| July, 1914 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
41 
begin to run from it and at the same time 
both taps are shut ofif automatically. 
The question of the disposal of garbage 
is apt to be a serious one, particularly in 
country houses, and to meet this difficulty 
a gas incinerator has been devised that 
takes up but little space in the kitchen and 
will quickly dispose of any amount of gar¬ 
bage and waste matter. The incinerators 
are made in all sizes to hold quantities 
from a half bushel up, and if desired can 
be built into the wall of the kitchen, leav¬ 
ing only the front visible. For a strictly 
up-to-date kitchen with its white wood¬ 
work and tiling the incinerator is done in 
white enamel, making it thoroughly in 
keeping with its sanitary surroundings. 
Japanese Gardens 
D ECIDEDLY the newest thing in the 
way of a window or table garden 
comes from Japan, and is not only satis¬ 
factory to arrange, but quite inexpensive 
if one chooses to make it so. While 
neither so artistic nor so elaborate as the 
regulation Japanese table gardens, with 
their real dwarf trees that grow in little 
mossy banks, these newer gardens are just 
as pretty, and besides, one has the pleasure 
of watching them actually grow. 
They are made of roots called by the 
Japanese “wasabi,” but in reality the root 
of the homely but pungent horseradish, 
that will put out tender green shoots when 
placed in water. A low, flat bowl should 
be used, or a plate that is deep enough to 
hold water, and the roots, cut into various 
sizes and shapes, are placed in the water, 
which should be about one-third of an inch 
deep. The long pieces of the root should 
be split lengthwise and placed with the 
cut side down, or they can be made to 
For the dining-room there is the translucent dome which is lighted electrically by a push button. Note also 
the attractive wall brackets for gas 
Window Seat and Clothes Chest 
A MONG the new pieces of furniture 
is a combination window seat and 
clothes chest that is good looking and thor¬ 
oughly practical. It is of dull finish ma¬ 
hogany and is 48 inches long, with side 
pieces just tall enough to keep the cushion 
in place. Instead of the cover that lifts up 
as in the ordinary window seat, there are 
two deep drawers lined with cedar and 
finished with mahogany knobs, making the 
chest serviceable for storing furs and win¬ 
ter clothes, as well as for keeping things 
that may be in every-day use. Fitted 
with a cretonne cushion, the chest makes 
a handsome piece of furniture for the 
bedroom, and is quite worth every inch 
of space that it occupies. 
Some of the new conveniences here illustrated are the gas water-heater, gas range with pilot lights, gas-heated 
flatiron and, on the right, a garbage incinerator 
stand on end, with a little Japanese house 
on the top and pieces cut out of one side 
to simulate steps. The knobby ends can 
be cut ofif and used as separate pieces, and 
these parts, incidentally, are apt to send 
up prettier shoots than any of the others. 
For prices ranging from five to fifteen 
or twenty cents each a most fascinating 
lot of Japanese figures and toys can be 
had, and with a bit of ingenuity an inter¬ 
esting little Japanese scene can be ar¬ 
ranged. There are tiny figures of men 
and women under their parasols, coolies 
with broad hats and bundles of straw, 
storks made of the most delicate porcelain, 
monkeys, turtles, quaint little curved 
bridges without which no Japanese land¬ 
scape is complete, queer little crooked pine 
trees that are artificial but look wonder¬ 
fully natural, houses and temples of va¬ 
rious sorts, lighthouses and little boats to 
make the water scene more realistic, and 
even brilliant little goldfish. 
The water in the bowl should be 
changed two or three times a week, and 
within ten days the roots begin to sprout, 
after which they grow quite rapidly. 
Even with the bare roots the little figures 
make an attractive miniature scene, but 
when the green leaves come the garden 
is fascinating beyond description. Of 
course the gardens can be made in prac¬ 
tically any size, and as expensive or as 
reasonable as one may choose. For an 
elaborate garden one of the flat white 
Japanese porcelain dishes is most effec¬ 
tive, and these can be had in various sizes, 
some of them quite large. On the other 
hand, a little blue and white dish with a 
single piece of root and two or three fig¬ 
ures will be just as pretty if less elaborate, 
and the latter can be made at a cost of not 
more than fifty or sixty cents. 
