Next to painting, the most important decorative work that can be done within the house is paper-hanging, and a knowledge of the mode of doing this will often prove of great advantage to the amateur artisan, especially if he be a man of slender means.

Besides the American there are two other wallpapers used in paper-hanging, one being of English and the other of French manufacture. The French paper-hangings are perhaps prettier, more artistic, and produce a better effect than American or English-made papers, but they are much more expensive. They may be distinguished from English papers by their narrow width, the English papers being 22 inches wide and the French and American papers only 20 inches. Again, a piece of English paper is 12 yards long, and a piece of French paper about 9½ yards, the former covering 7 square yards, or 63 feet superficial, and the latter 4¾ square yards, or 41 square feet. Speaking approximately, therefore, where two pieces of English paper are required, three of French will be wanted at the very least, and in practice this will not be found to be enough.

The American paper is in more common use now, and for quality and artistic effect equals that of foreign make. It comes in rolls of two pieces each, or 16 yards, a piece being considered 8 yards long. The width is 20 inches over all or 18 inches net A piece then will cover 36 square feet of surface.

On looking at a piece of wall-paper it will be found that the pattern does not come quite out to the edges, so that it must be remembered, in measuring a room for paper, that 18 inches is the absolute net width of the pattern (American); the actual roll of paper itself is wider than this. To measure a room, one method is to measure the circumference, making allowance for doors and windows, and, having ascertained the number of feet, multiply this by the height of the room and divide by the number of square feet in a piece of paper. For the ceiling multiply the length of the room by breadth, which will give area, and divide as before. If a room has offsets these may be measured separately. Thus, taking the room to be 18 ft. by 15 ft., and allowing 11 ft. for doors and windows, and taking the height of the room to be 9 ft., between skirting-board and cornice we have:

18ft. + 18ft. + 15ft. + 15ft. (length of 4 sides of room) -- 11 ft. (allowance for door and windows) X 9ft. (height between ceiling and skirting) ÷ 36 (No. of square feet in piece of paper).

Or 66 -- 11 X 9 ÷ 36. or 55 X 9 ÷ 36 = 14 pieces, or 13 and a fraction, which requires of course 14 full pieces, or 7 rolls, for the sides. The ceiling would be 18 X 15 ÷ 36 = 7½, or 8 pieces.