There is nothing in the home that needs as much thought by the layman and about which there is as little known as the buying of carpets and rugs. It is a life study to acquire the many things which may be learned in this particular department of home furnishings. Occasionally a person will insist that he is better informed than the salesman. The fact of the matter is, that unless one goes to a perfectly reliable merchant to purchase what is required, one may be miserably deceived in buying domestic and oriental floor coverings.

In buying a carpet or rug, a person should know what is needed. Some insist upon quality, regardless of price; others knowing that they cannot get the finer qualities at their price, are content with the more medium grades of carpetings. The wearing merit, however, is the most important factor and the first question usually is "What will wear the best?" Opinions vary somewhat on this point, as some claim that a high-grade Axminster will wear best, while others contend that a high-grade Wilton will give the best service. Either are practical, but more of the high-grade Wiltons are used, while in the more medium grades of carpetings, the Axminster leads. The long service of floor coverings varies greatly and depends largely on the number of grown folks, children, cats and dogs that tread on them, which accounts for the poorer service some families may get from a carpet, while another family will have just the oppsite experience.

While service should he the first consideration in buying a rug, the pattern is one of the great factors in the carpet business. The average customer is guided in a great measure by his desire for a certain pattern, therefore "pattern" alone sells the majority of floor coverings, regardless of quality. For this reason, attractive patterns are found in the very lowest priced carpetings. Often a low-priced carpet is purchased because of its attractive pattern, when, had the buyer been informed as to the difference in quality, a better grade of carpet might have been purchased.

While it is not the plan of this book to go into detail relative to the manufacturing of floor coverings, there are a few terms used in the carpet business with which every purchaser should be more or less fa-miliar in order to intelligently buy his floor coverings. A few of the most important follow:

"Woof, or weft," in most cases called "filling." These terms all mean the same and are most commonly spoken of in relation to an ingrain carpet. After an ingrain carpet is woven the above terms may also he called the surface, each thread or yarn of which, in weaving, has been thrown by a shuttle through the warp from right to left, which terminates at either selvage and then returned. The "selvage" is the edge of the cloth so closed by complicating the threads as to prevent raveling.

The filling, as mentioned above, must of necessity have something to hold it together, which is called the "warp," or more ordinarily the "chain." The "chain" or "warp" is the threads which extend lengthwise in the loom, and are crossed by the "woof," which holds the woof from pulling apart. When the chain of a carpet breaks or wears out, the carpet will pull apart, therefore a strong chain to a carpet is essential.