quired at their hands, it was the cornice that first attracted their attention. This was consequently picked out in all varieties of colors, and still the ceiling remained a dead white, cold, and uncompromising. The decorations of a room, like a picture, will be judged as a whole, and as a whole it is incomplete, until the ceiling space has been so utilized that it may contribute its full share to the color gradations of the general scheme. The several ways in which it may be brought to bear may be too pronounced if the dado is dark and the wall space light in color. When there are many pictures to adorn a room, a painted wall is the background best adapted to set them off to advantage; but, if paper is employed, it should be chosen of some tertiary tint, powdered with geometrically-arranged conventional flowers and leaves. If tertiary tints are not approved, a design into which are introduced in minute portions the primary colors, will produce a warm, rich effect, and will yet be free from even a sug-out the artist's conception claim therefore a slight gestion of vulgarity, provided only that the colors notice. In rooms where the use of much gas is are well-balanced. As walls must be considered indispensable, the surface should be one that can merely as backgrounds to the objects in the rooms, be easily renewed. This probably is one of the obtrusive patterns of fruit and flowers are objec- reasons that whitewash has been so generally used. tionable; for, in so far as they become prominent The addition of a little chrome to the white will, and conspicuous, they detract from the objects however, form a cream tint that is far preferable they are intended to set off. Fitness is one of to the dead white; it will carry on the tones of the great principles to be regarded in selecting a the cream wall tints, and yet be subject to no wall paper. Thus, if a ceiling is low, a light- objection on the score of cleanliness, the renewal toned paper is appropriate, as a dark one would of a cream or gray-blue tinted ceiling being as cause it to appear still lower. If a room is small, easy as that of a crude white. If the cornice is the walls should be plainly painted, or a small- picked out with colors, the rule to be observed is patterned paper should cover them, as a large that blue should be used on concave surfaces, design will have the effect of still further dimin-yellow on convex, and red on the flat portions or ishing its size. A frieze may vary in width from five or six inches to three feet, according to the height of the room and the depth of the dado. It may be of paper, tapestry, leather, or a design may be stenciled or painted on the wall itself, or on canvas. If the painting is of real value, it is best that it should be executed on canvas, as it can then be removed at pleasure. Quotations from favorite authors are affected by some for illuminating friezes; others adopt something from Æsop's fables, or arrange a design with some of Walter Crane's inimitably life-like figures; but Mr. Atkinson offers a charming suggestion when he tells us in one of his interesting papers on "The Influence of Art in Daily Life," that he has "long had a favorite idea that the poetic and graceful designs of Flaxman, such as he made for Wedgewood, might, with suitable modification, work effectively as friezes or panels for our rooms." In many houses ceilings have, until late years, been treated simply to a coating or two of whitewash; no trouble has been taken to make them anything more than clean. The generality of decorators seemed to consider that with the walls all ornamentation must cease, and when at last the idea dawned upon them that more was re undersides of the mouldings, the colors being separated by white. When ceilings are papered, simple patterns are most suitable; if too elaborate, they do not show well. The ground may be cream color, light, dark, or gray blue; or a paper in which the primary colors are so combined in small quantities that a radiant glowing effect, after the Persian style, is produced, may be advantageously employed; in this case the design will of necessity be rather more intricate. But the difficulty that meets us in the way of following out such a decoration is, that these "bloomy” papers are very seldom to be obtained, although they are now becoming by slow degrees more fashionable; the soft, subtle sage and olive greens, the indescribable shades of bronzes and grays, beautiful as they are, pall upon the observer when every house he enters bears the self-same dull tones, and more brilliant colors are gradually taking their places. If each one would boldly. strike out a path for himself, instead of lazily imitating a neighbor's ideas who happens to know what is in vogue at the moment, a charming conceit, a novel design, a quaint fancy, or a successful combination of hues, would continue to be viewed with pleasure for a much longer period than is now possible; seeing it less often we should not so soon weary of it, and discard it for something newer still. But it is in painting a ceiling that the artist has the greatest scope for showing his powers. A centre ornament affords him an opportunity of arranging his colors, so that a splendor of magnificence lights up the whole room, shedding a glory of color and gold around, and recalling visions of the radiance and brilliance of old Arabian art. Or it may be that the surrounding tints require a tender, softened tone to complete the harmony; then he will so balance and apportion his colors that they shall cast down a quiet, subdued glamor, suggestive of chords struck in a minor key, that will create and sustain satisfied feelings of repose and peace. If the painted centre occupies a large portion of the ceiling, no corner ornaments are needed, a pale delicate tint covers the remaining space, and the cornice is decorated; but should the centre be small, it requires corner pieces to equalize the decoration. When such is the case, the cornice may be picked out in various shades or colors, or simply treated with the flat tint of the ceiling. The wood-work of a house should harmonize with the color of the walls, etc. In former times, in going over an unfurnished house, it was easy to tell, by the color of the wood-work alone, which room was destined for the drawing-room, which for the dining-room, and so on; but all that is changed now. Our ideas have been somewhat revolutionized of late, and though the present style of decoration has most decided advantages over the old, when one house could scarcely be known from its next-door neighbor, and every house was ornamented after the same pattern, yet there is no denying that at the first glance it does seem rather odd; and we wonder what our grandmothers would have thought of it when we pass through a dining-room with the wood-work painted in the palest and most delicate shade of cream, the walls hung with a paper embellished with wonderful flowers after the Japanese type; into a drawing-room where the doors, shutters, and mantel-piece are of darkish sage green, tapestry covers the walls, and low tones generally prevail. It is, without doubt, of great assistance, in composing a scheme for the decoration of a house, to possess not only what is known as a good eye for color, but also a knowledge of chromatics-the laws of contrast, the principles of harmony. The VOL. XVII.-10 former is, happily, natural to many, if not to all; the latter is easy to acquire, and, once learned, can never be forgotten. An intelligent observation of Nature in all her moods in all seasons, and also the study of the works of art executed by the great world-renowned masters, will enable us to appreciate the infinite varieties of shades and hues that meet us on every hand. A perfect harmony can alone be created by the presence of the three primaries-yellow, red, and blue; they may be pure or combined, but all must be apparent. Red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple, produce harmonies. In the first red is the primary, green is a mixture of yellow and blue; in the second blue is the primary, orange is composed of yellow and red; in the third yellow is the primary, and purple is formed of blue and red. The secondary colors are found by combining two of the primaries, and thus orange, green, and purple are produced. The hues are formed by pairing the secondary colors; orange and purple produce russet, purple and green produce olive, green and orange produce citron; these are termed tertiaries. In the secondary colors one may be in excess of the other, and thus in green a yellow-green or blue-green is obtained according as the yellow or blue predominates; the same with orange, a yellow or red-orange may be produced, and with purple a red or blue-purple. A good contrast is formed when colors not only harmonize, but improve one another by their juxtaposition. A light color placed beside a dark color will cause the latter to appear still darker, while the dark color will serve as a foil to the light; yellow and purple will act thus on each other, and will also harmonize; red and green, on the contrary, will harmonize, but will not contrast, therefore a design of green leaves on a red ground will require outlining. Although we fully concur in Mr. Crace's opinion, quoted by Mr. Collings in his instructive descriptions that accompany the sketches published in "Suggestions in Design," "that an experienced artist can bring any two colors together," yet we copy the following list of pleasing contrasts that he gives, believing that it will be welcome to many who cannot lay claim to such a distinction, but nevertheless desire that the coloring of their rooms shall be in accordance with the rules which an artist would follow-black and warm-brown, maroon and warm-green, violet and pale-green, deepblue and pink, violet and light rose-color, choco late and pea-green, deep blue and golden brown, maroon and deep-blue, chocolate and bright-blue, claret and buff, deep-red and gray, black and warm-green. In drawing out a scheme for the decoration of a house, it is important to remember that although each room must be perfect in itself, it at the same time must not be at variance with the remaining rooms, but each should lead on agreeably to the next, and should bear its share in carrying out the general idea. The entrance-hall and staircases should be kept subordinate to the reception-rooms; if the richest colors are lavished on their decoration, the rooms will suffer by comparison; this, however, does not hold good in houses where there is an inner hall, as the latter is often decorated in an elaborate style; but then it is regarded almost in the same light as a room, and consequently may be treated as such. Now let us consider a scheme or two as we proposed. The wood-work of the outer hall is of ebonized oak; the dado of russet paper, with a large, rather set design covering it, the upper wall is covered with a flowered paper of chocolate and blue, the frieze is chocolate, with a bold blue pattern on it; the ceiling warm-cream color. The inner hall shows the wood-work of tawny-brown; the dado of purplish-gray, the walls of soft, delicate green, of just such a hue as that with which Leighton loves to clothe his fair ideals, relieved by white, leading up to the greenish-yellow-tinted ceiling. Tiger skins lie on the tesselated pavement, and the sun's rays streaming through the exquisitely-painted windows deck it as with brightest jewels. A high oaken dado surrounds the dining-room, above this the walls are painted Pompeiian red, enriched with an illuminated border in which black and gold predominate, the frieze is of red and gold; the paneled oak ceiling is inlaid with Oriental blue, the lines and chamfers on the brackets being touched up with red, black, and gold. Thick rugs, in which deep-toned blue and orange intermingle with black, lie on the oak floor. The oak chimney-piece is decorated with rich blue tiles; and on black corner brackets glow vivid, orange-colored china vases, giving point and brilliancy to the whole. The doors are painted dead-black, relieved by polished black; subjects taken from some of the Greek fictile vases are outlined in red on black panels. The walls of the drawing-room are covered with a textile fabric, the prevailing tint being orange of a yellow shade; a running pattern of low-toned foliage softens and neutralizes the effect of the groundcolor. The doors and shutters are painted bronzegreen, the panels bearing a design of brilliant orange-colored lilies. The ceiling tint is soft gray, tinged with blue, but the centre ornament, painted in varied shades of purple, green, and orange, extending to within a short distance of the cornice, leaves but little clear space visible. A red purple color exists largely in the curtains, and in the principal chair coverings. In cases where the owner does not possess a large number of books, shelves fixed round the lower half of the library walls are most convenient. They are of light oak, the lowest raised at least a foot from the ground, being supported by brackets and finished off with a carved ornament; this obviates the necessity of the would-be reader going down on his knees, and giving himself a headache, in trying to find a volume on the last shelf. The walls are of the palest shade of blue, a tapestry border placed just over the book-cases is illumined with quotations from favorite authors, above and beneath which runs a continuous pattern of laurelleaves. Portraits of the most famous writers and poets are painted in medallions at certain intervals on the tapestry frieze, which is about a foot and a half in depth; the medallions are separated with crossed branches of laurel. The doors are of sage-green, the panels a somewhat lighter shade of the same color; the centre of each panel is left clear, but is bordered with laurel-leaves. The architraves are black. For a library, quiet tones should have the preference; startling effects have no place in a room set apart for reading and study, and whatever tends to distract the thoughts. and disturb meditation should be excluded. The staircase that leads to the boudoir is of light oak and sage-green. The boudoir itself is as charming and elegant a retreat as can well be imagined. A dado of dead-gold is carried to within three feet of the ceiling; the wall, being considered as a frieze, is of lemon-yellow, on which is painted a tasteful design of butterflies and flowers. The ceiling is soft blue, with a suspicion of turquoise in the tint; the corners are decorated lightly with flowers, while dainty, mischievous, laughing cherubs on rose-tipped golden cloudlets float in the centre. The doors of bright polished black are ornamented with golden branches, a gaudy butterfly here and there settling on the flowers, while others coquette around, undecided where to rest. Curtains, in which turquoise and old-gold blend, bear a plain turquoise frieze, and a deepcolored blue velvet dado, which shows almost black within its folds. Eastern embroidery, mounted with blue velvet, covers the low loungechairs; the furniture is of dead-black ebonized wood. Turquoise and orange-colored vases stand on the black over-mantel. The ornaments, costly and precious as they are, are not weighed down by virtue of their value into heavy, massive, ungraceful shapes, but are light and elegant, their beauty dependent on their exquisite workmanship, delicate carving, pure color, and perfect symmetry. Refinement and true artistic taste are evinced in every detail of the room, which forms a fitting bower to the fairy who reigns as queen within its precincts. SILK AND SILK CULTURE. By A. G. FEATHER. THE culture of raw silk as an American industry is now exciting far-spread interest all over the United States. The growing demand in our home market for the raw materials is yearly on the increase. New silk-mills are springing up everywhere. At the present time we have no less than two hundred silk-mills in daily operation, whose product during the past year consumed 1,599,666 pounds of imported raw silk, at a cost of $10,000,000. The silk manufacturers of the United States paid in wages alone over nine millions of dollars. The amount of capital invested is nearly nine millions. The value of finished goods for the year ending June 30, 1880, was thirty-four millions four hundred and ten thousand four hundred and sixty-three dollars, and their manufacture gave employment throughout the year to a large number of persons, the highest number employed at one time being thirty-four thousand four hundred and ten. The raw material to keep these great industrial establishments in operation is almost entirely imported from Japan and other silk-rearing countries; but it has been pretty conclusively demonstrated during the past few years that our American silks are better than the imported, because they are purer. And in this particular we have the secret and success of our American silk. Silk culture in our country, as an industry, is as yet in its inception. The silk-weavers and the "cocoon"-raisers are not as yet in as full relation with one another as are the weavers and the wool-growers. But the time is rapidly approaching when our silk manufacturers will take all that can be raised for years to come-when instead of sending our cocoons to Marseilles, France, to find a market, they will find a ready market at home. And the realization of this fact will give this industry an impetus which will in a very few years place it on an equality with our other textile industries, if not in advance. Already very many persons in the States are devoting their time and efforts to the culture of the silk-worm, and are meeting with excellent success, while much has been and is being done toward calling public attention to the industry by the "Women's Silk Culture Association of the United States," under whose auspices and enterprise its peculiar advantages are prominently developed. It is as easy to raise cocoons as sheep— easier. The intermediate stages between the cocoon and the factory have yet to be under-. taken, but cocoons and eggs are both raised, for sale and export, in many of the States. These intermediate stages comprehend the perfect reeling, throwing, and spinning of the silk, in which respects there are yet some difficulties to be overcome. For an extended business the great filatures are needed, where American cocoons can be reeled at home, by machinery, the only thing that can come into competition with the cheap day-labor of the Italians, French, and Japanese hand-reelers. A young American engineer is at this time in France, experimenting on the reeling of silk by electricity, which is the motive-power destined to lighten labor as well as to light the streets. This one missing link supplied, and the chain between. Horstmann's fringes and ribbons and the New Jersey silk dress goods and handkerchiefs, the it spread westward or northward. In the twelfth century silk-rearing began to be practiced in Sicily, in the thirteenth century in Italy, in the fourteenth in Spain and France, and in the fif teenth in England. China, India, Italy, Southern France, and | Turkey, however, by reason of their climate, together with their cheap labor, have thus far been the chief silk-producing countries, to which our manufacturers are indebted for their supply of this material. Connecticut sewing-silks, etc., and the cocoon racks in American farm-houses, will be complete. It is observable that the four great classes of textile fibres employed for the production of clothing, viz., cotton, silk, wool, and flax, are essentially different in their origin. They are all delicate filaments, but they present little in common as respects their formation. Cotton and flax are of vegetable growth, one proceeding from the seed-pod, and the other from the stem; wool and silk are of animal growth, one proceeding from the outer covering of the animal which produces it, and the other elaborated by a little insect from a glutinous substance within its body. That sub-established. The climate in certain sections is stances so dissimilar should all alike be brought within the power of the loom, and employed in the formation of beautiful cloth, is a fact strikingly illustrative of man's ingenuity, and seems to point to the probability that increased resources will be laid open to those who seek among the natural riches presented to our use. The little silk-producing animal-first a worm and then a moth—requires close and careful attention, in order that the produce of its industry may be made available to man. It is to the Chinese that we owe the knowledge of this art, among whom it has been practiced from very remote times. Long before the inhabitants of Europe knew that silk was produced from an insect at all, the manufacture of silk goods was common among the Chinese. The early Greek writers spoke of the lustrous beauty and brilliancy of the Asiatic robes; and in more than one passage alluded to China (or Seres, as it was then called) as the place whence they came. One of these writers, supposing that silk was a vegetable production, spoke of it thus: "Nor flocks nor herds the distant Seres tend; But from the flowers that in the desert bloom, Tinctured with ev'ry varying hue, they cull The glossy down, and card it for the loom." Of the introduction of silk-rearing into Europe and how it was brought about, it is hardly necessary to refer to. The eived version of the story is too well-known at this date to need repetition in this article. That the industry can be made a success commercially on this continent is already pretty well peculiarly adapted to the purpose, and as the occupation is one that is singularly fitted to the deft skill of many of our thrifty housewives and women who may seek an industry that will remunerate them handsomely, it affords an interesting pastime for their leisure hours; and, although the difficulty of proper reeling may be as yet a stumbling-block to its otherwise rapid progress, the new industry bids fair to thrive and flourish. Native ingenuity will yet devise means to overcome this difficulty, and that in proper season. That accomplished, and silk-rearing will become as much a source of commercial activity in this country as is now that of cotton or wool. As many of the readers of the MONTHLY may be in ignorance of the methods pursued by the Chinese in rearing the silk-worm, we propose to give, in this article, a brief account of this branch of Chinese industry. This we shall follow with the course of treatment announced by the “Women's Silk Culture Association of the United States" (Philadelphia), an association which has paid considerable attention to the subject of silk-worm culture, and been very successful in its efforts in that direction. Much attention is bestowed by the Chinese on the artificial rearing of the insects. One of the principal objects of care is to prevent the too early hatching of the eggs, to which the nature of the climate strongly disposes them. The mode of insuring the requisite delay is, to cause the moth to deposit her eggs on large sheets of paper; these, immediately on their production, are suspended This department of industry was for more than to a beam of the room, and the windows are six hundred years confined, so far as Europe was opened to expose them to the air. In a few days concerned, to the Eastern or Byzantine Empire., the papers are taken down and rolled up loosely, It was not till about the time of the Crusades that with the eggs in them, in which form they are |