1899.] ESSAYS. (il 



hooked ruirs exhihitod :it fairs in wiiich all beauty of desijrn or 

 color is lacking. Yet a New Hampshire woman, trained as a 

 designer, has succeeded in working up a paying business in 

 these rugs made under her own artistic supervision. There 

 were many obstacles to progress in her undertaking by reason 

 of an uneducated taste. Eyes accustomed to impossible cats 

 and dogs, jis well as to lilies and roses of poor design and 

 glaring color, as wrought in the average home-made rug, were 

 not prepared to look with favor on conventional patterns in 

 subdued, cBsthetic colors. She was compelled to work out her 

 own ideas, and the adaptation of color schemes from high- 

 priced imported rugs, upon a sufficient number of rugs for an 

 exhibition. She had also to prove by the sale of, and orders 

 for, her work that it appealed to i)e()ple of artistic taste with 

 means to gratify it. In other words, she had to l)reak down 

 the false standards which have been sustained by the premiums 

 awarded at fairs for years and years. Surely the quality of 

 home-made rugs might be improved at fairs if a judge could be 

 found with backbone enough to discard all but the worthy. 

 The premium list ought to help her by prescribing conditions. 



There is room for improvement in the bread exhibit, which, 

 as I tirst remember it, consisted of white and baked rye and 

 Indian bread. Innovations came in steamed brown bread, gra- 

 ham bread and then cakes, until now the cake part is the 

 leading part. There never was a New England farmer's wife 

 but excelled in cake making; it seems to be a universal gift in 

 this section of the country and very little money ought to l)e 

 expended in encouraging greater feats in this line. It might be 

 urged that good premiums are already ofi'ered for l)read and 

 that most women prefer to make cake and take greater interest 

 in it. The remedy lies in creating more interest in bread mak- 

 ing; lack of interest is the cause of so many poor bread 

 makers. The mysteries of fermentation and chemical changes 

 have not attracted their thought or study. It would be I)etter 

 to give three dollars for the best loaf of bread than one dollar 

 for a cake, as is sometimes ofi'ered. 



Does anyone doulU that housekeepers would take interest in an 



