combining to form these figures. Curved forms cannot be used to good advantage in this way as it is difficult and expensive to cut or join them properly. Nevertheless, all the principal manufacturers will execute to order any design desired.

When placed in a new house floors of 7/8 inch or 1-1/4 inch are usually to be preferred, and are made in sections of convenient size for shipment at the factory, and finished after they are in place.

Most of the makers nail thin parquetry work through from the surface and fill the nail holes with putty, although in some cases blind nailing is used.

Western manufacturers have in the last few years been making rapid progress in this industry. While J. W. Boughton, who is one of the oldest and best known makers of ornamental flooring, is still doing a large and increasing business, Western houses are catering to and obtaining a great deal of the best trade. The Interior Hardwood Company of Indianapolis, under the business management of its vice-president, Mr. Charles Hinman Comstock, has doubled its capacity in the last year and shows commendable energy in pushing its business. S. C. Johnson of Racine, Wis., is also in the front rank in first-class trade. The Wood-Mosaic Company of Rochester should also be considered as one of the leading and reliable houses. Its collection of designs is full and varied and its work of the best.

Architects will find the catalogues of these firms most valuable reference books.

The finishing of a good floor requires care and attention as well as special knowledge. Oil, varnish, shellac, and wax are the finishes ordinarily used, but wax is usually the most satisfactory.

The floor should be carefully and thoroughly smoothed, so that no waves or plane-marks will be seen, and then filled if the wood is at all porous or open grained. This is done with preparations manufactured by any of the firms mentioned above, or with fillers specially made for the purpose such as those sold by Harrison Brothers & Company of Philadelphia, or the Chicago Wood Finishing Company of Chicago. The wood filler made by the latter firm is especially adapted for this purpose and will give excellent results. The finish is then applied in one or more coats as required, oil and shellac finishes usually requiring more than one application and an intermediate rubbing down with fine sandpaper. Shellac and ordinary varnish are usually unsatisfactory from their tendency to wear unevenly. The Chicago Varnish Company of Chicago supplies a varnish under the name of "Supremis," which has proved by years of use under trying conditions, such as those of asylums, hospitals, and public buildings, to be of exceptional merit. It is elastic, tough, and gives a fine waxy surface which can be rubbed and will preserve its finish. It has the additional merit of being easily applied. It dries quickly and is remarkably durable. Wax should be carefully applied and then polished to the required finish with a weighted brush.

Of wax finishes one very largely used is that made by the Butcher Polish Company of Boston. It has all the best qualities of other wax finishes and has stood the test of time and experience.

There are numerous variations in the products referred to above suited for different purposes. The Wood-Mosaic Company makes end-wood mosaic 7/8 inch thick made of small blocks joined by means of a lead tongue; wood carpet similar to that of S. C. Johnson; and thick and thin parquetry. S. C. Johnson also makes a flooring of 1/4 inch face glued to a backing of pine to make 7/8 inch, 1 inch, or 1-1/4 inch stock which is found to stand the changes of temperature in American houses remarkably well. The thicker floors of 7/8 inch and upwards are frequently made with tongued and grooved joints and blind nailed.

These patterns when properly chosen are just as appropriate for stairs, walls, or even ceilings, as for floors, and are frequently used for these places.