THE BOOK OF THE HOME
The Book of the Home. By Davide C. Minter. (Gresham Publishing Co. 50s.)
As Lady Jekyll says in her introduction to the first of the four beautiful quarto volumes of this series : " None but the stupid, the idle, and the obstinate can henceforward plead ignorance in kitchen practice or garden craft, in the nurture and education of the young, or in the activities of the farm and the homestead. The sickroom, the workroom, the storeroom and the repairing shop can all henceforth be directed by the most practical and modern information, and even the mists surrounding such' obscure and technical subjects as house- planning, surveying, plumbing and domestic legalities will dissolve in the light of these illuminating pages."
The volumes are illustrated with seven coloured plates and sixty-four full-page photogravures, as well as over four hundred line illustrations in the text. Particularly good is the colour plate in the first volume, which deals with the planning, furnishing and organization of the home, showing various panelling effects for wall decoration. Lists of linen required for a young Couple beginning hOuse-keeping, Methods of packing china and glass, and a marketing guide for. beef and mutton are some of the subjects, chosen at random, to illustrate the practical lines along which the first Vohime is planned. Its concluding section deals with social duties and entertaining, and contains much sensible information, although it would perhaps have been advisable to include somewhat fuller direr. tions as to the storing and serving of wine.. .The second volume deals with the kitchen and laundry, and ends with an excellent chapter on household legalities, such as the law of master and servant. The third volume relates to children, the nursery and hygiene, while the fourth tells the home builder how to plan and plant a garden, how to care for vegetables and fruit trees and how to manage household pets. There is also a section on poultry, beekeeping and dairy work. These welt: illustrated and well-planned volumes are to be emphatically recommended to every reader who has a home of his own, or hopes to have one.
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