Page:Cyclopedia of Painting-Armstrong, George D (1908).djvu/294

286 the whole job it will be found to be set quite hard, and therefore to be useless before the mending is completed. A few drops of glycerine added to the plaster will retard its setting, but this is not necessary if glue water is used. It is best not to paper over a patched wall for several days, but if time presses a coat of knotting may be given over all the patches to prevent the plaster affecting the color of the newly-applied paper. Coarse sandpaper should now be rubbed over the whole surface, so as to make it as level as possible, and then the room is ready for papering.

Choosing the Paper. This choice is usually left to the lady of the house, probably on the supposition that she has better taste in such matters than her husband. If the paper is of a cheap grade in most cases the wallpaper dealer will send a book of patterns measuring, perhaps, 24 by 18 inches, and from these small samples the occupant of the house is expected to make a selection. It is this which gives rise to so much disappointment. A small piece conveys a very little idea of the appearance the room will present when the walls are covered all over with the same pattern, and it is far better, where it is practicable, especially in the principal rooms, to obtain a roll or two of those papers which appear to be most suitable, and to pin them on the wall, so as to gain a good idea of the appearance they will present. The following hints should be borne in mind. For a small room choose a small pattern paper, never a large one, which will make it look smaller still. A room with a low ceiling will look higher than it is if a pattern having vertical stripes is chosen. The reverse of this is true of an unusually high room, which will not look so high if a paper having horizontal stripes is used. Gold papers, or those which have bronze or imitation gold in the design, are now rarely used, being rightly considered as somewhat vulgar, excepting in public or important rooms. Large pronounced patterns are usually not desirable, because they detract from the repose or quiet appearance a