86 
House & Garden 
Ifcish fknd Wbvcn Linens 
Insulating The New House 
( Continued, from page 84) 
dally in the winter time, and cease to 
work as soon as the temperature of the 
open air is equal to or above that pre¬ 
vailing in the stock room. 
Experience advises pipes of V/ 2 " 
diameter only, for stock rooms of about 
1000 cubic ft. contents in country houses 
in the open, and a 2" pipe for city 
houses in built-up sections. 
A very slight rise of the outlet pipe 
towards its exit will tend to increase its 
sensitiveness. Avoid bends and curves 
as much as possible and meet such draw¬ 
backs by larger pipe diameters. Only 
at the outside ends apply occasionally 
45° elbows to keep out the rain water 
and wire netting against vermin and 
rodents in particular. 
Only where their larger cross sections 
Linen 
(Continued jr 
shelves set at least 12" apart and pro¬ 
vided with high backs and with sides 
tapering to the width of a narrow 
strip which runs across the front of 
the shelf to hold the piles of linen 
in place. Shelves open at the front 
permit the linen to be quickly inspected. 
To further facilitate the handling of 
linens these shelves are constructed to 
slide forward by means of hardwood 
strips working in channels grooved along 
the sides of the shelves. The topmost 
shelf, because less accessible, is fixed 
in place and reserved for out-of-season 
and rarely used linens. 
One side of the lower compartment is 
given over to the clothes hamper, or, if 
the plan of the house allows, an ideal 
arrangement can be made by starting 
the clothes chute from the floor of this 
cupboard. In either case the floor of 
the entire lower compartment should be 
raised a few inches above the main 
floor level to insure cleanliness. Draw¬ 
ers and additional shelves are provided 
on the opposite side for blankets, cur¬ 
tains, and the keeping of odds and ends 
of linen. 
A very narrow space is required for 
the bath room closet, the minimum di¬ 
permits of it should rectangular sheet 
metal leader conduits be used to save an 
inch or so of space; generally iron pipes 
are more suitable and lasting. 
As one goes over the variety of means 
to make modern houses waterproof, 
dampproof, fireproof, air-tight and 
sanitary in every detail, it is difficult to 
understand how any house ever has the 
temerity to burn down or leak or get 
warm in summer or cold in winter or 
has the audacity for a minute to harbor 
an insect. With an imaginative archi¬ 
tect and a conscientious builder, and all 
the shelves of catalogues to help us build 
the perfect house, we really should be 
ashamed to own a house- which is not 
letter perfect so far as these modern 
golden rules are concerned. 
Closet 
om page 70) 
mensions which will accommodate the 
average towel being approximately 10" 
wide by 20" deep. The often unused 
space at the end of the built-in bath 
tub lends itself excellently to the re¬ 
quirements of a small linen closet. Be¬ 
neath a series of stationary shelves is 
a drawer for sponges and brushes, and, 
underneath, more shelving for a supply 
of cleaning fluids, powders, soaps and 
for the storage of the usual overflow 
from the medicine cabinets. 
A practical suggestion for the keep¬ 
ing of table linens and at the same time 
one that would enhance the attractive¬ 
ness of the dining room is the combin¬ 
ing of the linen shelving with a recessed 
china cabinet, the lower portion of 
which would be a series of drawers or 
shelves similar in construction to those 
of the main closet, and enclosed behind 
wood paneled doors. A drawer at the 
bottom serves to protect the small 
doilies and the centerpieces rolled on 
tubes. If space permits it is advisable 
to lay the centerpieces flat. 
The supply of service linen can be 
adequately taken care of by means of a 
few drawers incorporated in the built- 
in kitchen or pantry dressers. 
PLANTING TIM 
S PRINGTIME is commonly consid¬ 
ered to be seedtime, but with 
lawns better results often are ob¬ 
tained by seeding at some other season. 
In the growing of lawns most persons, 
both in the cities and in the country, 
cling to the old idea that spring is the 
time to put in the seed. And many a 
mangy lawn has been the result. 
Except, perhaps, in the northern 
States and in New England, says the 
United States Department of Agri¬ 
culture, early autumn seeding is much 
more satisfactory than spring seeding. 
South of the latitude of New York 
spring seeding should rarely if ever be 
practiced. There are good reasons for 
this rule. Young grass does not stool 
well in spring and summer and is not 
sufficiently aggressive to combat crab- 
grass and other summer annual weeds. 
In the area south of this and north of 
the Potomac and Ohio rivers the time 
is early in September. The reseeding 
of an old lawn should be done at the 
same season as new seeding. 
Treating the soil —A suitable soil is of 
first importance, especially where the 
climate is not particularly favorable to 
the formation of good turf, and most 
of them can be improved by treatment 
such as drainage, manuring, fertilizing, 
and liming. A deep loamy soil is easily 
prepared, as it already has the right 
E FOR LAWNS 
texture, but it may need fertilizing with 
barnyard manure, or bone-meal in ap¬ 
plications of 20 pounds to 1,000 square 
feet. Stiff clays need both sand and 
vegetable matter before they are ready 
to support a good turf, and there is 
little danger of overdoing the use of 
either of them. An inch layer of sand 
worked into the clay will produce a per¬ 
manent improvement in texture. Con¬ 
versely, clay may be used to improve 
light sandy soils. Decayed vegetable 
matter lightens the texture of clay soils, 
increases their water-holding capacity, 
and improves their drainage; it also 
improves sandy soils and makes them 
more retentive of moisture. About a 
half ton to 1,000 square feet ordinarily 
is sufficient. 
When white clover and bluegrass do 
not grow well, it is probable that lime 
is needed. One hundred pounds of air- 
slaked lime to 1,000 square feet of 
lawn, well worked in before the seed is 
planted, is a satisfactory application in 
mast cases. It is not recommended as a 
top-dressing for turf, and should not be 
used for bent grasses or fescues unless 
the soil is very acid. The soil should be 
thoroughly prepared for planting sev¬ 
eral weeks before the seeding takes 
place in order that there will be time 
for it to settle and for weed seeds to 
germinate. Alfred I. Wilder. 
