HOUSE AND GARDEN 
November, 
i9 J 3 
335 
YourDecoratingQ 
and Furnishing f 
Problems :: 
S O many inquiries 
have been received 
by HOUSE & 
GARDEN seeking hints 
and advice for the deco¬ 
rating and furnishing of 
houses that some time 
ago we made the experi¬ 
ment of organizing this 
work into a special de¬ 
partment. 
We invite you to solicit 
our services regarding the 
perplexities of furniture 
arrangement and style; 
the proper treatment of 
walls, woodwork, floor 
coverings, lighting fix¬ 
tures, and hangings ap¬ 
propriate to your need. 
We also wish to assist 
those living far away 
from the great shopping 
centers to get ideas of 
the new .and interesting 
things that are constantly 
appearing in the beauti¬ 
ful shops of this city. 
We hope in this way to 
give auxiliary information 
to that contained in the 
magazine — and to help 
practically those whom 
we have directed through 
our columns. 
Requests for any infor¬ 
mation should be accom¬ 
panied by return postage. 
The case should be stated 
as clearly and tersely as 
possible, giving enough 
data to make the require¬ 
ments of the situation 
evident. 
HOUSE & GARDEN 
DECORATIVE DEPT . 
McBride, Nast & Co. 
31 East 17th St., New York City 
is still comparatively warm on account, 
frequently, of its connection with the 
lower and warmer parts of the soil through 
the taproot of the tree. Freezing a wood 
cell draws all the water out of the 
cell wall and collects it in a crystal in the 
center of the cell. When this happens the 
cell wall has to contract. If, in a cold 
snap, the periphery of the trunk contracts 
suddenly, before the inner part has time to 
cool and contract proportionately, some¬ 
thing has to give way, and a frost crack is 
the result. After the crack is once formed 
sap flows into it, and, freezing, enlarges 
and perpetuates the opening. Bark pres¬ 
sure being removed from the contiguous 
cambium, it is stimulated to greater than 
ordinary growth and soon devolops “lips.” 
Frost cracks should be attended to 
promptly, for they are frequent sources of 
infection. If the injury is discovered soon 
after it occurs, the crack should be painted 
with liquid grafting wax, and if possible 
filled with grafting wax or cotton batting 
dipped in hot tar or asphalt. When cal¬ 
luses form their union should be facili¬ 
tated by lightly scraping their approaching 
surfaces in spring. In extreme cases, if 
unsightly lips have been formed which 
offer no hope of ever growing together, 
the entire ridge can be sawed off and the 
wood covered with a strip of sheet iron. 
In most instances it will be enough if a 
dressing (but not an unsightly one) is kept 
over the crack in order to keep out fungis 
spores. The cracks open in very cold 
weather, and that is the best time to put in 
fillings or to apply dressings. Scraping 
the bark increases the liability of a tree to 
suffer from frost cracks. 
Lightning and other electrical phenom¬ 
ena affect the trees in many different 
ways. Lightning often smashes a tree all 
to pieces. Usually, however, it breaks a 
few branches out of the top and then 
passes down the trunk to the ground. As 
the moisture parts of the tree are the best 
conductors, the electricity almost invari¬ 
ably takes its course down the cambium 
and the sapwood just below it. The 
course is usually rather narrow, oftenest 
three or four inches wide, though some¬ 
times there are two or more such courses 
down the trunk. The wood offers sufficient 
resistance to the electricity to produce a 
high degree of heat. This heat instantly 
vaporizes the sap and it is the pressure of 
the steam thus produced which rips the 
long ribbons of bark and splinters of wood 
out of the trunk. The only thing to do 
with these long scars in the tree is to clean 
them of frayed and isolated and loosened 
wood and to paint them. 
There is no certainty, after all, that this 
treatment will end the story, for lightning 
affects trees in strange ways. In some 
cases physiological injuries accompany the 
physical ones and cause immediate or 
gradual death. Again, a tree will be 
killed by lightning without the infliction of 
any physical injury. In still other cases, 
trees standing near a tree will succumb 
with it, although apparently unhurt. 
ihe Kemedy ror 
Faucet Troubles 
I F you hear a “buzz-uzz- 
ump!” in the water- 
pipes, don’t blame the 
plumber, blame the old- 
fashioned noisy faucets. 
It’s their fault, not his. 
Install Quick-pression and 
you’ll never hear any such 
noises. What’s more you’ll have 
faucets that are extremely beau¬ 
tiful in appearance; that open 
and close with only a quarter- 
turn of the handle; and that last 
as long as the house. 
Send for free, interesting booklet, 
“Faucet Facts,” and ask your plumber to 
show you the faucets. Always look for 
the name “Quick-pression” and the 
guaranty tag. 
The Central Brass Mfg. Co. of Cleveland 
Originators and Sole Manufacturers of 
Quick-pression Faucets 
6119 Cedar Ave., S. E., Cleveland, Ohio 
No. 21, Blue Bird No. 22, Woodpecker No. 23, Wren 
ARTISTIC BIRD HOUSES 
by Parcel Post prepaid. Your choice for $1.25, three for $3.50. 
Made in a proper way of the sweet smelling Jersey Cedar. 
Autumn is conceded to be the proper time to put up these 
houses. Send 6c. In stamps for new Booklet describing our bird 
goods, and giving lots of useful information. 
The Crescent Co., “Birdville,” Toms River, N. J. 
In writing to advertisers please mention House & Garden. 
