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Reflecting Value of Wall • Paper 
ANY people live in metaphorical 
darkness because they do not ap¬ 
preciate the value of true light. The 
president of the National Commercial Gas 
Association has made the statement that 
in the course of a year thirty-three million 
dollars’ worth of gas is wasted. One 
great factor on the waste is wall cover¬ 
ings. Wall coverings absorb the light, 
and in choosing one’s paper it is well to 
know that emerald green paper, for in¬ 
stance, has a reflective power of only 
18%, while that of yellow paper is 40%. 
Orange has even a greater power, 50%, 
while dark brown reflects only 13%. It 
is also stated that a clean yellow wall has 
double the reflecting power of a soiled 
one! K. N. B. 
A Real Use for Autumn Leaves 
T HE beautiful bright leaves which add 
so much to the fall landscapes are 
usually consigned to the ground, after a 
few admiring glances from the lovers of 
nature. These may be made to serve a 
useful as well as an artistic purpose, how¬ 
ever, in wall decoration. A frieze of a 
color to harmonize with the rest of the 
wall can readily be made and cannot be 
exactly duplicated. A plainly tinted wall, 
a white wall, or one with a plain surface 
paper, lends itself well to the treatment 
with a border of leaves above the picture 
molding or below the sur-base. In col¬ 
lecting and selecting the leaves for the 
purpose, pick out only the most perfect 
in form, color and condition; they must 
be in their prime. Decide upon the ar¬ 
rangement—whether they are to be ap¬ 
plied haphazard as if wind-blown upon 
the wall, or whether a certain careless 
form of arrangement is to be preferred ; 
and carefully plan out the color scheme. 
For an ecru or cream wall almost any 
color of leaf may be used, including that 
which has not lost its green—a bright or 
deep red for contrast, a golden or a brown 
to preserve a sombre simplicity. The 
leaves should be carefully cleaned, those 
only being ready to use that will lie per¬ 
fectly flat when pasted. A strong paste, 
like that used by paper-hangers, is best to 
affix the leaves to the wall, and too much 
care in applying cannot be used, as the 
paste must not spread beyond the leaf, yet 
each little portion must be well fastened 
to the wall. After the pasting is com¬ 
pleted, carefully cover the leaves with a 
coat of white varnish or shellac which 
will preserve then and keep them from 
shrinking or discoloring. This is work 
for the art lover or home decorator rather 
than the paper-hanger. A very unusual 
effect may also be secured by treating the 
ceiling with applications of autumn leaves, 
leaving the side walls plain. 
K. N. Birdsall 
The Attic Water Tank 
M ANY houses have a tank in the 
third story these days. When it 
is cleaned you should be very careful that 
the sediment does not go down the pipe 
The Colonial candlestick with dainty etched 
wind shield makes an effective guest-room 
ornament that is occasionally useful. This 
pattern costs $3 
into the water-back in the kitchen range 
and so into the boiler. If it does it will 
make the water in the boiler very dirty 
and unpleasant to use, for it will settle in 
the bottom of it. Always clean the tank 
at intervals, according to the state of the 
water, for (especially after heavy rains) 
it often contains much sediment. 
C. K. F. 
Tapestries and Embroideries 
r I ^ HE difference between a tapestry and 
an embroidery is very patent when 
one examines the two together. The un¬ 
initiated, however, often confuse the 
terms and use them indiscriminately. In 
a tapestry the design forms a part of the 
stuff itself ; it is a design woven into the 
goods on the loom. The art of tapestry 
weaving by hand was at its height during 
the fifteenth century, although it dates 
back to the end of the twelfth century. 
Machine-made tapestry has almost en¬ 
tirely superseded the hand-made. The 
warp of tapestry is usually linen thread ; 
the woof, worsted. K. N. B. 
Home-made Rugs to Fit Any 
Color Scheme 
\ NY woman may make, at very small 
expense, the most artistic and inex¬ 
pensive of rugs to correspond with any 
desired color scheme. 
After cutting rags in the usual way, 
sew them “hit and miss,” and then color. 
This produces a blended effect of many 
tones of the same color that is very effec¬ 
tive. These rugs should have a border 
of a good, plain corresponding tone with 
a thread of contrasting color. 
The hit-and-miss rags put through a 
bronze-green dye, and woven with a 
thread of old-gold and a dull green bor¬ 
der is beautiful. Blue and white makes a 
dainty combination that, while delicate, 
will endure laundering. Another lovely 
rug is made by coloring the mixed center 
buff; edge this with a narrow strip of old- 
rose, and have a border of deep, shaded 
brown, edged with just a thread of black. 
Alice M. Ashton 
(236) 
