I044 



The Cornell Reading-Courses 



If when the carpet is removed an old floor is found to be badly warped, 

 uneven, and with wide cracks, it is better to cover it again until a new 

 floor can be afforded to take its place. Japanese straw matting in the 

 natural buff color laid over a paper lining is excellent for this purpose. 

 It is finely woven, inexpensive, smooth in surface, and easy to care for. 

 A carpet sweeper or a soft cloth on a broom keeps it in good condition; 



but of course like 

 carpet this must be 

 taken up occasion- 

 ally, as some dirt sifts 

 through. Matting 

 should be sewed to- 

 gether and the revers- 

 ible kind should be 

 used. Chinese mat- 

 tings that are cheaper, 

 but less durable, are 

 not so artistic in 

 effect. Many persons 

 object to the odor of 

 straw matting on 

 damp days. There 

 seems to be no 

 remedy for this. Per- 

 haps we are oveniice, 

 for a h^yfield or wet 

 sod we call fragrant. 

 The odor is clean and 

 temporary ; sun, air, or 

 an open fire will 

 remove it. 



When one can 

 afford it a new hard 

 floor can be laid over 

 the old floor, the un- 

 even surfaces having been previously subdued by planing. Flooring strips 

 one half inch or less in thickness arc available for covering over old 

 floors, or wood carpeting may be used over a fairly smooth floor. The latter 

 is sometimes cheaper. Yellow pine is the cheapest of the usual floorings ; 

 plain oak and maple are more expensive, being denser woods. These 

 floorings should be filled and either waxed or finished with a hard floor 

 finish. The color may also be regulated by adding a little stain to the 



Fig. 20. — A sanitary kitchen. Ceiling, walls, cabinet, and 

 woodwork all painted deep cream color with varnish in last 

 coat. All surfaces can be easily washed. Notice absence 

 of grooves and moldings in woodwork 



