The hide of the brussels (if for purpose of explanation I may so call it) consists of a cotton or jute warp and filling that interlace to hold the loops of the woolen pile. The pile is formed by extra warps. After each pass of the shuttle the colors that are to show are looped over a wire that holds them until the next pass of the shuttle binds them in place.

Wiltons are heavy brussels, the loops of which have been cut. In the weaving of wiltons a knife at the end of the wire cuts the loops as it is withdrawn, leaving a much more velvety surface than in the brussels, and one in which the tones of color play most interestingly. The fact that all cut-pile surfaces absorb the dust readily makes wiltons hard to clean but agreeable to live with. Wiltons far outsell all other domestic rugs.

The tapestry brussels is an imitation of a body brussels invented by Richard Whytock in England in 1831. The process is ingenious. Instead of from two to six extra warps, but one is used. But this one, in order to form the pattern, has been printed in colors before weaving. The loops are formed over a wire as in body brussels.

Velvets bear the same relation to tapestry brussels that wiltons do to body brussels - the loops of velvets and wiltons being cut, while tapestry and body brussels are uncut. Velvets and tapestries lack body and the dyes are usually inferior, as are the patterns. Many of the better-class shops do not carry them in stock.

In brussels and wilton rugs, as I have explained, the intricacy of the pattern is limited by the number of warps. Not so in axminsters. The ingenious loom on which they are woven makes it possible to insert a loop of any desired color, at any point. The arlington axminster comes in a wide range of colorings and designs. The leamington axminster, in light colors for bathrooms, comes only in small sizes.

The chenille axminster is a totally different fabric. Like chenille curtains and Smyrna rugs, it demands a double weaving. In the second weaving the worsted weft (or filling) consists of chenille braids that are bound into the web in the usual way by the interlacing of cotton warp and weft. Chenille axminsters come in solid colors and two-tone effects. There is no better domestic rug than this except the chenille axminsters that are made only to order and in any desired pattern. Formerly hand-knotted axminsters were made in New York, profitably as well as artistically. The suspension of the industry was due principally to labor difficulties.

The weaving of chenille axminsters, as I have said, is a double process. First, the chenille braid is woven as follows: A cotton warp in groups of from five to eight threads twists around and binds a worsted filling. As this fabric passes from the loom, the groups are cut apart. The result is caterpillar-like (the French for caterpillar being chenille) cords, fuzzy all around. As these cords come out, each passes into a machine that steams the fuzz soft and forces it all to point up, thus making a thick braid, interlaced cotton threads on one side binding the worsted pile that extends to the other.

In the weaving of smyrna rugs, that are made without seam up to 12 x 18 feet, the steaming and flattening process is omitted and chenille cord is used in its round condition just as it appears in a chenille rope portiere. The result is of course a double-faced fabric, the fur of the chenille being exposed on both sides of the web.

Smyrnas are not easy to keep clean, and beating them makes the fur fly. This, however, is true of any cut pile rug and I should like to impress the fact on the reader. Don't spoil your rugs by harsh treatment. Get them of good quality and sufficient body and then handle them gently. Their construction makes them tough for their peculiar duty, which is to resist the wear and tear of human feet and chair feet. It also renders them soft and agreeable to the tread. The softness and durability are both increased by the use of rug linings.

The fact that wilton and body brussels rugs are woven on carpet looms in twenty-seven inch widths, and have to be sewn together to make the rug, detracts from their appearance for some, and is much used as an argument against them by manufacturers of smyrnas and chenille ax-minsters. It is doubtful, however, if the average purchaser ever notices the seams, so exact is the matching of the pattern and so excellent the work done by the special carpet-sewing machine.

A strong argument in favor of domestic rugs generally is the variety of sizes and shapes in which most of them can be procured. Common sizes are: single door, 18 x 36 inch; bureau, 21 x 45; 30-inch rug, 30 x 60 inch; 4-4 (four-quarter) ,3 x 6 feet; sofa, 4 x 7 feet; 30-inch rack, 30 x 33 inch; 4-4 rack, 36 x 40 inch; 5-4 rack, 48 x 54 inch; hall, 2.3 x 9 feet, 2.3 x 12, 2.3 x 15, 3 x 9, 3 x 12, 3 x 15. The most common carpet sizes are 6 x 9 feet, 8.3 x 10.6, 9 x 12, 10.6 x 12, 11.3 x 15. Of these, the 9 x 12 is the one most used.

The term "quarter" used above is a trade survival and is still used to describe lace curtains as well as rugs and carpets and other fabrics. The quarter meant is a quarter of a yard, or 9 inches. A 12-4 (twelve-quarter) lace curtain is one three yards long, a 14-4 is three and one-half yards long, etc.

To match domestic rugs is easy because the same pattern runs through the various sizes. If you want to use a 9 x 12 and two small rugs together, you can buy them all with the same design.

A large majority of the patterns and colorings found in body brussels and wilton rugs are Oriental. A few only are French, or French Americanized. Smyrnas are notable for their imitation of the general effect of the coarser grades of Oriental weave.

A noticeable style-tendency to-day is toward two-tone effects - solid-colored fields with border just a little lighter or just a little darker and extremely simple - a straight band, a fret, etc. It is all in line with the general movement in the direction of good taste that started by substituting rugs for carpeting.