e exhibited and keep it waving to show its
sheen. This is often a mere device to conceal its bad shape or other
defects. If you are buying a rug for use on the floor, you should see it
so displayed. Its sheen should be judged by walking around it and
considering it in various lights.

Note that with few exceptions the fringe and selvedge on a rug were not
made for beauty but for protection. When the fringe is ropy, long, or
uneven, or the selvedge eaten into or ragged, do not leave the rug to its
unkemptness, but trim it religiously. A man should have his hair cut and
put in order at proper times; and the propriety of this observance is
commonly preached on very many prayer rugs, where the comb is prominently
pictured, to remind the devout that "cleanliness is next to godliness."
Indeed, the comb in various forms is so common a feature in the angular
arch of most prayer rugs that its suggestiveness almost detracts from
their beauty. The counsel is most persistent.

Even the clean white fringe of a fine Persian is often so long as to need
clipping. Two inches or so is a plenty. If more is left, the strings only
curl under and show a ragged and broken line, and the rug never appears
trim and orderly.

When the selvedge is gone, and the end borders or sides of the _rug
itself_ are encroached upon and sawed by the tooth of Time, more than half
of the value and beauty of the piece is lost; but to preserve its
usefulness it should be overcast and further damage prevented. Never buy a
rug as a perfect or even choice specimen if any border at the sides or
ends is gone beyond repair. Every border should have its corresponding
end, and _vice versa_, or the piece is imperfect. Selvedge is of slight
importance, but, like a woman's skirts or a man's trousers, it is
unforgivable if worn or frayed. The side edges which are otherwise still
perfect are apt to become more or less ragged with wear. That is a detail,
if the borders themselves are intact; and the edges only need overcasting
before it is too late.

When the good housewife has the rugs and carpets beaten, let it be done on
the grass, if possible, and not when they are hung on a line and so
allowed to break with their own weight. Also let the severity of the
beating be tempered with kindness and discretion. In winter, sweeping with
snow will clean and brighten them most wonderfully.

This whole matter of cleaning is a neglected science and worthy of a
thesis all to itself