ical manufacture; that is,
it must come in as _repeating_ design, and here comes in the real
difficulty. The same forms and the same colours must come in in the same
way in every yard, or every half or three-quarter yard of the carpet.
It follows, then, that it must be evenly sprinkled or it must regularly
meander over every yard or half yard of the surface; and this regularity
resolves itself into spots, and spots are unendurable in a scheme of
colour. So broad a space as the floor of a room cannot be covered by
sections of constantly repeated design without producing a spotty
effect, although it can be somewhat modified by the efforts of the good
designer. Nevertheless, in spite of his best knowledge and intention,
the difficulty remains. There is no one patch of colour larger than
another, or more irregular in form. There is nothing which has not its
exact counterpart at an exact distance--north, south, east and west, or
northeast, southeast, northwest and southwest--and this is why a carpet
with good design and excellent colour becomes unbearable in a room of
large size. In a small room where there are not so many repeats, the
effect is not as bad, but in a large room the monotonous repetition is
almost without remedy.

Of course there are certain laws of optics and ingenuities of
composition which may palliate this effect, but the fact remains that
the floor should be covered in a way which will leave the mind tranquil
and the eye satisfied, and this is hard to accomplish with what is
commonly known as a figured carpet.

If carpet is to be used, it seems, then, that the simplest way is to
select a good monochrome in the prevailing tint of the room, but several
shades darker. Not an absolutely plain surface, but one broken with some
unobtrusive design or pattern in still darker darks and lighter lights
than the general tone. In this case we shall have the room harmonious,
it is true, but lacking the element which provokes admiration--the
enlivening effect of contrast. This may be secured by making the centre
or main part of the carpet comparatively small, and using a very wide
and important border of contrasting colour--a border so wide as to make
itself an important part of the carpet. In large rooms this plan does
not entirely obviate the difficulty, as it leaves the central space
still too large and impressive to remain unbroken; but the remedy may be
found in the use of hearth-rugs or skin-rugs, so placed as to