“I will say no more on the floral style, but to express a regret that, the more perfect the manufacturing process in carpets becomes, the more do they (the carpets) appear to lend themselves to evil. The modest Kidderminster carpet rarely goes wrong, because it cannot; it has to deal with but two colours, and consequently much mischief is beyond its reach. The Brussels carpet, which deals with five colours, is more mischievous. The Tapestry carpet, where the colours are still more numerous, are vicious in the extreme; whilst the recent invention of printed carpets, with no bounds to its ambition, has become positively criminal.” But the supremacy of the naturalistic style long since passed away, and gave place towards the end of last century to the conventional, There was a very definite movement in this direction, arising perhaps in the first instance from the Morris influence, but carried forward notably by _The Studio_, the Arts and Crafts Exhibition, and by such artists as C. F. A. Voysey, Walter Crane, G. C. Haité, Arthur Silver, and many others. The conventional style is particularly suitable to carpets, in that it possesses great decorative possibilities, and continually reminds the occupant of a room of beautiful objects in Nature, without deliberately challenging, as in the naturalistic style, comparisons, which can only be disadvantageous. This style reached the summit of its popularity about the first years of the century and has since declined, though it is by no means extinct. Its decline may be regretted, if only for the reason that it is one of the very few styles of design in carpets which can claim to be distinctly British. It left behind it a successor, however, which enjoyed a few years of public favour. This is the tapestry or verdure style, wherein flowers, fruit, and leaves are treated in a half-conventional manner, generally on a well-covered ground. This really stands half-way between the naturalistic and the conventional styles. It may be the joint offspring of the two, a more exuberant Morris type, or a more chastened floral chintz; while it seems not unlikely that it was introduced from Germany, where it was certainly very popular at one time.