88 
House & Garden 
ESCRIBED more in 
^ detail in Mott’s new 
138-page ‘‘Bathroom 
Book,” which illustrates 
the latest examples of 
plumbing fixtures for 
bathroom, kitchen and 
laundry, and shows 22 
model bathrooms, with 
full descriptions and 
prices. Mailed for 4c 
postage. 
Any plumber can give 
you an estimate on Mott's 
plumbing fixtures installed 
complete. 
/^UR newest contribution 
to modern bathroom 
equipment is the vitreous 
china lavatory with vitreous 
china wall brackets. A high 
grade Mott fixture of excep¬ 
tional beauty. Eliminates the 
usual pedestal—simplifies 
bathroom cleaning. 
Another new Mott fixture is the 
needle and rain shower in combi¬ 
nation with Mott’s light-weight 
porcelain bath. When not in use 
the needle shower arms fold back 
against the wall. 
THE J. L. MOTT IRON WORKS 
Fifth Avenue and 17th Street New York 
1828— Eighty-nine Years of Supremacy —1917 
tBoston 
Pittsburgh 
tChicago 
Minneapolis 
Atlanta 
tPhiladelphia 
Seattle 
Cleveland 
tDetroit 
tiles Moines 
tToledo 
Portland, Ore. 
tWashington, D. C. 
Columbia, S. C. 
New Orleans 
Denver 
tSan Francisco 
fSt. Louis 
fMontreal, Can. 
San Antonio 
Dallas, Texas 
Los Angeles 
f Showrooms equipped with model bathrooms 
TTTT- 
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1 M 1 1 1 1 M 11 II 1 If 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
Rare Tulips 
are rather common in my gardens at Mayfair. Such 
things as Amber Crown, Mrs. Kerrell, Pride of 
Inglescombe, Solferina, Twilight, Jubilee, Madame 
Raven, Valentin, Bacchus, Garibaldi, Groote, Sam¬ 
son, Indian Chief, Paladin, Prince of Wales, and 
others for whose names there is no room here, are 
described in detail in 
The Blue Book of Bulbs 
The new issue for 1917 will be ready for distribution about 
April 10th. Write me now to reserve your copy. 
CHESTER JAY HUNT 
Mayfair Dept. K. LITTLE FALLS, N. J. 
Plant Foods and Feeding 
{Continued from page 86) 
manure and other bacteria-contammg 
materials; when you keep the soil 
well opened up so that warm air can 
penetrate it; and when you maintain 
the supply of humus, which is essen¬ 
tial to the growth and spreading of 
bacteria. 
There is one more idiosjmcrasy of 
plants which the gardener should 
know about. They have, like Jack 
Spratt and his wife, their own ideas 
as to what is preferable in the way 
of food. The chemist can analyze a 
plant and tell what it has taken in 
from the soil, but he cannot tell in 
what forms the growing plant w ill 
prefer to have its food supplied. 
For this reason it is always advis¬ 
able to supply the plant food in the 
garden from a number of different 
sources. This is especially true of 
the vegetable garden, where all kinds 
of crops are grown in close prox- 
irnity. This habit of having a course 
dinner rather than a meal of two or 
three dishes has the further advan¬ 
tage of supplying the different plant 
foods continuously throughout the 
season, as the same elements in dif¬ 
ferent materials become available at 
different times. 
The Root System 
In order to fix definitely in mind 
this rather complex business of how 
plants live, let us attempt to picture, 
knowing the facts we have been dis¬ 
cussing, just what happens when the 
roots of a plant penetrate a well pre¬ 
pared soil. One of the photographs 
shows part of the root system of a 
young corn seedling which I started 
in sand and a little compost, and 
carefully took up, removing from it 
all the soil which could be readily 
shaken off. 
As the roots push out through the 
soil, on most plants they branch free¬ 
ly in all directions. It is a commonly 
accepted idea that they seek out the 
rich spots in the soil. In the photo¬ 
graph you will notice that some of 
the roots are much longer and less 
branched than others, while some are 
made up of thick clusters of root¬ 
lets still grasping tenaciously the 
compost on which they fed. What 
really happens, however, is this; when 
a root strikes a “pocket” rich in food 
elements, there is an extra develop¬ 
ment of the lateral or branch roots. 
The moisture in the soil containing 
the various plant foods in solution, 
and clinging in a thin film about each 
microscopic particle of soil, is ab¬ 
sorbed through the porous sides of 
the root hairs. The amount taken in 
at any one source is, of course, in¬ 
conceivably minute, but as there are 
literally millions of them in a few 
cubic inches of soil, their united ef¬ 
forts attain very perceptible results. 
The tips of the roots are not pro¬ 
vided with these feeders at all, and 
they die off from the older parts 
much as the leaves and twigs do 
from the bases of the main branches 
of a tree. 
The Sap Flow 
The soil moisture, carrying with it 
the dissolved plant foods, flows along 
the roots and up through the trunk 
or main stem if evaporation is tak¬ 
ing place, which usually occurs dur¬ 
ing the growing season. By far the 
greater part of this moisture is given 
off into the air again through the 
leaves. Even if temporarily there is 
no movement of the “sap,” how¬ 
ever, the plant foods, as already de¬ 
scribed, find their way to the leaves, 
where they are mixed with oxygen 
and hydrogen and so altered that 
they are ready for assimilation by 
the perpetually newly forming cells 
of the growing parts of the plant, to 
which they are redistributed. 
And so, silently, invisibly, but in 
many cases with incredible rapidity, 
the newly-come-to-life little plant, 
without eye or hand or foot to help it 
in its struggle for existence, fast¬ 
ened to one spot and helpless to 
make any change in its environment, 
sets swiftly and directly about its 
purpose in life. That purpose is to 
elaborate a root system that it may 
develop stems and leaves; to spread 
to the sun and wind and rain its 
leaves, in order that it may gain 
strength to bud and flower; and 
finally to complete its cycle of life 
of a few days, or of hundreds of 
years, and leave after it seed or bulb 
or spore to provide a new generation. 
Naming the Country Place 
{Continued from page 56) 
The following may be taken as 
they are, or split or combined to 
suit; Berwick, Clovelly, Dovedale, 
Eglantine, Eairview, Hambledon, 
Ingleside, Inglenook, Lilac Lane, 
Otter Creek, Oureden, The Lindens, 
Vervain, and Woodcote. 
We did not look into the possibil¬ 
ities of the more ambitious names 
like Castle, Manor, Mansion, or 
Hall; nor did we investigate those 
in foreign tongues. 
These from the old English are 
pleasing for names of suburban or 
country homes. Each is composed 
of two words, and if one is not 
familiar with the italicized portion 
of the title, it should be looked up, 
as all are descriptive of scenic ele¬ 
ments ; Barberry Brae, B>tr\barton, 
C/ojcgarth, Clover/ca, Fcwland, Eern- 
heck, GarthdaXe, Gltnhiirn, Green- 
fells, Hazelzcu/d, Homecro/t, Lyn¬ 
don, Mid/n/r^f, Sedgenmad, and 
SouthdotcM. Again, one might use 
simple Welsh words, such as Dur- 
went, which means “a clear, white 
stream,” or devon, a “dark ravine.” 
A surname may be used, as Tay¬ 
lor’s, or with another name as Hale’s 
Corners and Scott’s Valley. Chris¬ 
tian names can be used in various 
ways as Gabriella Gables, or spelled 
backward; thus Lydia becomes Aidyl. 
The first two letters of Arthur and 
of Elsie make Arel; the first three 
of each, lady’s first, Eisart. 
One may find many appropriate 
names in a gazetteer, as Arcadia, 
Campden, and Camperdown. 
My wife and I did not wish to 
marry words of different national¬ 
ities in the naming of our homestead, 
although w-e believed in the inter¬ 
marriage of the Aryan races, for our 
forebears had been separated by the 
North Sea. But when it came to 
words, or to breeds of fowls or ani¬ 
mals, we did not think hybrids best. 
Considering all, we had more 
trouble with deciding what name we 
should use than the average family, 
including the interested relatives and 
friends, has in naming the first born. 
At last we picked Hillcroft, two good 
old Anglo-Saxon words joined. 
The meaning, a small field on a hill 
near a dwelling, portrayed the place 
perfectly, and it seemed euphonious 
and unpretentious. 
