186 The Farmstead 



a step-ladder. Diminish the size of a room, 

 add a foot to the width of the house, do 

 anything rather than cramp the stairway. 



As far as possible paint should be kept off 

 the inside woodwork. There are but few varieties 

 of wood which may not be made smooth ; and 

 by the use of hard oil, which is really oil and 

 varnish mixed together, all woodwork becomes 

 beautiful and can be easily cleaned. It appears 

 almost sacrilegious to cover the fine grain of our 

 native woods with cheap, adulterated paint. If 

 some of the woods, such as ash, oak and chest- 

 nut, be sawed "on the quarter" and properly 

 finished, they become more elegant and are in 

 better taste than any of the imported high-priced 

 woods. The farm house should be plain, sub- 

 stantial, and durable, and in many cases there is 

 sufficient wealth to make it elegant and even 

 refined by decorating the walls with a few fine 

 pictures and providing useful books. We judge 

 people somewhat by the furnishings of the 

 rooms in which they live, and by their appre- 

 ciation of things which are really beautiful and 

 useful. 



The comfort and elegance of the rooms 

 depend quite as much on the plastered walls 

 as on their wooden finish. Few things are 

 more annoying than poor walls, which may fall 

 at any time upon the furniture and rugs, and 



