Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

WINDOWS AND DRAPERIES. The arrangement of windows in the dining-room deserves attention. Not only the aspect of the room, but its healthfulness, depends upon the free admission of light and air. The use of any other material than woollen has already been advocated for window-hangings ; the coolest for summer are bamboo or Venetian blinds, movable at will upon cords worked from inside the windows. An improvement upon the outside window-blind opening from the middle lifts the two blinds from their hinges, unites them in the centre, and then, by hinges at the top of the casement, lowers or raises them at will ; a very simple form of movable cloth awning described by the author in "Harper's Bazar" of Sept. 22, T883, answers the same purpose ; and either contrivance replaces the more expensive regulation window-awning. The East-Indian devices called punkahs and tatties — thick screens of woven fragrant rushes, hung before doors or windows, and saturated with water — cool the air of the room perceptibly. A woollen blanket, or even a thick sheet, suspended in such openings, and kept wet, will lower the interior temperature from 7° to 10° Fah., even in sultry summer weather. In any case, this fact is to be remembered : of all materials, woollen will the longest retain moisture and odor, and therefore is the least desirable for draping dining-room windows or doors, unless they are to be kept wet to cool the air. When the outlook of dining-room windows is upon blank walls and paved yards, the unsightly prospect may be hidden without excluding light, by using Madras-muslin curtains, or any similar opaque drapery which permits the free passage of light and air. Figured lace, cheese-cloth, sheer nettings with dried fern or autumn leaves gummed upon them, will serve this purpose. Window-glass may be made opaque by patting it gently in every part with a piece of soft putty enclosed in a sheer muslin fabric, and then drying the surface of the glass ; of course this will not admit of washing. There are many pretty patented devices of semi-transparent imitations of stained glass, which can be applied to ordinary glass windows when the expense of genuine stained or painted glass cannot be incurred, When there is both money and space at will, there can be no more appropriate or enjoyable window-decoration than that of stained or painted glass. The infinite variety in form and coloring offered in artistic and lovely designs makes an embarrassment of riches in this form of decoration. LIGHT IN THE DINING-ROOM. If it is possible to admit sunshine to the dining-room, it should be done ; at least, plenty of light should be secured. In California, where the climate permits open windows, and where the houses are generally detached, the fashion prevails of building bay-windows to catch from all points the sunshine and wandering airs that charm the senses in all seasons. When location permits, the windows of the dining-room should reflect harmonies of light and color. In the country this is possible, as also is the delight of an put-door diningroom upon the piazza or lawn ; but in cities the dependence for such accessories must be placed upon neutral-tinted walls