The bed question is a major one in the furnishing of the home. There are many ideas as to what constitutes a goog bed and many more as to what is good Style, as beds arc made of so many different materials and into many different shapes.

Iron beds of to-day are substantia] and. from a sanitary standpoint, arc very much better than the old-fashioned wooden beds with their panel work. A plain bed with very little filigree is the best to choose. However, if necessary to pay fifteen or twenty dollars for a bed, one could better buy a brass bed. In the higher grade beds the wooden beds are very much in demand, both in flat end beds and roll Napoleon beds, and especially the post beds. Brass beds will, no doubt, be in vogue for many years, as the demand is constantly increasing, hut the demand is more for the satin, or dull, and the polet finish than for the bright or polish finish.

Brass Finishes

The "satin" finish is a dull brush finish all over the bed. In the "polet"' finish the entire surface is given a satin finish with the exception of the pillar mounts, knobs and other trimmings, which are given a bright finish. This rich contrast makes the polet finish very popular. The "polished" or "bright" finish is polished or bright all over.

Brass Beds

There is perhaps nothing in the market that has been abused more than the selling of brass beds. Many manufacturers in order to make the brass bed an example of low price have forced the price down to meet the competition and the quality has been sacrificed to meet the price. In lowering the quality, then, the consumer has not been benefited one iota, neither has he been deceived, for he has not been charged the higher price, neither has he received the higher quality.

When considering the price of a bed the thing of most importance is the weight of brass used, whether it is of solid brass tubing or veneer tubing. But few know the difference. The solid brass tubing is, beyond question, the better, but is much higher priced. A solid brass tube bed is never advertised for $9.98, as you, no doubt, have seen the veneer tube bed quoted. The lowest price on a plain solid brass tube bed of any kind is about $25. Nevertheless, a very attractive, and indeed serviceable, bed can be purchased for $25 in the veneered tubing.

A veneer tube bed is one in which the case tubing is bent to conform to the post of the bed, and can be detected by the seam at the back part of the brass posts and tubes.

These beds are very practical indeed, and are being brought out each year in more handsome designs. They will wear for years, with the proper care, and are not nearly as high in price as the solid brass bed.

It is impossible to bend the veneer casing, and, for that reason, where a bent piece is used on a bed as, for instance, a continuous head and foot, it must be a solid tubing and the price will be noticeably higher.

The gauge of brass used in beds varies as to the size of the tubing used. The smaller the diameter of the tubing or fillers, the less the weight needed to make it substantial and strong.

In comparing brass beds it is necessary to consider the size of the posts, the number of rods or fillers used, their respective sizes, and whether of veneered or solid tubing.

A great many points in the construction of beds should be investigated. Some arc fastened together by connections concealed in the tubes, and conse-quently, to learn just how a bed is fastened may not be possible, but some of the low-priced and inferior makes of beds are put together with poor interior connections, while the better ones have threaded heads with nuts, which are fastened securely by special tools, thus preventing them from growing weak and working loose.

Square tube beds cost more than round tube beds, for the reason that the raw material costs more and has to be drawn differently from the round tubing. It is more difficult to handle in all of its various stages of manufacture and the cost is increased in proportion.