102 
DI RECTORY of DECORATION 8 FINE ARTS 
Wall 
Fountains 
Are not confined to outdoors. While 
they have an important place in the 
garden wall, they also can be used to 
excellent advantage in the conserva¬ 
tory or sun parlor. Included in our 
collection of garden orna¬ 
ments, we have a number 
of very attractive wall , 
fountains at unusually 
reasonable prices. 
Our illustrated catalogue 
sent on request. 
The 
ERKINS 
STUDIOS 
Established 1900 
240 Lexington Ave. 
at 34th Street 
New York 
Amazing Antique 
Oriental Rugs 
Such rarities are seldom 
seen; thick, sparkling, vel¬ 
vety. Some of my rugs are 
now in museums, many were 
pictured in leading rug books. 
Volume of supply is off 90% 
since 1914, and will fall more. 
Persia is bare of antiques to¬ 
day. Each rug is a collector's 
dream, the best of over 
10,000. That is why I have 
sold rugs in all of our large 
cities. Descriptive list on 
request; then, if you like, I 
will prepay an assortment 
on approval. 
Write for descriptive list. 
L. B. Lawton, Skaneateles, N. Y. 
NIGHTRACK 
A MODERN device for- holding clothing in form for ventilation 
purposes. An easy, practical and efficient method for sanitary 
care of wearing apparel. Requires minimum of space. Holds clothing 
in shape by window or radiator 
i over night, wherever require¬ 
ments demand. High swung 
shoetrees preserve sole leather. 
Have your evening clothes 
pressed and waiting on Night- 
rack. 
A Christmas present with life¬ 
long service. Finished in red 
or brown mahogany, walnut 
and ivory, for women and men. 
Price 
$ 10.00 
Delivered to points East of Mississippi River. 
Express Prepaid 
nopg nnmmonD 
STUDIOS 
Patented 11111 111 1H U N ^ I We+ON';' W EST' VAl] 1111|1| 1 
Colonial 
Fireplace 
Furnishings 
They Gladden 
the Hearth 
- Andirons. Grates, 
r' Fire Sets, etc., in a 
wide range of Co¬ 
lonial and other 
period designs in 
hand-wrouglrt iron, 
polished or hammered brass, or any de¬ 
sired finish. Special designs to order. 
Much of your pleasure in your fireplace comes 
from tire beauty and usefulness of the acces¬ 
sories which adorn the hearth. You have _ out 
record of thirty years in building and equipp¬ 
ing fireplaces to assure artistic effect with 
satisfactory service and economy either in 
complete fireplaces or in fireplace furnishings. 
Write today for newly issued booklet. 
Fireplaces of Colonial Charm/* 
Sent FREE. 
COLONIAL FIRE¬ 
PLACE CO. 
30 Years Building 
Fireplaces 
4613 Roosevelt Rd. 
Chicago, III. 
“Modern 
SERVICE TABLE WAGON 
Saves Thousands of Steps 
(1) Has large broad Table Top (20x30 in.) 
(2) TWO Undershelves (to transport 
ALL the table dishes in ONE TRIP.) 
(3) Large center pull-out Drawer. 
(4) Double End Guiding Handles. 
(5) Equipped with four (4) Rubber Tired 
“Scientifically Silent Swivel ^Vheels. 
(6) A beautiful extra glass Serving Tray. 
Write for descriptive pamphlet and dealer’s name. 
THE COMBINATION STUDIOS 
504-G Cunard Bldg.. Chicago, Ill. 
House & Garden 
BOXWOOD IN THE FORMAL GARDEN 
DR. E. BADE 
A PLANT inseparably connected 
with the old American homestead 
is the boxwood, Buxus semper - 
virens. Usually it is nothing more than 
a moderately high bush and only too 
often it is a dwarfed scrubby tree 
which, if kept small, is admirably 
adapted as a border plant. In warmer 
climates it is a larger bush or small 
tree, but in the Caucasian Mountains 
and Asia Minor it attains its greatest 
size. 
In the ancient European gardene this 
tiny evergreen shrub was neglected for 
generations. No one paid any atten¬ 
tion to it, and so it was able to develop 
in all its luxuriance until today it has 
become a bushy tree. Now it is in 
fashion again, and it is one of the most 
modern of formal plants, especially if 
geometrically pruned. 
For this purpose boxwood is most 
admirably adapted. It is especially 
suited to the formation of hedges and 
other ornamental designs. At the same 
time it readily withstands the pruning 
knife to a remarkable degree, thus mak¬ 
ing an excellent and plastic material for 
the gardener. It is a dense, though 
light hedge bush, but it is entirely un¬ 
suited for the shaded spot. The growth 
of box is very slow indeed, and cen¬ 
turies must pass it by before it can at¬ 
tain a height of from 20 ' to 25'. 
A no more unassuming tree can be 
selected for the smaller gardens of the 
city than the boxwood. It remains un¬ 
affected by both smoke and dust, and, 
where the most hardy of conifers cease 
to exist, this plant still keeps its foliage 
fresh and green if the soil contains a 
little moisture. Through the agency of 
the pruning knife it can be kept in 
symmetrical and uniform shape to har¬ 
monize with architectural surroundings. 
And it is always effective either as a 
flat or tall column, as a pyramid or as 
a spherical tree. Even in its natural 
THE 
T ODAY the yew, which is with¬ 
out question one of the most sol¬ 
emn and forbidding of all trees, 
is seldom found in the European wood¬ 
lands, although years ago it was more 
or less common. The ancient Greeks 
believed it to be a tree of the nether 
world from which the furies carved 
their torches, and in Rome it was called 
the tree of the dead. The foliage is 
poisonous not only to man but to many 
animals. Caesar said, that Katuvolkus, 
a noble of the Eburonese killed himself 
with the poison of the yew, known to¬ 
day as “taxine,” and that their berries 
contained a death-dealing poison. The 
seed-coat, a reddish fleshy cup sur¬ 
rounding the seed, is edible, but 
whether the seeds themselves are poi¬ 
sonous has not as yet been determined. 
The wood of the yew has been used 
for weapons since prehistoric times be¬ 
cause it is hard, tough, and its grain 
uniform; there are no resin ducts in any 
part of the tree, and resin formation is 
unknown. In the lake or pile dwellings 
of the Swiss, bows and knives were 
found made of this wood and in spite 
of the thousands of years of dampness, 
they are in perfect condition. The sign 
y, yr, in the runic alphabet stand for 
the yew and the bow. The lances of the 
condition, an older tree is very orna¬ 
mental if placed in stately grandeur 
upon the lawn. 
The low form, var. Suffruticosa, is 
used as a border plant for both walks 
and beds. Here it is not only very 
pretty and distinctive, but a more prac¬ 
tical border cannot be imagined. It is 
beautiful, lasting and clean. For such 
borders, layers or cuttings are taken 
from older plants by division. These 
cuttings should still have a few roots 
clinging to them. If the old bush has 
produced much wood, it is to be cov¬ 
ered with soil so that only the tips pro¬ 
trude. This should be done at least 
three months before the cuttings are 
to be used. At the end of this period 
nearly all of the twigs will have formed 
roots and they are best taken off in 
September or October. Then the cut¬ 
tings will have plenty of time to become 
accustomed to their new surroundings 
before the frost sets in. The cuttings 
should be placed comparatively deep in 
the soil so that the resulting plant will 
be bushy. During the first year these 
new plants are not to be pruned. Root¬ 
less cuttings must be quickly planted in 
a moist, shaded place. 
It is entirely a matter of taste whether 
the species are considered more beauti¬ 
ful than the varieties. Macrophylla 
and latijolia have large round leaves, 
myrtifolia, salicifolia, augustifolia and 
thymifolia are narrow leaved, japonica 
aurea has variegated leaves and argenteo 
marginata has white bordered leaves. 
A blisterlike leaf is produced by var. 
bullata. Buxus microphylla from Japan 
scarcely attains the height of 3', and it 
forms a spherical bush. 
Older species of boxwood should only 
be transplanted with their root balls. 
The smaller species used as borders are 
to be freely provided with moisture 
during the summer months, especially 
if the soil is dry and parched. 
YEW 
middle ages were made from the yew, 
and in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” it is the 
deadly poison dropped into the ear. 
Through the drainage of large tracts 
of swampy grounds in Europe, many 
yew stumps have been uncovered, espe¬ 
cially when cultivating with the plow. 
This wood, protected in these low lying 
lands from the atmosphere, has been 
preserved in such good condition that 
it is still workable and is used for the 
better grades of carvings. It is as hard 
as stone, and as brittle as glass. 
Again, at the time of the sunny king 
of France and his successors and also in 
the gardens of Le Notre, the yew came 
to its own, and played an important 
part as the hedge bush, and as an orna¬ 
mentally cut tree. With its dense twigs 
the yew seemed to be especially made 
and was extraordinarily well adapted 
to the garden “wizards” of that time, 
who, with the aid of scissors, made 
summer houses, arches, pavilions, walls, 
and other toys with it. But at the end 
of the seven years war the sun of France 
began to wane, and the gardens of Le 
Notre were soon forgotten, and with it 
the yew. Wherever it is found to-day, 
there it is protected—a monument of 
nature—but in general it is difficult to 
(Continued on page 106) 
