VOL. LIV.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., MAY 27, 1899.
NO. 21
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A Living Room with  a Southeast Front
In a Two Story House.
let Premiums.—In furnishing any room
"the eternal fitness of things" should be coneidered and especially so in a living room.
It le by no means an easy task to make one
eet of furnishings answer equally well for
both warm and cold weather, for during the
eummer months one needs Bofter hues and
lighter fabrlcks to rest the eye, while warm
rich tones are needed for winter.
A simple, inexpensive way of furnishing
euch a room would be to cover the walls with
a plain, sage green paper which has a pretty
frieze, or to have the walla tinted in the same
tints, which from a sanitary point of view is
wiser, and to use a good Ingrain or three-ply
carpet, whose predominating shades are a
soft, dull green and oak hues.
A body Brussels, will last much longer, and
n the end will probably be the cheapest, but
not every housekeeper is able to put that
much money into a carpet, and a good ingrain is infinitely preferable to a poor brus-
eels, and to the home-maker of limited means
denim possesses great possibilities. Select a
good quality of the art denim which matches
the carpets and walls, and use it for divan or
couch covers, table Bpreade, pillow covers and
draperies between archways.
At the windows hang either sash or long
curtains of linen scrim choosing the unbleached color Instead of pure white. They
are much more durable than the dotted mulls
or lace ones and and are both artistic and effective. Have the wood painted a creamy
tint.
A good divan can be easily constructed by
fastening four solid legs with casters, to woven wire springs of a three-quarters bed and
fitting a good mattress of curled hair or moss
to that.
Make a good strong cover of heavy, unbleached muslin to fit the mattress and over
that a denim cover which neatly fits it and
has a balance or flounce reaching to the floor.
Several pillows in attractive cases will be
needed for this divan. A Morris chair with
green corduroy cushion, one large easy chair
and two or three wicker chairs will furnish
sufficient seats. A table with end shelves, and
a taboret for a large plant will complete the
furniture.
A few good pictures should hang on the
walls, Copies of the great masters can be had
'or a surprisingly small price and are always
in good taste. Ohrlst in the Temple, the
Madonna and child and angel faces are always well liked. If more color is preferred
for winter combine a rich shade of red with
the green in pillow covers, draperies, etc. Old
blue can be substituted in place of green, if
better liked. 0. M. A.
Winnebago Oo., Ills.
2d Premium,—Let me describe a room similarly situated. This room has a bay window
at the south-east corner and one other large
window" on the south side. The paper has a
light buff ground, over which is a delicate
pattern in silver. The ceiling and border
match, all making a delicate half-tone very
restful to the eye, and forming a background
that shows the pictures and furniture to the
best advantage. The carpet is an all wool ingrain; color, green and light brown, shading
into buff. In the bay, to each separate window, U a white shade, while each lower saBh
nae a curtain, on rods, of sash goods; white
dotted over with small leaves of gold color.
Across the front of the bay window, even with
the walla ofthe room, are curtains of ecru
•ace, daintily draped. A window seat, cushioned with green, complete that part of the
room.   The other window has a white shade
and lace drapery. The chairs are all easy
chairs, mostly of rattan and the kind known
as common sense. All have chuehlons and
head rests, made from remnants of goods
from an upholstery, but selected carefully to
harmonize with the other furnishings. A
green and buff couch, with a crimson plush
pillow, near the south window, is the especial
"cozy corner" of the master of the house.
This Intelligent gentleman says the mind
must not be starved; so the latest books and
periodicals, among them the Indiana Fabmek, are found on our shelves and table. En.
gravingB, copies of celebrated paintings on
the wall, and some family portraits on large
easels, are the pictures.
The owner ot this house and the 160 acre
farm attached, tells his friends with no little
pride, "I do no trouble myself about the
house furnishings. My wife and daughters
attend to that-" These ladies also understand
the best up-to-date methods in the dairy and
the poultry yard. M. M. D.
RushOo. 	
3d Premium.—How fortunate is this friend
in the location of her living room! How sunny and cheerful in winter, and how airy and
pleasant in summer, Buch a room may be! In
selecting the paper for the room lt must be remembered this is to remain on through the
varying seasons, therefore select some quiet
natural tint, neither too warm toned for Bummer nor too cold for winter. A gray or greenish ground with a pinkish spray or figure ls
good. If the floor ls a good close one, I would
prefer to have it well painted with a gloss finish. Then put all the money that can be
spared into a good big rug, that would all but
cover the floor in winter, and in the hottest
summer days could be taken up, as it will be,
once the coolness of a freshly wiped-up painted surface has been enjoyed. The rug may be
homemade, and a heavy hit and miss of woolen rags in bright colors would be the most
servicable, especially if there were children in
the home. The furniture for a general living
room ought not to be too fine, but it should
be comfortable. Good rockers are now so
cheap that every member of the family can afford his own. Then a good couch Is indispensable. Such a room needs a good sized,
strong table and the best and cheapest will be
a good square dining table, which draped will
pasa for a library table at one third the cost.
A good big reading and study table ls so essential in the living rooms of our farm homes,
and very often is not there, to the school children's discomfort. Pictures are so much a
thing of individual taste, but one is always
safe to not overdo the decorative. Good photographs are now everywhere framed; however
a great many of these are better buried in albums. By all means have flowers in such windows as these—but not so many as to obstruct
the view, as is sometimes the case. The window furnishing greatly helps the appearance
of a room, or hurts it. Good dark green shades
are tbe best, and do not economize on shades
for the cheap ones are a continual trouble.
For summer have some thin ruffled stuff,
Swiss orchese cloth even, which ls replaced In
November with dark red woolen ones will
prove both comfortable and cheery enough to
repay the trouble and expense. Our seasons
in this latitude are so given to extremes that
our rooms like ourselves really need different
summer and winter covering, but this ls far
from being generally recognized, In the country especially. It is thought to be too much
expense, but this is not true ln the end, any
more than two pairs of shoes Is more expense
than one worn continually. Such a room
ought to be the most delightful ln the whole
houee, and with good lights, good reading
matter, flowers and music, If the family be
musical, such it surely will be.       0. R. P.
The wall paper may add much to the beauty
of the room, or it may cause everything ln it
to appear unattractive. A pretty combination of color for a reading room would be
rich red or green with back-ground a shade
lighter of the same color. This together
with a plain filling on the floor, gives an air
of repose which would be impossible with a
more complicated scheme of decoration. Odd
pieces of furniture may be used and pictures
may be artificially arranged. The bay window can be filled with ferns and blooming
plants and curtains of some thin material
tastefully draped at the arch. On each side
of the arch place a stand with a jardiniere for
cut flowers. A slat for the other window may
be easily produced from inexpensive materials especially adapted to thoae who ln furnishing are obliged to consider the expense.
It is made of white pine stained a dark green.
Round cushions are made for the seat, and
the entire frame ls draped with cretonne of a
pretty pattern. Several rocking chairs with
pretty cuahionB and head-reets serve to complete the furnishing. S. M. N.
DeKalb Oo.
B_v_rw,
The cosy rooms described by our cultured
correspondents this week,aredoublyattractlve
because while full of comfort they can be
furnished with moderate means. One could
take this copy of the Fabmeb ty a good furniture store and with a little tact at home furnish a room so as to be a comfort and a joy
every day of his life. I once visited W. W.
Hamilton, near Greensburg, and, after showing me his 150 mules, his fences, orchards, hia
parlor and furnishings, we went into his sitting room, and he pointed to a roomy, soft,
open couch, nearly opposite the asbestos gas
grate, and as the old man doubled down on it
he said very meaningly, "This is the beet of
all."
If you don't get tired in this world I 'spect
you'd better see if you are doing your part
The people who move things and carry responsibilities get tired. Perhaps one could
rest some in jail if he had an easy chair, but
only think how restful to the eye, the mind,
the nerves and the whole tired being is a
room such as these good people have described!
A mother this very day was lamenting to
me that her daughter who was recently married and soon died, did not have the comforts
of life. That her "man was all self, and
didn't care how the rest of the family got
along so he was comfortable."
How many tired but silent farmers' wives
would not only be happier but live longer, if
they had a cosy, inexpensive resting room.
No. 171, June 17.—Experience in sowing rye,
beans, clover, or other feed crops ln corn.
No. 172, June 24.—How beet clean rooms in
daily housework, floors, furniture, brass, pictures and the like.
No. 173, July 1.—The effect of the policy of
political expansion on American agricultural
nterests. 	
Premiums of $1, 75 cents and .50 cents will be
given to 1st, 2d and 3d best articles each week.
Let copy be as practicable as possible and forwarded 10 days before publication to
Oarmel. E. H. Collins.
Yields of Corn at Purdue.
EiriTOBS Indiana Fabmib.
In an editorial under the heading of "Oorn
Culture at Purdue," in your issue of May 13,
you Bay ln comparing the results of the Indiana and Illinois Experiment Station "there
Is a notable and unaccountable difference in
the total yields reported." It Is easy for one
acquainted with the. lay of the land and the
soil of the two Station farma to account for
the dlfferencea in yields of com. The farm
of the Illinois Experiment Station is not only
more fertile, but less subject to drouth than
that of the Indiana Experiment Station. The
Experiment Station farm at Purdue University lies IOO feet above the level of the Wabash
river and has underlying it an Immense bed
of gravel, bo thatthe free water drops down
about 100 feet below the surface. This gravel
ls some cases comes to within lees than two
feet of the surface. This ls not therefore a
sufficient depth of soil proper to hold enough
capillary water for the demands of a full corn
crop in dry seasons, and there ls no reserve of
free water below to bo drawn upon during a
period of drouth. This has been clearly recognized and commented upon again and
again In the reports of the corn experiments
at Purdue. The conditions at Purdue are
such as will produce a very solid corn, but the
yields three years out of five will be reduced
on account ofthe drouth. It is now well understood by all successful corn growers that
with a naturally good soil, an abundant supply of water during mid eummer is the condition for a heavy yield of corn. This is precisely the weak point in the Indiana Experiment Station farm, as regards corn culture,
and this alone accounts for the differences In
yield referred to in your article of the 13th
met. W. 0. Latta.
Purdue University.
 ..**•	
Grape Culture.
Editors Indiana Fabmeb.
The growth of the grape la one of the simplest of any fruit. I doubt if there ls another
fruit as productive and quick bearing, and
lasting as long aa the grape does. The varieties must re according to location, or wish of
the one who raises them.
As long ago as I can remember there was a
grape vine climbing the wall at the back of
the woodhouse. It bravely tried to produce
fruit but lt didn't. After a time lt was taken
up and put Into an open space In the garden,
and here Its life was made of some account.
It began to yield prolifirally. The beat grapes
and most thrifty ones of which I have had any
knowledge have not grown upon the sides of
buildings, and if they did they would need a
Bunny situation and plenty of good usage. It
ls eaid however that anyone can grow grapes
successfully. A friend of mine has a row of
grape vines running the entire length of a
good sized garden, these are trained to a trellis, and bear abundantly, the vines have no
especial care, save the usual loosening of the
soil and pruning.
A woman who took some non-bearing grape
vines into her caro and keeping thinks that
the pruning haa more to do with the bearing
than anything else; thia I think correct save
that a vine muat have an airy location. Thla
woman pruned her vines back to the main
stem, leaving one joint, then as the young
shoots grew long enough they were trained
over an arbor. Thla waa done about the middle of May, and it Beemed aa though deetruc-
tlon muet re8ult for there waa very little left of
abundant vine growth. The vines started Into
a moat rampant growth and itkeptthe woman
pretty busy training them into place, but it
was not long before the vines had attained a
good size and little bunches of grapes covered
the arbor, rendering in due time their rich
clusters of luscious fruit. This experiment
was on vines that had grown and grown for
years and had not yielded anything.
But it ls not all fair sailing even ln vineyard dressing. There are some two hundred
insect pests now, that trouble the grape and to
those who do not know what to do, life ia made
a burden because of these; but really theae in-
eecta are not very serious detrimenta. The
phyloxera haB killed over two million acrea of
grapea in France. It is said that sand planting will entirely circumvent the attacks of
this pest. The Delaware grape is said to be
about the only one of our American stock of
grapes readily succumbing to the phyloxera.
Bisulphide of carbon is sometimes used to destroy the peat. R, s. M
Ipaurch, S. D.