
should never be mingled with other vari¬ 
eties. 
Plant the pine and hemlock and fir just 
as you would any other forest denizen — 
never very close to your dwelling or to any 
building, yet within sociable proximity — 
always bearing in mind their future state 
of rugged majesty, not so very far dis¬ 
tant, even though they may be only very 
little chaps when they are set out. Gen¬ 
erally speaking, the white pine — Pinus 
strobus — is perhaps the most desirable of 
evergreen trees for average situations. 
Its soft and delicate texture distinguishes 
it with a peculiarly exquisite beauty, and 
to my mind it is quite the most lovely of 
all the evergreens in the world. 
For very exposed situations, however, 
Nordmann’s fir — Abies Nordmanniana — 
is probably the best choice that one can 
make, and this, too, is a splendid tree. The 
Colorado blue spruce — Abies concolor —- 
used in a group where a group is possible, 
is quite another thing from the isolated 
freak specimens commonly planted. This 
tree has a legitimate place and a very real 
beauty when legitimately used, but we 
have had it so continually offered as a 
specimen of abnormal color that it has 
come to be regarded hardly as a tree at all, 
in the ordinary normal sense. To me 
personally, its color peculiarity is rather 
less of an advantage than otherwise, ex¬ 
cept as it is used in groups of itself, or 
else quite alone without other evergreens 
about it. 
The Norway spruce is another useful 
T he owner of this beautiful 
residence at Elkhart, Indiana, 
enjoys his Bath Room as much as 
any room in the house. It, together 
with the Kitchen, Pantry andLaun- 
dry, is equipped with the most 
modern fixtures from the Wolff fac¬ 
tories which harmonize perfectly 
with the architecture of the home. 
Get our booklet on Bath Room 
Suggestions. 
L.Wolff Manufacturing Co. 
Plumbing Goods Exclusively 
MAIN OFFICES—601-627 W. LAKE ST. 
SHOWROOMS—111 N. DEARBORN ST. 
CHICAGO 
BRANCHES: DENVER. OMAHA. MINNEAPOLIS. DALLAS. 
ROCHESTER 
POTTERY. TRENTON. N. J 
’ Hill 7hmock - Architect 
Has all food compartments of One Piece of Solid 
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rounded edges and corners ; without Joints, Cracks 
or Sharp Corners. Fired at about 2500° of heat for ten 
days. Practically Unbreakable. Made just like the finest 
china dish. The Sanitary permanence of the pure white 
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in connection with our five inch thick walls the 
smooth solid oak case and other patented and 
exclusive features are why the 
Solid Porcelain Refrigerator is the only perm¬ 
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which will give a life time of most satisfactory 
service. Made in all sizes. Special ones to order. 
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