Sinks.

Kitchen sink.

Pantry-sink.

As there is often a question, in fitting up a new house, or refitting an old one, whether copper, German silver, porcelain, or enamelled-iron pantry sinks should be used, it may be worth while to observe that the solid porcelain sinks, although beautifully clean, and very strong and enduring, have a rather bad reputation for breaking dishes, and are, in consequence, usually fitted with a piece of brass or galvanized wire netting, which lies on the bottom of the sink, and forms a sort of cushion, on which a dish may be dropped with comparatively little risk of injury. Enamelled-iron pantry sinks are also beautifully clean, although less durable than those of solid porcelain; but, being hard, they also require a wire cushion on the bottom. Of the metal sinks, those of German silver are the handsomest, and also much the most expensive; the tinned-copper sinks being the cheapest and least attractive of all, but also the least destructive of crockery.

The laundry wash-trays, which are made of soapstone, slate, enamelled iron, and solid earthenware, resemble pantry sinks in having a provision, usually a plug and chain, for retaining the water in the tray; but, unfortunately for the laundresses, who, if they are forgetful, often find the laundry floor flooded, they are not furnished with overflows, unless in very exceptional cases.

It cannot be said that there is any quite satisfactory material for wash-trays. Soapstone, either natural or artificial, is much used, but some kinds are acted upon by water, and soon become pitted and rough. Slate is not affected by water, I but is brittle, and sometimes cracks unaccountably; and enamelled-iron and solid porcelain trays, although otherwise clean, durable, and attractive, have the disadvantage that they must be made singly, and set side by side, so that, in the shifting of the clothes from one tray to another which the laundress finds necessary, water finds its way between the trays to the laundry floor. Sets of trays, both of porcelain and enamelled iron, are provided with brass caps, to cover the joints between them, but this is less effective than to make them with the front, back, and bottom each in one piece, as is usually the case with the slate and soapstone trays.

Soapstone and slate trays usually have soap-cups, either of stone or metal, attached to them; but separate rubbing-boards must be used. With the porcelain and enamelled-iron trays the soap-cup is of metal; and, in a set of porcelain trays, one tray usually has a rubbing-board formed in the porcelain.

It does not follow, however, that, because a set of wash-trays attracts the owner by its whiteness and polish, it will be equally pleasing to the laundress; and the prudent housekeeper, in choosing these appliances, will do well to consult with the person who is to use them. Many laundresses dislike the porcelain rubbing-boards, as being too hard, and many more complain that the porcelain and enamelled trays, which are usually much deeper than the stone ones, are so deep that they cannot reach to the bottom of them; so that it is desirable to forestall complaints.

In some parts of the country, the laundry is usually fitted with a copper wash-boiler, set in brickwork, and arranged with a flue, and with feeding-door, ash-door, and grate, so that the clothes can be boiled before they are washed. Where it is practicable, the boiler is placed close to the wash-trays, so that the clothes, after boiling, can be pulled directly over into the wash-trays for final treatment, without having to be carried, hot and dripping, across the room. There is no doubt that the thorough sterilization incident to the boiling of the clothes is hygienically advantageous, but it is a severe trial to delicate colors, and housekeepers and laundresses are divided in their opinions on the subject.

The wash-basin resembles in principle the pantry sink, having means for retaining the water in the basin when desired, and an overflow for carrying off a surplus; but there is great variety in the arrangement of these features, due to the efforts of manufacturers to devise an apparatus sufficiently clean and neat to be placed in or near a sleeping room.

There is more difficulty about this problem than might be imagined. The "set basins" of twenty or thirty years ago, with their inaccessible overflows, consisting of a cluster of perforations in the side of the basin, communicating with a pipe which led down, and joined the waste-pipe above the trap, soon began to give forth a sickly odor from the decaying soap with which the overflow-pipes rapidly became lined; while, if they were left unused long enough for the water in the trap to evaporate, which was not more than two weeks, in hot weather, the drain or sewer began to ventilate through them into the room; so that fashion, which once prescribed such a basin in nearly every bedroom of a good house, now usually restricts them to bath-rooms and dressing rooms. They are, however, much better designed now than ever before. The old-fashioned inaccessible overflow, which formerly communicated with a lead pipe two or three feet long, now, where it is still used, is formed in the porcelain of the basin, and is only about ten inches long, so that it can be tolerably well washed by running water through it; and, in many cases, the strainer, which prevents cakes of soap from getting into it, is hinged or made otherwise removable, so that it can be thoroughly cleaned by means of a sponge or rag tied to a wire. Other washbasins are recessed, and provided with stand-pipes, like those of a recessed pantry sink, various means being employed for raising or inclining the stand-pipe to let the water out of the basin; and still a third class has the stand-pipe outside of the basin, but set in a larger tube, communicating with the basin. This arrangement is neat in appearance, and is satisfactory if the stand-pipe and the enclosing tube are kept clean by frequent sponging out, the cover over them being always made removable for this purpose. Other basins still have waste-plugs in the bottom, operated by levers from the outside, instead of by a chain. As with the waste devices, the basin-cocks through which wash-basins of all sorts are supplied assume every shape that the manufacturers think will sell, some having the hot and cold supplies combined, with or without a mixing-ball, while others are furnished with ring-cups or other attachments; and, where it is important to prevent waste of water, many varieties of self-closing cocks are used. In general, however, the simplest forms are the most satisfactory; and self-closing cocks, although sometimes necessary, are undesirable for dwelling-houses, on account of the concussion which they produce in the pipes in closing under heavy pressure.