A Treatise on Domestic Economy; For the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School

is a great convenience in dressing the feet. An old champaigne basket, fitted up with a cushion on the lid, and a valance fastened to it to cover the sides, can be used for the same purpose. A comfortable couch, for chambers and sitting-rooms, can be made by a common carpenter, at a small expense. Have a frame made (like the annexed engraving, Fig. 38,) of common stuff, six feet long, twenty-eight inches wide, and twelve inches high. It must be made thus low, because the casters and cushions will raise it several inches. Have the sloping side-piece, _a_, and head-piece, _b_, sawed out of a board; nail brown linen on them, and stuff them with soft hay or hair. Let these be screwed to the frame, and covered with furniture patch. Then let slats be nailed across the bottom, as at _c_, _c_, four inches apart. This will cost two or three dollars. Then make a thick cushion, of hay or straw, with side strips, like a mattress, and lay this for the under-cushion. To put over this, make a thinner cushion, of hair, cover it with furniture-calico, and fasten to it a valance reaching to the floor. Then make two square pillows, and cover them with calico, like the rest. Both the cushions should be stitched through like mattresses. [Illustration: Fig. 38.] The writer has seen a couch of this kind, in a common parlor, which cost less than eight dollars, was much admired, and was a constant comfort to the feeble mother, as well as many other members of the family. Another convenience, for a room where sewing is done in Summer, is a fancy-jar, set in one corner, to receive clippings, and any other rubbish. It can be covered with prints, or paintings, and varnished; and then looks very prettily. The trunks in a chamber can be improved in looks and comfort, by making cushions of the same size and shape, stuffed with hay and covered with chintz, with a frill reaching nearly to the floor. Every bedchamber should have a washstand, bowl, pitcher, and tumbler,