OLD FURNITURE 



47 



a plate. Table-cloths were a luxury unheard of in the 

 dwellings of working folk till quite a late date. All that 

 was eaten from the table, except salt, was produced upon 

 the farm. 



The parlour table was of the eight-legged pattern with 

 two hinged flaps. The tops were of all sizes between six 

 and two feet, nearly always elliptical, with the longest axis 

 the way of the flaps, though the smaller sizes were occa- 





Wooden Trenchers, Flour-Barrel and Scoop 



sionally round. There was a good deal of variety in the 

 pattern of the turning of the legs. 



The round table with turned central standard, branching 

 below into three curved legs, was in every old house, its 

 form unchanged for centuries. Like all other house furniture 

 these tables were originally made of oak, but exactly the 

 same pattern persisted in mahogany when that wood came 

 into use. The top was hinged and folded down against 

 the upright ; on being brought into position' it became 

 fixed with a spring snap. The tops ranged in diameter from 



