A NEW WALL COVERING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1277, 4 November 1911, Page 11

A NEW WALL COVERING.

IN BOOK CLOTHS. The fabrics used in the making of book covers and known to the trado as buckrani and crash, havo been very successfully applied as wall coverings, rays "Marion Earnson," in "Good Housekeeping." Tho success of the cloth as a wail decoration depends upon the way it is applied. Some of tho professional interior decorators understaud this work thoroughly, but there are certain important things against which tho amateur should be warned. The wall must be free from all dirt, acid or alkali, and if cracked in spots, it should bo lined; in fact, it is generally better to line it although it is not always necessary. A good grade of neutral paste, much thicker than that used ' for wall paper, should bo prepared and the cloth nuns immediately after tho paste is applied. Just enough pressure to smooth it out and prevent wrinkles should be used. It should not bo stretched or brushed towards tho side or top. When carefully done, the widths come together so well that the scams can hardly bo detected. A popular method of using book cloths for wall coverings is to give the effect of pannelling by adjusting suitable picture moulding over the seams and at the top and bottom of the strips. Tho book cloth will take almost any fonn of decoration that can be applied with brush, crayon, pen or stencil. The amateur decorator will naturally do her experimenting before the cloth is on tho wall. Water colours are perhaps the best medium for working on tho decorative cloths. They should be lightly used with no moro moisture than is necessary for easy application. 'When used over largo spaces, as in filling in backgrounds, the moisture has a tendency to wrinkle the cloths if the decorating is done before the cloth is hung. This wrinkling is quickly ■and easily taken out by pressing under a smooth, heavy weight. The decorative cioths are an ideal material for stencilling, and here also water colours may be used, except where the cloth will bo subjected to frequent or heavy friction. Anyone who has tried water colours for stencilling is quite likely to prefer them to oils. If oils are used, however, naphtha mixed with the paint in sufficient quantities to keep it working smoothly acts as an almost immediate dryer and prevents spreading of the colours. For applying oils used with naphtha a soft mohair water-colour brush should bo used. Another possibility in the way of decoration is the use of cut paper pictures. These applied pictures may 1m drawn, painted or cut in outline. The new system of cut paper pictures may be employed effectively. A coloured picture is formed by the use of papers cut in outline to represent the various features of r. landscape, each in a different colour, the complete picture formed by overlaying and arranging the pieces. This is an idea originally employed in kindergarten work, but of late developed into something more pretentious. Simpler work for the decorative cloths is with detached out paper figures here and there as in tho pattern, in which the rabbits are mado in this way. and used in connection with water-colour decorations. In applying cut paper to the decorative cloths, it is not necessary to use the heavy paste required for attaching the cloth to the trail. Something much thinner and lighter will do for overlaying either paper or cloth. The case with which decorative cloths can he cleaned is one of their interesting features. Unlike wall paper and most textiles employed as wall coverings, they can be Tubbed with a moist cloth or sponge for colour stains, or with an ordinary rubber eraser for pencil or dust marks, or to remove outlines and correct mistakes, either while the decorating is being done or after it is finished. This is an advantage that renders them especially useful for children's rooms where hard usage must be expected. The decorative cloths are of wide variety in colour and texture. There is a white.buckram adapted especially to ceilings and walls where delicate tinting and stencilling is to be used. Both the crash and buckram are cotton fabrics, and the colouring is done by a process which is said to make them nroof against fading even under long daily exposure to the sun., . ... :-..,■ AS SHE WAS IN THE PAST. STILL NO CHANGE. In a delightful article which he has contributed to the "Argus," Professor Tucker, of Melbourne, summarised some of the results of recent excavations in Crete. It was discovered long ago that ] the wonderful islaml had been the centre j ot a imgiity .Mediterranean power whose history miu grown oiu enougn to beuonie : legend by tue time. Home was founued. i The latest research has revealed details ot the Uretuu me of perhaps IuOO years ago, and l'roiessor Tucker has been good enough to describe one phase ol tneiu. ills lest is "the eternal leininine," and he shows that by dint of countless strivings towards "up-to-dateness" in dress, women have managed to reach almost exactly the point at which they arrived in the early days of Crete, lixternally, Jfroiessor 'tucker declares, the woman ol to-day might bo a Cretan lady of a date beiore Abraham, Tho veil of time has been rent away by the unearthing of u picture which shows a lady in indoor costume. "A prying eye will discover," writes the prolessor, "that the skirts are the divided article, and that the Cretan modiste had contrived to hit upon a 'juuoii a la harem' infinitely superior to the abortive experiments which confounded l'aris only a tew months ago." Tho writer is able to back up his statement with unimpeachable photographs of pictures of the harem skirt and other dresses. One ot these repreesnts the walking costume of a matronly lady, who, Prolessor Tucker observes with evident truth, might walk along Collins Street in ilelbourne "without creating more remark than is usually undergone by her bex In that vicinity." By means of comparing and combining a number of incomplete paintings, engravings, and carvings, the protessor has assured himself that the fashion in Crete iUUO years ago included "a strikingly modern hat of large size, corsets scrupulously tightened at tho waist, flounced and furbelowed skirts, •clocked' stockings, and high-heeled shoes." The discoveries are all intensely interesting, but they must be a little discomforting to the eternal feminine of today, and it certainly is disappointing to learn that when Ariadne eloped with Theseus the first thing she asked him probably was how he liked her hat.

The death-rate among tho Indians of the United States is two and a half times os great as among the whites. Commissioner Valentine, of the Department of Indian Affairs, is to institute a campaign for tho promotion of hygienic conditions amcng tuo Indians, with a, view to lessening this excessive mortality. Moving pictures will show the Indians the right and tho wrong way of living.