108 
House & Garden 
DIRECTORY ^/DECORATION 8 FINE ARTS 
THE 
Florentine Craftsmen 
MASTERS of THE METAL ARTS 
253 CHURCH ST., NEW YORK 
Phone FRANKLIN 4304 
No. IOI 
Beautiful Hand 
Wrought Iron 
ITALIAN 
RENAISSANCE 
LANTERN 
Size q''xib"-^b" overall 
yellow cathedral glass— 
wired, complete, black 
finish $22.00 old steel 
finish or polychrome 
$26.50, same can be 
had with wall bracket 
for outdoor — black 
complete $35.00. 
We are the makers of 
handwr ought hard¬ 
ware, furniture, light¬ 
ing fixtures etc. 
Prices on special de¬ 
signs gladly given. 
GLASNER. 
Brothers 
0rass 
Coat (jook. 
Brass 
Coat tjooK 
peuiter IrjRpot 
T{eprodux.e<l from the Antique 
5"si2e^.sp^7'size^Ci° ‘ 
AlWterporrin^er 
4t«aneter*5» ^Uzabetljan 
ColonlalCandlestlcK lJrasstfelL 
fc"l)L4h -pair 4 b^b - # 4 7 ^ 
l^East 48"’ Street 
Neat TorK City 
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 ^^heels. 
(6) A beautiful extra glass Serving Tray. 
Write for descriptive pamphlet and dealer’s name. 
THE COMBINATION STUDIOS 
504-G Cunard Bldg.. Chicago, Ill. 
Decorate Your 
Walls With 
French Scenic Papers 
Beautiful scenic papers, made 
from wood blocks engraved 
in the luxurious France of 
Napoleon’s day. These papers 
give the effect of mural paint¬ 
ings, and in beauty and dis¬ 
tinction are vastly superior 
to even the highest type of 
formal design. They depict 
such subjects as El Dorado, 
Scenlic America, Italian 
Landscape, Fetes of Louis 
XIII, etc. 
If your decorator cannot supply 
you. write for illustrated booklet. 
A. L. DIAMENT 8 C CO. 
101 Park Ave., New York 
Sole American Agent9 
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. 
An effective tobacco jar 
in hammered brass or 
copper is attractively 
priced at $4. It is 4" 
high and may be pur¬ 
chased through the 
House & Garden Shopping Service 
19 West 44 th Street, 
New York Citv 
How to Care for Floors 
(Continued from page 106) 
First of all, it is not a good plan to 
use any oil as this is apt to soften the 
wax. Water is also impractical as it 
immediately dulls a waxed floor and 
makes it streaky in appearance. The 
best method of keeping a floor of this 
kind in good condition is to wipe it up 
with a cloth moistened with gasoline. 
Turpentine also may be used but great 
care must be taken not to use either of 
these liquids anywhere near an open 
flame as they are both highly inflam¬ 
mable and should be kept tightly corked 
when not in use. Most spots can be re¬ 
moved with oxalic acid solution after 
which the place must be rewaxed and 
polished. 
Most people make the mistake of 
waxing a floor too often. Too much 
wax is apt to get sticky, collect dirt and 
streak in spots. Careful polishing once 
a week with a weighted brush will keep 
a floor of this kind in good condition. 
Of course the spots receiving a lot of 
wear will have to be rewaxed more 
often than the rest of the floor. 
Floors that have only been oiled are 
very easy to take care of. A soft brush 
or broom removes the dirt and an oiled 
mop gives the finishing touch that pol¬ 
ishes. Again water should be used 
sparingly. If it becomes necessary, 
however, use a soft cloth wrung out of 
warm soapy water and be sure the 
soap is good. Wipe the floor up im¬ 
mediately with a dry cloth and then 
polish with kerosene or a good floor oil. 
Cement floors are also easily kept 
clean. They should be swept with a 
stiff brush and only occasionally need 
to be mopped up or scrubbed. One 
must be a little careful, however, in the 
treatment of tiled or composition floors. 
A soft brush will keep these clean, after 
which a dry mop will give the finishing 
touch. If washed at all, warm water 
and a good soap may be used provided 
the floor is wiped up immediately after¬ 
ward with a dry cloth. Never leave 
water standing on a composition or 
tiled floor as it is apt to destroy the 
surface and loosen the tiles. 
Floors of unfinished wood may be 
mopped or scrubbed with a stiff brush, 
warm water and a good soap, then 
wiped as dry as possible. Too much 
water and strong soaps and powders 
darken and tend to soften the wood. 
If badly stained, powdered pumice may 
be used. For ink or iron stains an 
oxalic solution or lemon juice and salt 
will usually suffice. 
Brooms have much to do with the 
appearance of floors. A soft hair brush 
for tile or linoleum, an oil mop and a 
weighted wool brush for polishing waxed 
floors, will fill all the needs. The 
weighted brush may be used also for 
oiled floors if covered with a piece of 
heavy flannel. A good scrubbing brush 
will be needed for cleaning unfinished 
wood. 
Much time and trouble will be saved 
if the brooms and brushes are kept in 
a special closet conveniently located. 
Also the life of the broom will be con¬ 
siderably lengthened if it is treated with 
just an ordinary amount of care. 
Brooms and brushes should be hung 
up when not in use to avoid the weight 
being on the bristles. Bristle brushes 
may be washed in warm water and a 
little ammonia. The weighted bristle 
brush used for polishing waxed floors 
should be washed occasionally. 
ON HOUSE & GARDEN’S BOOK SHELF 
M AZES and Labyrinths, by W. H. 
Matthews, Longmans, Green & 
Co. Although the maze as a form of 
garden decoration is quite uncommon 
in this country, in England and 
on the Continent vestiges still remain 
of this ancient and mysterious usage. 
So that to American gardeners such 
an authoritative and comprehensive 
study of mazes and labyrinths as this 
author presents would seem to be 
caviare, but once the authors unfold the 
subject, its extent and interesting rami¬ 
fications are far from dull. For the 
labyrinth idea seems to go down deep 
into race roots, into the original 
body of legends common to early Egyp¬ 
tians, Greeks and Romans. The slay¬ 
ing of the Minotaur by Theseus is an 
ancient Cretian legend and the fight is 
supposed to have taken place in a 
labyrinth. On the Island of Crete ves¬ 
tiges of what may have been a laby¬ 
rinth have been found, so that there 
is a basis of truth for the legend. 
Vestiges of labyrinths have also been 
found in Egypt, and Italy is not with¬ 
out its remains. From the actual 
labyrinth the design was taken for 
many decorative devices still to be 
found in cathedrals on the Continent; 
it also served as the basis for the 
designing of garden mazes. 
These mazes, according to the author, 
generally take two forms—the ever¬ 
green and the turf maze. Apart fr_m 
their decorative quality they were 
also used for games, especially the turf 
mazes. In the heyday of formal Dutch 
and French gardening the maze was as 
necessary an element in garden design 
as a path is in gardens today; it 
was a commonplace on every well- 
developed estate. Consequently garden 
architects of that day showed no little 
ingenuity in making these complicated 
designs. The pages of this book show 
several score. 
Doubtless when Capability Brown 
and Repton began their efforts at land¬ 
scaping in England they found number¬ 
less garden mazes, and perhaps we can 
thank these gentlemen for much of 
their disappearance. However, the 
making of a maze was a horticultural 
stunt; it belonged to the age that 
lauded topiary work to the skies. That 
it has passed is not a matter for regret. 
Fortunately, however, a few mazes re¬ 
main and to each of these the authors 
give adequate attention. 
It is interesting to note that our 
child’s game of “Pigs in Clover” is a 
survival of the labyrinth idea. 
C HEATING the junk pile, by 
Ethel R. Peyser, with an intro¬ 
duction by Richardson Wright, Editor 
of House & Garden, E. P. Dutton & 
Co. Ethel R. Peyser, who for several 
years has been the Household Edi¬ 
tor on this magazine, is an indefatigable 
worker in ferreting out new inventions 
and in presenting them to readers. 
From month to month she has been 
presenting various phases of the house¬ 
hold equipment problem. Often we 
used to think that she’d run out of 
ideas. And we no sooner had this 
thought than she discovered something 
new. However, during the time she has 
managed to present practically all 
phases of household equipment. These 
(Continued on page 110) 
