nd small embers. Then there is the
time-honored bellows, now hardly more than an ornament, for with a
scientifically built fireplace it should never need to be called into
action.

A screen of some sort comes nearer to being classed with the necessities
than with the merely decorative accessories, for it is hardly safe to
leave a fire or even the smoldering embers without some protection
against the damage that is so quickly caused by sparks. The usual type
of screen is the woven wire one in several forms. Probably the most
convenient type is that made up of a number of flat sections which fold
upon one another into a compact mass which will not be in the way when
not in use. In recent years, however, there is another sort of screen
that is coming to be regarded with very high favor and that is the
screen made up of glass in combination with other materials. There is
the simple French screen of glass panes in a gilded frame, and there are
wonderful possibilities for the employment of the craftsman's skill in
combining with plain or lightly tinted glass more decorative features in
the way of stained glass and leading or in the combination of glass and
metals.

The design of a fire screen depends, of course, on the purpose it is
intended to serve. If it is desired to secure a screen that will cut off
the heat but not the light of the fire, the craftsman will work with
larger areas of clear glass. On the other hand, it may be felt desirable
to make a nearly opaque screen to cut off both light and heat. These, of
course, are usually small rectangles on some sort of a pedestal and are
not intended to take the place of spark screens.

A wood receptacle of some form is a convenient accessory, as one will
avoid the task of carrying fuel up from the cellar or in from the
woodpile whenever a fire is desired. There is a broad field from which
to choose--brass-bound boxes of many sizes and forms, sturdy baskets and
the metal wood baskets which are made for holding the logs themselves.
There are those who prefer not to encumber the vicinity of the
fireplace with these rather bulky receptacles, but who find it
convenient to have a box built in near by in the form of a window-seat
or perhaps as a part of built-in bookcases. Two or three houses that I
have known had a very simple rough dumbwaiter running from the cellar up
into a window-seat. This could be loaded with fuel, hoisted into
position and locked there until the fuel was n