SUGGESTIONS FOR THE MONTH 
FOR THE HOUSE AND GARDEl 
TH E HOUSE 
I F proper attention has been given to the house 
during the preceding months there should not 
be much which requires immediate attention 
in February. This should, in fact, be one of those 
in-between-times when the householder has oppor¬ 
tunity to enjoy the fruit of his or her labor and to plan 
a little ahead. 
It is well to determine at this time )ust what repairs 
are needed and wdiat alterations had best be made 
when spring arrives and such things can be done 
most readily. Lists made from time to time are very 
helpful when work is systematized even though many 
of the items may have to be checked off for economic 
reasons. 
Try the e.xperiment, if the winter has seemed long 
and the days somewhat monotonous, of rearranging 
the furniture m some of the rooms, breaking up the 
set formality that common usage has brought about, 
and introducing a little pleasant variety, flood discov¬ 
eries are made some times by chance and a more con¬ 
venient arrangement hit upon by accident. Not that 
one would recommend perpetual unrest or continual 
alteration, for nothing could he more disturbing than 
this, but rather draw attention to the fact that even 
on this “ straight and narrow path ” there is danger of 
stepping off' on the wrong side, of letting the chairs 
drift hack into corners and tables shove themselves 
tightly against the wall. 
There are lots of little things which can be done for 
the house at this time which have been crowded out 
of the other months and will greatly add to the com¬ 
fort of the family— those odds and ends which after 
all make the distinction between the furnished house 
and the private home. Look over the closets, have 
the doors which catch adjusted, and hinges which 
squeak oiled. Indeed it is not a bad idea to have the 
rugs taken up some warm, bright day (even in Febru¬ 
ary one will occasionally be found ) and have them 
swept and shaken out-of-doors. Moth and rust have 
been known to corrupt in February as well as in 
June. 
It is this month that the library will probably come 
into most frequent use so it is not ill-advised at this 
time to give it special attention. Do not have the 
windows so curtained that they neither give light nor 
can be approached, let the books be accessible and 
the chairs comfortable. The open shelves are un¬ 
doubtedly much more troublesome to the one whose 
duty it is to keep them dusted than the closed cases, 
but if the householder wants to make companions of 
his books he will scarcely wish to keep them behind 
glass doors. It is best also, if the shelves are built 
into the house, to have them moderately low rather 
than as was once the fashion way up to the ceiling, 
this simplifies their care and adds to their conven¬ 
ience. 
The decorations in a library should obviously be 
simple. 1 here should not be many paintings on the 
walls and they should be decorative rather than pic¬ 
torial in character—a type which engenders reflection 
rather than awakens thought. Etchings and engra¬ 
vings are peculiarly suitable for a library, and panels 
of carved wood, tapestry, or metal work may be used 
effectively. 
It is a curious thing that more sculpture is not used 
in the decoration of the better type of American 
home, for nothing could he more attractive or can 
more readily be had. American sculptors have 
produced some excellent small works in bronze and 
are capable of adapting themselves to reasonable 
requirements. This does not, of course, refer to the 
ordinary bronze figure of commerce which is set on a 
pedestal and viewed with some awe, but the real work 
of art which makes a place for itself and has true 
significance. Occasionally one does come across a 
sculptured over-mantel, a little bronze set in pre¬ 
cisely the right place above a book case or on a low 
table, or some artistic paneling of one kind or another, 
but much less often than one should. 
It is especially at this time that the desire is felt 
to hasten the approach of spring and that room is 
made therefore for the blossoming plants which take 
the place at this season of those whose foliage 
merely is ornamental; and indeed, the bit of color 
furnished by a handful of early jonquils, or a bunch 
of primroses is a welcome note at any time. But if 
flowers are not attainable then just the green leaves 
will do; by all means however, have something, if not 
from the greenhouse then from the woods — a branch 
of cedar or pine, some holly or laurel. 
Perhaps now one may find the seams of a carpet 
wearing conspicuously, or the tread of the stairs be¬ 
coming threadbare, if so dyes of various kinds, oil 
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