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GOOD DOMESTIC RUGS THAT ARE WITHIN THE
REACH OF PEOPLE WITH MODERATE MEANS
HE choice of the right kind of rug
       to complete a given scheme of deco-
       ration and furnishing is perhaps as
       important in its effects as any prob-
 lem that confronts the home maker. A
 rug must be absolutely right in color, de-
 sign and even texture, or it will throw the
 whole decorative scheme out of key, and
 one of the most frequent complaints we
 hear from conscientious and discriminat-
 ing home-makers is of the difficulties they
 encounter in their efforts to get rugs that
 are at once beautiful, durable and not too
 expensive to come within the reach of a
 moderate purse.
   But perhaps the greater part of these
 difficulties arise from certain conventional
 prejudices. It goes without saying that
 the best of all known rugs are the ancient
 Orientals, with their wonderful dim rich
 coloring, their indescribable sheen and the
 wearing quality of which there seems to be
 no end. Therefore, the mind turns nat-
 urally to these as the one desirable thing.
 The difficulty is that a genuine old hand-
 tufted rug of Eastern workmanship is not
 only rare, but so expensive as to be abso-
 lutely out of the reach of all but wealthy
 people. It is true that our markets are
 flooded with modern Oriental rugs that at
 first sight seem to show many of the quali-
 ties of the really fine old ones, but it is
 also true, unfortunately, that the great
 majority of these rugs, although made by
 hand in the same countries that once pro-
 duced the most beautiful rugs in the world,
 are none the less cheap modern imitations,
 dyed with aniline dyes and washed with
 chemicals that fade and blend the colors
 into a fairly good reproduction of those
 produced by the old vegetable dyes, but
 also weaken and ultimately destroy the
 materials of which the rug is made.
 Therefore, it is not always safe to look
to the modern Orient for our rugs, and the
question is where to get something that
will be soft and charming in color, well
designed and durable, at a price that does
not mean more than most of us can afford
to pay. One answer has been found in
some of the Scotch and Irish rugs, which
are hand tufted, deep piled and most at-
tractive in color and design, but the duty
on imported rugs makes these also fairly
expensive, and in this country the mere
process of hand tufting demands such
high-priced labor that the domestic rugs
of this character are hardly any cheaper
than the imported ones. So we are forced
to fall back upon some of the rugs woven
in this country, and when we look at them
carefully we find that the alternative is not
such a bad one after all.
   Some of these rugs are so cleverly
 woven that it would take an expert to tell
 the difference between them and the hand-
 tufted rugs, especially as they have the
 same advantage of a peculiarity in the pile
 that offers the least possible resistance to,
 the foot and thus adds greatly to the wear-
 ing qualities of the rug. When made in
 this way the pile, like that of the old
 Oriental rug, gains in beauty with wear,
 as it acquires a sheen instead of growing
 shabby, and so gradually takes on a sur-
 face that blends all the colors very much
 as we see them blended in the famous rugs
 of the East.
   Also we are improving in this country
in the way of color and design. We have,
to a large extent, abandoned the gaudy
contrasts of bold patterns once so dear to,
the American heart, and in so doing have-
created a public demand that is encourag-
ing the manufacturers more and more to,
produce rugs and carpets of subdued tones
and good unobtrusive designs. Some of*
these are very simple, serving merely to
break the plain surface. Others show
traces of the influences of L'Art Nouveau,,
and still others are really amazing repro-
ductions of good old Oriental rugs, which,
have been copied so exactly in weave, de-
sign and coloring that it would take an ex-,
pert to tell the difference. While we natur--
ally prefer the old hand-tufted rug, we.
nevertheless must admit that a good and'
durable modern reproduction of it, made.
in this country, offers a much better bar-
gain than a bad imitation made in the East.
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