Where the top of the slat, in the form of a horizontal ellipse, joins the top rail of the back a dowel is placed. The thickness of the material included in the outlines of the ellipse is hardly sufficient to make a strong joint, and to have increased the thickness at this point only would have destroyed the appearance of the design, unless some way had been taken to prevent it.

This was done by turning a scroll at the point where the dowel occurs and filling in between the scroll and top rail with a small acanthus. This gives the increased material without injuring the appearance, and is a rational method of using carved ornament.

Applique of metal work is a form of relief ornamentation, in many respects closely related to carving. It may be either cast or wrought. Castings, called ormolu, are usually of brass plated with gold and finished a dull color. They are especially used in the styles of Louis XV., Louis XVI. and Empire. In the Louis XV. style much of the ornament is applied in places where carving might have been used, and it is properly joined with the lines of the article so as to become a part of them. In the Louis XVI., to some degree, and in the Empire style almost entirely, the applique ornaments are fastened directly on a plain surface without any relation to the construction whatever, as the article is complete without them. The beauty of their use depends on the arrangement of the pieces in relation to each other, the way they fill the space which they occupy, and on the design and execution of the metal work itself. Much of the metal work in ordinary use is poor in both respects. Perhaps the design is good and the pattern was well modelled, but so many copies have been made, each cast from a previous moulding, instead of from the original pattern, that all form and crispness is lost. Such work is neither handsome nor decorative, and the designer should discourage its use whenever he can. In the best French examples, applique metal work is carefully cast, exquisitely chased, so it becomes a beautiful piece of workmanship, and it may be admired as such, even though its use is not approved. When wrought metal work is applied to furniture it is usually in the form of hinge plates, lock plates or ornamented straps binding parts of the woodwork together. Furniture decorated in this way is best made of a coarse grained wood and designed with large, flat surfaces, on which the metal may be applied for ornamental effect. Good results are obtained by sinking the metal work so it is level with the wood surface, particularly when in the form of rosettes.

PLATE XVII. METAL APPLIQUE.

The marking of the grain of woods used for furniture is in itself an ornamentation, and many times it is quite sufficient. But to increase its decorative effects veneers cut in various ways are used. A veneer is a thin slice of wood, and in the choice woods of the furniture maker many pieces with rich figures in the grain can be had as veneers that otherwise could not be obtained in shape to use. Then, also, by cutting a log in different ways, the beauty of the grain is exposed so that its value is increased.

The veneers are not always used entirely like so many boards. They are sometimes cut in geometrical patterns, varying in size, and the pieces placed side by side in such a manner that the grain of adjoining pieces runs in different directions, thus covering the surface with an almost inconspicuous diaper pattern.

In this method of using veneers but one kind of wood is required, though at times two or more may be used. When a color effect is wanted, marquetry is used, introducing the various colored woods, metal, shell or ivory, in the form of ornament on a ground of the wood of which the furniture is constructed.

There are no special difficulties to be avoided in designing a pattern for inlay. Almost any ornament that appears well in flat colors will make good inlay, so that the problem is one of designing a conventional ornament suited to decorate the space when rendered in flat colors.

The nearest approach to inlay is ornament painted on the surface of the wood. This has been a common and handsome method of decorating furniture, though it is not now popular. One method is to treat all the ornament flat, similar to inlay; another is to paint natural forms in a realistic way. The ornament is sometimes painted on the varnished surface of natural wood, and again, it is placed on an enamel. In one class of work, painting is executed on a panel first covered by silver or gold leaf, the design introducing figures, pastoral scenes, architectural compositions, etc.

The surrounding parts of the article are thickly varnished, and at times specks of gold leaf are mixed with the varnish. Such work is more or less an imitation of Japanese lacquer work, but is known as Vernis Martin, because during the reign of Louis XV. the brothers Martin secured the exclusive right to make furniture varnished in this way, they claiming to have discovered the secret of making the lacquer used.

There remains another means for ornamenting the plain surface of furniture woodwork. That is by burning on it with a metallic point an appropriate design. It is a method that lends itself to successful treatment in proper hands. Such examples as are most frequently seen are not desirable, largely because the patterns burned are not suitable. The color effect is, however, charming, running from soft brown tones of a pale color to a deep rich black. A combination of carving and burning gives satisfactory results. The wood may be light in color, like white maple, and the carving somewhat of the Indian (Hindoo) order. This, when complete, has the edges and background burned by a cautery. The work then, varnished in the usual manner, resembles a little old ivory carving, and is well suited to certain rooms.

Whatever form of ornamentation may be used, it should be borne in mind that no amount of decoration will make a poorly proportioned or badly formed article good. It may be possible to divert the eye for a time from the general shape by placing before it a multitude of small details, but these will generally become tiresome, and the article will then be considered as a whole.

In all design work it is not a question of how much ornament, but how well the ornament may be designed. It is advisable to use it sparingly, erring, if it may be, one the side of too little rather than too much. The object of ornament is to decorate the otherwise plain surfaces, and if it does not do this it is better left off.

The sources of pleasure in all decorative designs are the beauty of forms employed and the sense of study having been given to their composition. There is satisfaction in examining a piece of ornament to find it has been arranged with some regard to the massing of the parts, instead of being merely placed at random in a careless way. The pleasure of discovering the plan on which an interesting ornament was built has been experienced by every designer. The foundation should not be so prominent as to be forced on the mind, but it may be so well conceived that a thoughtful study will disclose it hidden among the beautiful forms of which the composition is made up.

What may be termed visibility demands attention in the disposition of ornament. Much labor and expense are wasted by placing the decorative features in positions where they are not seen, or if seen, it is to a disadvantage. There is no reason for a finely executed ornament so near the floor or far under a table or chair that it cannot be seen without getting on the floor; nor is there any sense in decorating the frame of a table which is presumably to be covered continuously by a cloth.

Though everyone recognizes the impropriety of the bad disposition of ornament in this respect, it is not easily guarded against. The designer will find, unless he is extremely careful, that he has indicated on his drawings work that will be entirely lost to view.