House and Garden 
a bowl of water placed near the register will prevent 
extreme dryness of the atmosphere which sometimes 
in severe weather becomes oppressive. 
Have the guard rail put on the front steps now 
before the sleet and ice come, and see not only that 
the balconies where the snow may lodge are covered 
but that there is no danger of avalanches descending 
upon the unsuspecting pedestrian from the roof. 
And, by-the-way, when the ice and snow do come and 
the steps and sidewalk are dangerously slippery try 
sawdust instead of ashes for the purpose of security. 
The latter is bound to soil the clothing and track 
up the floors. 
Now is the time to remedy leaking faucets and thus 
avoid frozen drains. New washers are frequently 
all that are needed and these can readily be put on by 
the man-of-the-house if he is not entirely devoid of 
mechanical skill. The cold storage room may also 
well be arranged now and put to actual service. 
Have the window barred and screened, the door 
tightly fitted and secured, the shelves sand-papered 
and adjusted to suit the need. It will prove a great 
convenience. 
See also that the vacuum cleaning system, if one is 
installed, is in good working order; now that the rugs 
and carpets are down and the fires lighted it will be 
in constant use, and to be effective must be perfectly 
adjusted. The electric light wires also should be gone 
over so that if the insulation is worn at any point it 
can be renewed. 
This is the month of short days and long evenings 
so it is especially desirable to give thought to the 
artificial lighting of the house—not only to the 
fixtures but the quality of the illumination. The 
comfort of the family greatly depends upon this. 
Have all lights agreeably screened, as glare is always 
painful, and have enough to more than make the 
“darkness visible.” Some beautiful effects are now 
gotten by concealed lights, and if a new house is being 
finished bear this in mind, but even with the old- 
fashioned fixtures excellent results can be obtained. 
Lamps with simple shades are always attractive and 
should be so placed as to be really accessible and 
useful. For receptions or other occasions where there 
is stately formality, a flood of light from above is 
good, but for libraries, sitting-rooms and the like, 
used informally, less light lower down is desirable. 
One must use his or her own judgment and taste, 
but no amount of thought expended upon this subject 
will be found to be wasted. 
In November, the dining-room may well come in 
for special consideration. This from the esthetic 
standpoint alone should be one of the pleasantest 
rooms in the house and yet it is often one of the drear¬ 
iest. It should neither be over-furnished, nor bare, 
but simple and hospitable. Elaborate draperies 
are here out of place, though the windows should by 
all means be suitably curtained. The dining-table. 
chairs, buffet and serving-table, should be the only 
furniture, excepting, of course, the china and crystal 
closets if they are not built in. The floor should be 
polished and covered with a rug—the walls painted 
or papered and not decorated with plates. It should 
neither be a sitting-room nor show place. Exceed- 
ingly pleasing results can be got with simple mate¬ 
rials. Two of the most attractive dining-rooms that 
the writer has seen were in summer cottages and rep¬ 
resented in their furnishings an amazingly small out¬ 
lay of money. Even if the dining-room is in the 
basement there is no need to despair—almost any 
room can be made attractive if it is tastefully fur¬ 
nished and appropriately lighted. 
This is a good time also to make resolutions in 
regard to the bric-a-brac—to start an active reform, 
eliminating much which is superfluous and yet has 
gradually been given place. Try the Japanese 
method; pack away some of the things and enjoy 
your possessions a few at a time. Unless a piece of 
bric-a-brac is worthy of this distinction it is of no 
worth at all. Do not clutter the mantels, the book¬ 
cases and the tables with articles of no art merit— 
have a few things that are really a delight. 
And now one may well be reminded of the desira¬ 
bility of using, winter as well as summer, flowers for 
decorations; or if not flowers some living green. A 
pine branch or a bunch of other evergreen will be 
a real joy when the snow is on the ground, and will 
give an air of livableness to the room in which it is 
placed. Not placed behind a picture, or fastened 
on the wall, but in a vase on a table where it will 
really signify. 
Timely Garden Suggestions 
JOHN W. HALL 
npHE thought of finality in any form is not invit- 
ing; if in connection with the garden it would 
seriously detract from the pleasures incident thereto. 
It is, therefore, fortunate, that some actual work 
is necessary to be done each month. Now the 
lawn must go into winter quarters; rose plants and 
shrubs of all kinds require attention; weeds and 
trash should be removed from among fruit trees so as 
to leave no hiding place for insect pests; there should 
be a general cleaning-up all along the line. 
It is especially important to now give attention to 
the rose plants. Some prefer to leave the bushes to 
freeze back, but unquestionably where protected by 
straw being tied about them they do better and pro¬ 
duce more perfect flowers. Not only the roses but 
shrubs of all kinds should be liberally mulched. 
An application of pulverized sheep manure about the 
base of the plants, covered by a mulch of leaves which 
ordinarily can be raked up about the garden this time 
178 
