House & Home

My connection with the problem of housing, and especially of rural housing, i.e. cottage housing, now nearly a quarter of a century old, has been on the side of cheap material. Rightly or wrongly (Iknow that many great experts in building matters think quite wrongly), I have had the simplicity to believe that if you are to get cheap housing you must get it by the use of cheap material. It has always seemed to me that there is no otherway.

What more natural than first to ask why building material was so dear, and then what was the cause of its dearness? Ifound it in the fact that bricks are very expensive things to make, that stones are very expensive things to quarry, that cements are very expensive things to manufacture, and worst of all, that all these things are very heavy and very expensive to drag about the country, and to "dump" Continue reading

Carpentry is the oldest of the arts, and it has been said that the knowledge necessary to make a good carpenter fits one for almost any trade or occupation requiring the use of tools. The hatchet, the saw, and the plane are the three primal implements of the carpenter. The value is in knowing how to use them. The institution of Manual Training Schools everywhere is but a tardy recognition of the value of systematic training in the use of tools. There is no branch of

industry which needs such diversification, in order to become efficient.The skill of the blacksmith is centered in his ability to forge, to weld, and to temper; that of the machinist depends upon the callipered dimensions of his product; the painter in his taste for harmony; the mason on his ability to cut the stone accurately; and the plasterer to produce a uniform surface

and graduate by building the log houses; in doing this he will be closely following the history of the human race, because ever since our arboreal ancestors with prehensile toes scampered among the branches of the pre-glacial forests and builtnestlike shelters in the trees, men have made themselves shacks for a temporary refuge. But as one of the members of the Camp-Fire Club of America, as one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America, and as the founder

of the Boy Pioneers of America, it would not be proper for the author to admit for one moment that there can be such a thing as a camp without a camp-fire, and for that reason the tree folks and the "missing link" whose remains were[viii] found in Java, and to whom the scientists gave the awe-inspiring name of Pithecanthropus erectus, cannot be counted as campers, because they did not know how to build a camp-fire; Continue reading

A mission chair suitable for the dining room can be made from any one of the furniture woods to match the other articles of furniture. The materials can be secured from the planing mill dressed and sand papered ready

ready tocut the tenons and mortises. The material list can be made up from the dimensions given in the detail drawing. The front legs or [7] posts, as well as the back ones, are made from 1-3/4-in. square stock, the back ones having a slope of 2 in. from the seat to the top. All the slats are made from 7/8-in. material and of such widths as are shown in the detail. Continue reading

This is, in a way, the type of fireplace that our Colonial ancestors built great cavernous openings and generous flues, with the result that the more wood was piled upon the blaze the more they blistered their toes and at the same time chilled their backs. For it is evident that when we secure such a strong, unobstructed current of hot air up the chimney, enough cool air to take its place must be drawn into the room through every opening and crevice.

The result is a mighty draft that rushes past those unfortunate enough to be sitting about the fire andcarries rapidly up the chimney almost all of the heat of combustion.

In the fire place of our Colonial ancestors probably ninety per cent. of the heat was entirely lost, being carried up the chimney. However, cord wood was then to be had for the cutting. Continue reading

It is mainly with the application of "japan" to metallic surfaces that we are concerned in these pages. Japanning may be said to occupy a position midway between painting and porcelain enamelling, and a japanned surface differs from an ordinary painted surface in being far more brilliant, smoother, harder, and more durable, and also in retaining its gloss permanently, in not being easily injured by hot water or by being placed near a fire;

while real good japanning is characterised by great lustre and adhesiveness to the metal to which it has been applied, and its non-liability to chipping-a fault which, as a rule, stamps the common article.

If the English process of japanning be more simple and produces a less durable, a less costly coating than the Japanese method, yet its practice is not so injurious to the health. Continue reading

Carpentry is the oldest of the arts, and it has been said that the knowledge necessary to make a good carpenter fits one for almost any trade or occupation requiring the use of tools. The hatchet, the saw, and the plane are the three primal implements of the carpenter. The value is in knowing how to use them. The institution of Manual Training Schools everywhere is but a tardy recognition of the value of systematic training in the use of tools. There is no branch of

industry which needs such diversification, in order to become efficient.The skill of the blacksmith is centered in his ability to forge, to weld, and to temper; that of the machinist depends upon the callipered dimensions of his product; the painter in his taste for harmony; the mason on his ability to cut the stone accurately; and the plasterer to produce a uniform surface

the inferior kinds of wood, and to stain, bleach, or match any of the fancy materials to which his art is applied, in a manner that will produce the greatest perfection. The following information is given to facilitate a thorough knowledge of the above processes.

Improving.-Iron filings added to a decoction of gall-nuts and vinegar will give to ebony which has been discoloured an intense black, after brushing over once or twice. Walnut or poor-coloured rosewood can be improved by boiling half an ounce of walnut-shell extract and the same quantity of catechu in a quart of softwater, and applying with a sponge. Continue reading

A mission chair suitable for the dining room can be made from any one of the furniture woods to match the other articles of furniture. The materials can be secured from the planing mill dressed and sand papered ready

ready tocut the tenons and mortises. The material list can be made up from the dimensions given in the detail drawing. The front legs or [7] posts, as well as the back ones, are made from 1-3/4-in. square stock, the back ones having a slope of 2 in. from the seat to the top. All the slats are made from 7/8-in. material and of such widths as are shown in the detail. Continue reading

Rustic carpentry does not demand great skill in woodworking, but it does require a large amount of artistic perception. The tools needed are but few, and the materials employed are comparatively cheap, although inmany districts they are becoming dearer every year.

It may be said that any articles made from the now popular bamboo may be made quite as effectively in light rustic work.

For light rustic work, sticks of hazel, cherry, yew, blackthorn, birch, larch, fir, and the prunings of many varieties of shrubs may be used; but it is necessary that the material should be cut at the proper season, and thoroughly dried before being worked up. The sticks should be cut in mid-winter, as at that time the sap is at rest; if cut in the summer time the bark will peel off. If peeled sticks are required, they should be cut in the spring, when the sap is rising, as at that time the rind

Ordinary fruit creams may be made with condensed milk at a cost of about fifteen cents a quart, which, of course, is cheaper than ordinary milk and cream.

In places where neither cream nor condensed milk can be purchased, a fair ice cream is made by adding two tablespoonfuls of olive oil to each quart of milk. The cream for Philadelphia Ice Cream should be rather rich, but not double cream.

If pure raw cream is stirred rapidly, it swells and becomes frothy, like the beaten whites of eggs, and is "whipped cream." To prevent this in making Philadelphia Ice Cream, one-half the cream is scalded, and when it is very cold, the remaining half of raw cream is added. This gives the smooth, light and rich consistency which makes these creams so different from others. Continue reading

and put in three spoonfuls of Sack, and some eight of Ale, and sweeten it with Sugar, then set it over the coles to warm a little while, then take it off and let it stand till it be almost cool, then put it into the Pot or Bason and stir it a little, and let it stand to simper over the fire an hour or more, for the longer the better.

To boyle a Capon larded with Lemons.

Take a fair Capon and truss him, boyl him by himselfe in faire water with a little small Oat-meal, then take Mutton Broath, and half a pint of White-wine, a bundle of Herbs, whole Mace, season it with Verjuyce, put Marrow, Dates, season it with Sugar, then take preserved Lemons and cut them like Lard, and with a larding pin, lard in it, Continue reading

A QUEENS DELIGHT OF Conserves, and Preserves, Candying and Distilling Waters.

To preserve white Pear Plums, or green.

Take the Plums, and cut the stalk off, and wipe them then take the just weight of them in Sugar, then put them in a skillet of water, and let them stand in and scald, being close covered till they be tender, they must not seeth, when they be soft lay them in a Dish, and cover

them with a cloth, and stew some of the the Sugar in the glass bottom, and put in the Plums, strewing the sugar over till all be in, then let them stand all night, the next day put them in a pan, and let them boil a pace, keeping them clean scummed, & when your Plums look clear, your syrup will gelly, and they are enough. If your Plums be ripe, peel off the skins before you put them in the glass; they will be the better and clearer a great deal to dry, if you will take the Plums white;