The inside of the house has received principal attention in this consideration of the rented home. The outer surroundings usually compel a measure of thought and are obvious enough to force themselves upon even the uncritical observer. Yet there are a few points worth emphasizing. The character of the neighborhood in a country or a small town generally proclaims itself and the details that must be noticed have to do with sanitary conditions, the presence or absence of such nuisances as unsavory factories or businesses, the vicinity of noisy occupations, the over-close proximity to public schools with the accompanying racket at certain hours of the day, etc. In the city the drawbacks may be less self-assertive but no less objectionable. Before renting a house in a street it is always wise to learn something of the people who occupy the adjoining dwellings, to make sure that there are no unpleasing features connected with the section and so insure oneself against future annoyances. II FURNISHING THE HOME The first details to be regarded in furnishing a house have to do with the woodwork and walls. Sometimes the landlord has settled these and the tenant has no choice. This is especially likely to be the case with the woodwork. If it is a cheap and unattractive variety of “hardwood,” so called, or is painted in imitation of hardwood, it is difficult to induce the owner to change this. When he will consent to paint to please the tenant selection should be made either of white or of a soft, neutral tint which will not conflict with any color of furniture. The painting which simulates the graining of a natural wood is distinctly bad and should never be tolerated except when it cannot be changed. The kitchen should be painted throughout, walls as well as woodwork, and in some good light color, such as buff; this will give the room a bright, cheery look, and the steam which accumulates on the walls of a kitchen can be scrubbed off the paint as it cannot be from a kalsomined or papered wall. In choosing papers, the tenant should bear in mind that they will have to be lived with for a long time, and should pick out such as can stand familiar association without becoming objectionable. Striking patterns and assertive hues should be avoided. When two or three rooms open into one another it is well to have them papered alike and thus avoid the patchy effect produced by several small rooms all with different wall-coverings. In this day cheap papers which are also pretty and artistic can easily be found and it is worth while to bestow a good deal of time and thought upon their choice. If possible, all painting and papering should be done and the workmen out of the house before the tenant moves in. This plan permits the rooms to be cleaned and saves double toil to the housekeeper.