72 
House <5r Garden 
Together with its inherent beauty, you notice the characteristic 
livability of this new furniture 
tjhe Modem Expression 
of Spanish Art 
H ERETOFORE the romance and beauty of old Spain 
have been expressed in few art objects. Today, 
however, this spirit has been caught and interpreted by 
the genius of the modern furniture designer. This has 
been achieved in the new Span-Umbrian furniture. In 
design it carries out the traditions of the colorful day of 
the Spanish Grandee. It emanates beauty, dignity, and 
restrained elegance. 
Moreover, it expresses the essence of modern thought 
in furniture. It has a pleasant-to-live-with character and 
gracious vigor of design. Its color-tone is warm, soft, 
and mellowed; time and use can only enrich its beauty. 
Even one Span-Umbrian piece will lend to your living- 
room, your dining-room, or your husband’s study, the 
informal repose and homelikeness which are so essential 
in the creating of a home. 
If you do not find as wide a selection as you want at your favorite 
furniture shop, ask them for a letter to us, and we will show you through 
our Exhibition rooms in Grand Rapids or New York. 
Send 25 c for “The Story of Span-Umbrian Furniture” which acquaints 
you with the historical background, the beauty, the livability of this new 
design. It also contains valuable information about furniture and illus¬ 
trations suggesting interesting new treatment of rooms. Berkey & Gay 
Furniture Company, 186 Monroe Avenue, Grand Rapids, Mich. 
BERKEY & GAY 
FURNITURE 
Treasure Chests of Far Cathay 
(Continued from page 70) 
lock and key, are perhaps the most fas¬ 
cinating, and serve any one of a number 
of uses according to preference. 
It is a curious fact that the most 
commonplace necessities made by the 
Chinaman have a uniquely decorative 
character—the ordinary boxes in which 
he puts his tea, the lanterns that light 
his house, even the letters of his alpha¬ 
bet. Small wonder then that these treas¬ 
ure chests from the homes of the wealth¬ 
ier families and the imperial palaces are 
splendidly effective. As some astute per¬ 
sons make virtues of necessities, so the 
canny Oriental has turned what might 
have been ugly utility into the finest kind 
of decoration in his management of the 
hardware. The hinges he is not content 
to leave merely hinges and the handles 
simply devices for opening drawers and 
doors. These necessary details assume 
fantastic and wonderful forms; what 
might have been ordinary escutcheons 
turn into fanciful butterflies to charm 
the eye; the huge shield-like brass orna¬ 
ment that centers about the keyhole 
would have been a key plate in our 
meager Western style; heavy studding 
and intricate engraving add their quota 
of interest and richness. The ornament 
is an intimate part of the design and 
structure, and so, even when it is used 
most liberally, never seems extraneous 
or overcrowded. 
This singularly decorative use of the 
hardware is found in the interior fur¬ 
nishings of cabinets as well as without, 
for it is not the habit of the Chinese 
craftsman to slight the less exposed parts 
of his workmanship. Perhaps one of 
the most remarkable features in the mod¬ 
ern reproductions is the fact that the 
unique decoration has been applied in 
the exact spirit and style of tire Korean- 
made pieces, so that it is no easy matter 
to distinguish between the two. For¬ 
tunately for many a mystery-loving soul 
in this practical land and age, a Korean 
chest, besides being an exceptionally 
decorative and interesting piece of furni¬ 
ture, is a skillful expression of the 
secrecy, the inscrutability, and the mys¬ 
terious charm of far Cathay. 
The Last Rites for This Year’s Garden 
(Continued from page 57)' 
flower beds, hardy borders, rose beds, 
fruit trees, berry bushes and the like 
and cut out and burn everything that 
looks suspicious. 
On die other hand, one cannot go for 
a ride or even a walk in the autumn 
without encountering die peculiar and 
wholly agreeable odor of autumn bon¬ 
fires. How many people one comes 
across who make a regular habit of 
burning every leaf as fast as it falls! 
And yet, if one has die good of the 
garden at heart, all die leaves from 
shade trees, fruit trees and so forth 
should be saved and stored away for 
mulching or for die compost heap. 
Gather the leaves as they fall and store 
diem away in bags, barrels or boxes. 
It is an easy matter to pack diem in 
tightly so that a large quantity can be 
stored in one place. They will then be 
readily available when you want them. 
Leaves alone, however, will not an¬ 
swer every purpose as well as some other 
things. In addition to saving all the 
dry leaves you can, procure a supply of 
bog or marsh hay such as is used for 
“bedding” work animals. A few hun¬ 
dred pounds will answer the purpose of 
the average small place. Some fairly 
dry, well rotted horse manure will also 
be useful for a number of purposes. 
Reasons for Winter Mulching 
The beginner in gardening very nat¬ 
urally gets the idea that a winter mulch 
is applied to keep his plants from freez¬ 
ing. Such, however, is not the case. 
In practically every instance die object 
of the winter mulch is to protect the 
plants from the sun and not from the 
cold. In extreme northern sections some 
hardy plants are winter killed by actual 
freezing; but, as a general thing, the 
winter injury is done by the alternate 
freezing and thawing of the soil, or die 
effect of warm days and bright sunshine 
on some parts of the plant while other 
parts remain frozen. The mulch pre¬ 
vents this by keeping the ground frozen 
after it once freezes up in the fall, until 
there is no longer danger of hard frost 
in the spring. Roses and dahlias, fruit 
trees trained against walls with southern 
exposures, etc., are often wrapped in 
evergreen boughs or shaded with a screen 
to keep the sun from them, and to pre¬ 
vent injury from die second of die two 
causes mentioned above. 
For these reasons great care should 
be taken that the mulch is not applied 
too soon. Anything that is hardy enough 
to survive in the open ground is not 
likely to be injured by a few autumn 
cold snaps. In fact, the gradually in¬ 
creasing cold weadier accomplishes one 
of Nature's chief purposes: the ripening 
up of wood on new plant growth so diat 
it will grow firm and hard and go safely 
dirougli die winter. In practically all 
cases, die mulch should not be put on 
until after the ground is frozen hard, 
and when it appears likely diat severe 1 
winter weadier has set in for good. 
Efficient Mulch for Beds and Borders 
Winter mulching is needed in die fruit, | 
flower and vegetable gardens, on newly 
planted borders, on bulb beds, and 
around trees or newly set shrubs. The 
borders should be gone over with a 
scythe or sickle after hard frosts have 
killed die foliage of the late flowering 
hardy perennials such as chrysanthe¬ 
mums, anemones and asters, and the 
tops cut down to within 3" or 4" of 
the roots. Burn all this dead material. 
Manure makes an excellent mulch for 
die hardy border because a great part 
of it may be worked into die soil about 
the plants in the spring. 
Both the mulching material and die 
ground should be dry when the mulch 
is spread on. Although die ground will 
dry off very rapidly on a sunny day, 
the mulching material, if once wet 
through, fiiay freeze. It is wisest, there- 
fore, to keep it covered until wanted. 
For covering borders or beds around 
the house, or wherever a particularly 
trim, neat appearance is desired, run a 
strip of 12 " chicken wire around die 
edges of the bed, keeping it in position 
with small stakes set every 5' or 10'. 
Fill this widi leaves to the wished for 
depth, and place a few boughs or boards 
on top if the winds are high so as to 
hold the mulch in position until it be¬ 
comes settled. The wire should be in 
place before the ground freezes, and the 
mulch may be put on at any time,. 
A few of the hybrid tea and hybrid 
perpetual roses are hardy enough to go 
through an ordinary winter without be¬ 
ing protected; it is best, however, to 
mulch the whole rose garden. 
In very severe climates, or where ten¬ 
der roses are grown, the earth should 
be drawn up about the canes in small 
hills before the ground freezes. This 
not only gives better protection but also 
insures good drainage. It is generally 
advisable to cut back the longer shoots 
(Continued on page 74) 
