fective in this
material if the colors were judiciously chosen.

[Illustration: XXXIII. Portion of the Pavement in the Baptistery,
Florence, Italy.]

[Illustration: XXXIV. Portion of the Pavement in the Baptistery,
Florence, Italy.]

[Illustration: XXXV. Portion of the Pavement in the Baptistery,
Florence, Italy.]

[Illustration: XXXVI. Portion of the Pavement in the Baptistery,
Florence, Italy.]

[Illustration: XXXVII. Portion of the Pavement in the Baptistery,
Florence, Italy.]

XXXIII to XXXVII.

PORTIONS OF THE PAVEMENT IN THE BAPTISTERY, FLORENCE, ITALY.

One exception should be made to the remarks above in relation to true
mosaic. The lower left-hand portion of plate XXXVI is without doubt made
up of small pieces put together after the manner of the old Roman
mosaics, and it is possible that the portion shown in the upper
left-hand corner of the same plate is made in the same way. There are
several parts of the floor laid in this manner, but they are distinctly
secondary in interest to the inlaid portions.

The pavement is divided irregularly by squares and rectangles, the
portion especially rich in ornament being that between the door and the
altar. The rectangular patterns are irregularly cut into by special
pavements, placed before several of the monumental tombs in the walls.

[Illustration: XXXVIII. Portion of the Pavement in the Church of San
Miniato al Monte, Florence, Italy.]

[Illustration: XXXIX. Portion of the Pavement in the Church of San
Miniato al Monte, Florence, Italy.]

[Illustration: XL. Portion of the Pavement in the Church of San Miniato
al Monte, Florence, Italy.]

XXXVIII to XL.

PORTIONS OF THE PAVEMENT IN THE CHURCH OF SAN MINIATO AL MONTE,
FLORENCE, ITALY.

In the first of these plates there is a suggestion of the mosaic
treatment commonly seen in the pavements of Rome, Venice, and Siena.
The sort of guilloche of interlacing circles was very generally used.

Plate XL on the other hand is as plainly reminiscent of textile designs
as it well might be; and in plate XXXIII from the Baptistery the same
characteristic can be seen.

Wood Floors.

The addition which a fine hardwood floor makes to the attractiveness of
a room is appreciated by some architects, but good floors are not by any
means as common as they should be. The expense of hard wood is not so
much more than that of a cheap floor as to stand in the way of its use
when the final resul