Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/117

Rh than where there is a definite pattern which permits taking out a small portion and laying new pieces in that place. Only one kind of wood should be used in a room and the grain should be as nearly matched as possible, as more than one color in a floor is disturbing. Laying floors with a pattern in this way has another advantage in that it gives a variety in passing from room to room that is most agreeable.

As for the finish of these wooden floors, the most attractive and also the most expensive is wax. It is more attractive because it was most used in the periods which are usually represented by the objects in our museums. It is much cleaner than the oiled floor, because a floor which has once been treated with oil must, in order to be kept in good condition, have the treatment repeated at frequent intervals. This means that the floor gets darker and darker with each additional coat, and particles of dust which sift in after lying on the floor, absorb sufficient oil so that they become more or less of a menace to any delicate objects which may be in the room, as in sweeping there is bound to be a certain amount of dust raised which will not fall back on the floor again but will alight on the objects in the room. A varnished or shellaced floor may be so treated as closely to resemble in finish the waxed surface