BIRMINGHAM AND HIGHBURY 
OWEVER interesting and instructive the great facto¬ 
ries of Birmingham may be, there is no disguising 
the fact that to the average visitor the most inter¬ 
esting feature of the city is the estate of the Hon. Joseph 
H. Chamberlain, a man who has endeared himself to the 
hearts of the people by bis splendid services for their city 
as well as for Great Britain. 
In strong contrast to the busy, practical aspect of Birm¬ 
ingham are the beautifully kept grounds, the extensive 
orchid and palm houses and the charming residence itself 
of this justly celebrated personage. Elizabeth Prescott 
Lawrence, who has but recently returned from England, 
contributes a short historical sketch of the city and punctu¬ 
ates the descriptions of Highbury with numerous photo¬ 
graphs which fully illustrate its attractiveness and beauty. 
A COLLECTION OF CARNIVOROUS PLANTS 
S. Leonard Bastin writes of the tendency to-day to spe¬ 
cialize in whatever line our hobbies lead us. That this may 
lead to gathering under one roof many specimens of queer 
and unusual plants he demonstrates by illustrating a collec¬ 
tion of plants of the Insectivorous species. Strange forms 
these, alluring traps for the unwary fly or insect that is led 
by curiosity to a minute examination of their marvelous 
mechanisms. 
NEW YORK’S IMPROVED TENEMENTS—II 
In the September number, Mr. John W. Russell will con¬ 
clude his paper under the above caption. Having pointed out 
in a previous issue the grievous errors formerly committed in 
the planning of such buildings and having discussed the new 
laws which have been enacted to prevent recurrence of those 
errors and to generally improve the conditions existing in 
these congested places, he presents in this final talk results 
which have been accomplished and illustrates the article 
with photographs of some of the more notable buildings 
designed and built to illustrate the possibilities under the 
new laws regulating such buildings. 
“ HOP-TOADS ” 
Of all the Insectivorous amphibians none are of greater 
value to the gardeners than the lowly hop-toad. Ella M. 
Beals says that the study she has made of them demon¬ 
strates that in each twenty-four hours they consume insects, 
worms, etc., in quantity equal to four times their stomach 
capacity. She says also that they have been cruelly maligned, 
that they are harmless, and possess much intelligence, and 
in their lowly way, much beauty. 
FORCING BULBS 
Now is the time to prepare for the flowers of bulbous 
plants that will be needed next Easter. Tbe best varieties 
—those most suitable for forcing, and which give the most 
satisfactory results in house culture, as well as howto obtain 
these results are carefully explained by Eben E. Rexford. 
Our readers are familiar with Mr. Rexford’s work and 
know that his suggestions and advice are practical, and if 
followed that they will be rewarded with unqualified 
success. 
SOME COUNTRY CLUBS OF THE NORTHWEST 
The Country Club, which has spread its influence over 
the length and breadth of the land, is an institution that has 
come to stay, and has been welcomed by all branches of the 
social world. Of several such clubs in the vicinity of St. 
Paul and Minneapolis Miss Mary Hodges gives brief de¬ 
scriptions and illustrates with photographs showing attrac¬ 
tive housings and picturesque surroundings. 
WARMING HOMES BY WATER—II 
Mr. Ernest C. Moses concludes in the September issue 
his talks on the warming of homes by water. His conclu¬ 
sions point to the superiority of this method of domestic 
heating for the following reasons: 
Simplicity of Operation; Economy, more heat being gen¬ 
erated with less fuel; Cleanliness, freedom from gas, dirt or 
dust; Safety, fire or explosion practically impossible; Auto¬ 
matic Regulation of Boiler, maintaining uniform room 
temperature. Truly a convincing array of evidence. 
WHERE TO GO FOR A TOUR 
While every person owning an automobile or motor car 
probably has certain general ideas of where he will go on 
the next trip, still all will be glad of tbe suggestions offered 
by Harry Wilkin Perry on this subject. So many tilings 
enter into the consideration of the question that specific and 
definite plans must, of course, be formulated by each indi¬ 
vidual to suit the conditions by which he is controlled. What 
“ the other fellow ” has done, however, sometimes makes 
what we do a much more simple undertaking. 
MANTELS 
The importance of the Mantel or Chimney Piece in the 
decorative scheme of a room is interestingly discussed in a 
fully illustrated article by Alice S. Smitb. Types of man¬ 
tels appropriate to various styles of rooms in moderate 
priced houses are shown. 
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