Show Healthy Decoration In a recent lecture on Healthy Decoration Deco-ration in the Home Aitchison an English architect said among other things Nothing is better to prevent the permanent location of dirt than really good bard wood polished parquet but if that be found too expensive then let the joints of the boards be well scraped out filled with wood when wide and let all the joints be puttied And let the whole floor be painted or varnished dust is then more easily and completely swept up and a wet flannel cleans the floor but with parquet perhaps a washing once a year is enough with clean sweeping and the wholesome application of turpentine turpen-tine and beeswax Next to polished wood tiles marble glass and marble mosaics the best wall tinish is oil paint which can be made agreeable to the eye by simple flat tints of harmonious color or it can be ornamented orna-mented with floral or arabesque ornament orna-ment or with the highest triumphs of the painters art and this last will not only mark the owners real taste for art but will prevent the accumulation of dust on the picture frames Flock papers should never be used except when they are painted over as they form a natural receptacle for dust and seem to absorb the greatest quantity of foulness from the air and when the flock is not dyed ingrain in-grain whenever they are touched some of the coloring matter comes off and is mixed with the air of the room Mr Aitchison was greatly inclined to recommend recom-mend the varnishing of all papers so that they could be cleaned with a sponge but it was absolutely essential to varnish them in nurseries Children will lick the papers and neither lead copper nor arsenic can be good for them and neither size nor whiting are substances you would give to children without medical advice Beauty of form and of color have avery a-very important effect upon our health All of us can tear witness to the dullness of a room of one color in which we have to sit when we are without occupation and the desire we have for some beautiful beauti-ful and intricate pattern to relieve the monotony When a room is adorned with pictures we have not merely occupation occu-pation but delight and those higher emotions which are only excited by the fine arts When we choose wallpapers those that are more beautiful in form and color are to be preferred We should however satisfy ourselves that the patterns pat-terns on the paper with which our rooms I are hung have not a look of motion Nothing is more distressing than to be ira ir-a room where the pattern of a paper seems always crawling like a bag of I worms It would be well if we could have all things in beautiful form elegantly ele-gantly simple and all the colors harmonious har-monious and restrained these great qualities seem to impart to us the feelings of selfrestraint dignity and repose |