THE first considerations in the composition of a garden or the grounds around one’s place are privacy, shelter, and unity of design.

The planning and arrangement of the features of a garden should be as carefully considered as the choice and placing of the furniture in one’s home, or the choosing of one’s clothes. The garden should present a suitable, agreeable and comfortable composition.

The arrangement of the drives and the grading of the lawns, the drainage when necessary, and the relations of the buildings and other structures should all be preconceived and settled in an orderly, economical manner. As far as possible, there should be no mistake about the main permanent features. The minor features may be changed quite a great deal in the coming years and almost surely will, as new ideas and points of view assert themselves. This changing of the minor features is a part of the recreation of gardening. Thus, one may considerably alter the contour of a shrubbery border, or may indeed eliminate it altogether. The same holds good of flower beds and borders which are easily altered, removed or added to; but with large trees or the heavier groups of shrubs, the expense of removal and shifting prohibit this being done except out of dire necessity.

1920′s Gardening continued here…

The term “Cocoa,” a corruption of “Cacao,” is almost universally used in English-speaking countries to designate the seeds of the small tropical tree known to botanists as THEOBROMA CACAO, from which a great variety of preparations under the name of cocoa and chocolate for eating and drinking are made. The name “Chocolate” is nearly the same in most European languages, and is taken from the Mexican name of the drink, “Chocolatl” or “Cacahuatl.” The Spaniards found chocolate in common use among the Mexicans at the time of the invasion under Cortez, in 1519, and it was introduced into Spain immediately after. The Mexicans not only used chocolate as a staple article of food, but they used the seeds of the cacao tree as a medium of exchange.

No better evidence could be offered of the great advance which has been made in recent years in the knowledge of dietetics than the remarkable increase in the consumption of cocoa and chocolate in this country. The amount of crude cocoa retained for home consumption in 1860 was only 1,181,054 pounds—about 3-5 of an ounce for each inhabitant. The amount retained for home consumption for the year 1921 was approximately 275,000,000 pounds—about 41.6 ounces for each inhabitant.

Although there was a marked increase in the consumption of tea and coffee during the same period, the ratio of increase fell far below that of cocoa. It is evident that the coming American is going to be less of a tea and coffee drinker, and more of a cocoa and chocolate drinker. This is the natural result of a better knowledge of the laws of health, and of the food value of a beverage which nourishes the body while it also stimulates the brain.

Cocoa and Chocolate Making continued here…