90 
House & Garden 
A LIGHTED lamp is the most con¬ 
spicuous object in a room. To justify 
its prominence, it should be a thing 
of beauty in complete harmony with 
its surroundings. 
The Farmer collection of modern 
porcelain lamps is the greatest ever 
assembled. Their finely wrought bases 
and exquisitely made shades, always 
in faultless taste, make their posses¬ 
sion a lasting joy. The cost of these 
beautiful lamps is now lower than in 
several seasons. 
The Farmer collection of Antique 
Chinese Art Objects contains many 
splendid examples suitable for the en¬ 
richment of your furnishings. Farmer 
conversions of these treasures into util - 
itarian elegancies bring to the home 
that note of distinction so much de¬ 
sired and so difficult of attainment. 
Chinese Antiques and Arts 
Lamps and Shades 
Your Shutters and Your Home 
{Continued, from page 88) 
with green it is practically impossible to 
go wrong. Moreover, green fades, and in 
its last state is better than its first. There 
is an old house in Massachusetts the 
shutters of which, once dark green, have 
faded today to the most delicate of moss- 
green tones, over which artists rave. 
Newly painted or after many years—that 
is a good point with green—the color is 
equally satisfactory'. 
With other colors it is possible to obtain 
an effect striking or artistic, but it is also 
possible to secure the former quality 
without the latter. With a modern house 
more liberties may be taken than with a 
“period” one. Bright shutters on old 
houses are like the bright coloring on old 
furniture, now in vogue; bright and 
pleasing while the fashion lasts, but then 
out of date and in bad taste, as some simi¬ 
lar experiments of the nineties are today. 
It wears best to keep old houses and fur¬ 
niture strictly of the period, in spite of 
temptations to the contrary. Yet, in 
spite of all, among hundreds of old 
houses long forgotten, one stands out in 
my memory, also Colonial, also in Massa¬ 
chusetts, white with shutters of bright 
electric blue. Such an innovation would 
have caused our grandfathers to hold up 
their hands in horror; yet this house was 
one of the quaintest and most charming 
imaginable in decoration and surround¬ 
ings. To be sure, this instance was one 
which was handled in the right way, as 
against the hundreds which are not, and 
the precedent is a dangerous one, for ef¬ 
fects have a way at times of failing to 
work out as they should, even when the 
conception is good in itself. Still, it is at 
the risk of failures that successes are 
made; and it is taste and ingenuity, ap¬ 
plied to just such small details as these 
that charming and artistic houses owe, in 
great part, their elusive and unusual 
charm. 
Household Weights and Measures 
{Continued from page 77) 
secondary concern to the housewife. The 
clock, of course, is all important. 
In this article we are most concerned 
about weights, volumes and dimensions. 
In the kitchen we have to measure food 
stuffs; in the laundry starches, cleaning 
powders, etc. But the most vital thing 
for us to know is how not to be cheated 
in the bulk of our buying. 
For example, what should we expect 
to get in a basket, in a crate, in a cord, 
in a box and in a barrel? Flow many of us 
know these common measures? 
Furthermore, what is a heaping meas¬ 
ure—and who determines on the heaping? 
What is a tablespoonful? What is a dry 
quart in comparison to a liquid quart? 
District Standards 
In nearly every part of the country 
there are Weights and Measure Bureaus 
whose standards are set. The first thing 
we should know is what are the standards 
and insist upon our dealers living up to 
them. 
In order to hold dealers to these rules, 
every household should possess a proper 
length measure, yard stick and tape; a 
weighing scale, liquid measures and grad¬ 
uate, and dry measures. 
The length measures should be a tape 
from 3' to 6'longor a yard stick of wood 
with metal ends to insure its steadfastness. 
The tape should be of steel or wire woven 
cloth for endurance. At least one yard 
should be subdivided, as should the yard 
stick, into inches, fractions of inches, sub¬ 
divisions of yards: pi", fa", ]/f 6 ". For if 
over a series of years you are getting 
cheated on your dress goods, table-cloths, 
etc., you can see, by adding up your pur¬ 
chases and your expenditures, that you 
are actually losing money, if you get 
short “cuts”! 
The weighing scale’s importance to the 
home is really “without measure.” The 
kinds are legion, the right kind few and 
far between. 
The hanging spring scale that auto¬ 
matically registers the weight is good if 
bought with care at the best place. It 
should weigh from ten to twenty pounds. 
Here there are no loose weights to get 
lost and mislaid, it can be hung up out of 
the way, and if necessary can be on a 
folding bracket. These scales are not 
expensive, are very useful and are fairly 
accurate. 
The beam scale is also very good for 
the home and is accurate. The weight 
is gauged by the moving of a sliding poise. 
But above all do not get the “family 
scale” which has the pan setting on the 
spring with the weights stored below the 
pan. Unless very exceptional in build, 
these are often inaccurate. 
Baby scales are an important thing to 
have in the home. They come in varying 
delightful forms, so that Baby is com¬ 
fortable while being weighed. The little 
basket scale certainly is the easiest to 
use, though other types which are accu¬ 
rate do the trick even though Babe isn’t 
so luxurious. Of course, for teeny babes 
the basket is delightful and easier all the 
way round. 
The value of bathroom scales cannot be 
overestimated, for an ideal way of keep¬ 
ing well is keeping your weight to a 
healthy standard. 
Of the liquid measures in the house 
there should be on hand: a 4 oz. glass 
graduate subdivided to 1 dram or less to 
measure small quantities, and one 1 qt., 
one 1 pt. and a p2 pt. A measuring cup is 
useful, if you know what it measures, and 
it should be carefully subdivided. The 
graduate should be cylindrical or conical; 
the former is better, the latter is cheaper, 
more easily cleaned and easier procured. 
The markings must be clear and easy to 
read. 
Dry Measures 
For dry measuring you should have a 
nest of measures, ranging from Id bushel 
to a quart, made of metal or well and hard 
varnished wood, bound in metal at top. 
Cylindrical is the preferred style. If 
conical, the top diameter should not be 
more than 10% of the lower diameter. 
For p2 bushel the minimum diameter 
should be 
For 1 peck the minimum diameter 
should be iot/a"■ 
For pi peck the minimum diameter 
should be 8 ) 4 ". 
For 2 quarts the minimum diameter 
should be 6 fi". 
For 1 quart the minimum diameter 
should be 5 y&' : . 
Checking up Frauds 
The butcher tells you that he gave you 
full weight, but the trimmings were 
heavy. So insist upon having all the 
trimmings sent to you. You can use 
them. You have paid for them. 
With poultry or fish you can’t as easily 
apprehend bad weight, yet you can tell, 
after some experience, whether or not the 
“cleaning” is too costly. If it is costly, 
go elsewhere and have a fish uncleaned 
sent home for a few times to weigh it on 
your own scale. 
{Continued on page 92) 
