HOUSE AND GARDEN 
March, 1911 
An Unusual Exhibit of 
Spring and Summer Styles 
Appropriate furnishings for every country home are included in our 
complete exhibit of ENAMELED and LIGHT-COLORED WOODS, 
REED, WILLOW and RATTAN. 
Particular attention is directed to the advantage of making early 
selections, while our showing of Spring and Summer Styles offers the 
widest range in prices and styles. 
Critical comparison of FLINT VALUES with the best obtainable 
elsewhere is always welcomed, and consultation with our experts insures 
ECONOMY as well as ARTISTIC SUCCESS. 
Geo. C. Flint Co. 
* 43-47 West 23 - St. 24-28 West 24 th St. 
[QRlGIlilA^MANUmTllRERSI 
f /IT IS THE BEST FLOOR MADE 
FOR CHURCHES. SCHOOLS. BANKS. PUBLIC BUILDINGSUNJ 
r THEATRES AND PRIVATE RESIDENCES, BEING SANITARY ^ 
NON-SLIPPERY SOFT AND COMFORTABLE TO THE TREAD, 
BEAUTIFUL IN COLORS AND DESIGNS AND DURABLE. 
New York, N Y., 91-93 Chambers Street St. Louis, Mo., 218-220 Chestnut Street 
Chicago, III., 150 Lake Street Portland, Ore., 40 First Street 
Philadelphia, Pa,, 118-120 North 8th Street Boston, Mass., 232 Summer Street 
San Francisco, Calif., 129-131 First Street Indianapolis, Ind., 207-209 South Merldl 
Pittsburg, Pa., 933-935 Liberty Avenue London, England, 13-15 Southampton Row 
Spokane, Wash., 163 South Lincoln Street 
and his blisters—but when he had run off 
to his train she made a contract with 
the green grocer of the suburb for vege¬ 
tables for the summer. The outcome 
proved that she was right; for the pars¬ 
nips never came through the hard, sun¬ 
baked soil; potato beetles promptly de¬ 
voured the egg-plants, root and branch; 
the cucumbers escaped an insect devasta¬ 
tion by dying promptly after they came 
up before the striped bugs could reach 
them. The corn lingered out a sickly ex¬ 
istence until late in July, when a neigh¬ 
bor’s horse mercifully broke into the yard 
and ended its struggle for existence, be¬ 
fore a single ear appeared to continue the 
species. As for the tomatoes, three tiny 
crimson balls finally reached a leathery 
ripeness, which were carefully served as 
a salad on the Big Man’s birthday. Thus 
ended the history of the first year’s gar¬ 
den in the suburb. 
Then the Little Woman took her turn 
at the garden. She employed a man to 
sift coal ashes and cover the clay soil with 
them. Next she had him cover the whole 
plot with well-rotted manure and spade 
it down. This was done in the early fall, 
after the three tomatoes had ripened. The 
next spring she had more ashes sprinkled 
over the clayey section and a coat of bone 
dust broadcasted over the whole plot be¬ 
fore the hired man forked it all over 
again. All this was pretty expensive— 
but they were determined to have that 
garden. 
In the loamy section which had been 
spared when the clay from the excavation 
was hauled out, she planted lettuce, pars¬ 
ley, beets and radishes. She would have 
gone on with onions, tomatoes, and espe¬ 
cially beans, but the soul of the Big Man 
yearned for sweet corn, and he planted 
the most of the remaining space with that. 
During this second year the garden 
grew finely. Their lettuce left nothing to 
be desired. For three weeks they had rad¬ 
ishes for breakfast every morning and 
for more than a month there was lettuce 
every evening for dinner. But one can¬ 
not live on these things. Then after a 
long while, there were beets, and then 
there was a prospect of corn, while the 
green groceryman supplied them with 
peas, beans, cabbage, and all the rest that 
they might have grown, if it had not been 
for those greedy, space-consuming corn 
stalks. At last the corn was ready for 
the table — and such delectable stuff it 
was! Nothing at all like the tasteless, 
leathery article which they had eaten while 
they had lived in the city flat. The Big 
Man renewed the days of his courtship. 
But there was so little of it. Even though 
they ate every nubbin, and only allowed 
the babies one ear apiece, there were only 
four or five messes of corn, which made 
that first crop cost several cents per grain. 
It was then that the Big Man declared that 
gardening did not pay. It might be car¬ 
ried on for the sake of sentiment, but not 
as a business venture. 
But if other vegetables were a disap- 
(Continued on page 186) 
In writing to advertisers please mention House and Garden. 
