_Wooden Tops._ Far better than zinc for the householder who cannot afford the other tops. The wood can be treated with non-staining varnish, or a varnish that can stand heat without being annihilated, and you will have a fine table. If this is not possible, the ordinary wooden table, fresh from the shop, if covered with linoleum or oil cloth, is very useful and durable, especially since the linoleum can be changed inexpensively and often. There may be a metal binder around the wooden table top if desired. _Composition Tops._ These need a guarantee as they are often of glass or some mixture undefined. _Tin Tops._ These are not used any more, as far as we know. SPECIAL TABLES The ordinary table length is from 3′ to 7′, depending upon the size of the kitchen. There are usually from one to three tables in use,--more often two. The ordinary heights are from 32″ to 28″. Get the height that fits your workers. Be sure to find this out if possible; otherwise you will have to make a later arrangement. Maple is a satisfactory wood for strong tables; ash, and pine for the cheaper kind of top. The marble top table is the royal pastry table, which, of course, though not a luxury, is an extra table. Fancy a seven foot marble slab 2¹⁄₂″ thick! Isn’t it like an Alma Tadema conception! The pastry table usually has a rack of some sort beneath it, either slatted or solid. This rack may be half shelf and half electric plate warmer. In smaller homes the pastry table of 3′ length is the most convenient with a somewhat thinner marble top or glass top. The top of the cook’s table is sometimes divided into two parts, one part made of marble or glass for pastry work and the other part of polished wood for ordinary pursuits. This effects the saving of a table if the cooks do not squabble or there is but one cook and little room! The cook’s table is placed opposite the range and has a 7′ pot rack attached. The legs of most of these high-grade tables are tipped with metal to keep them unspotted from the washings of the floor. The trimmings, too, are of the same metal, formerly called German silver. It would not be a bad idea to have a metallic tip of some sort put on the legs of the less expensive tables, to keep them from wearing and to maintain a rigidity well beloved in tables. For there is no happiness in table tipping outside of the spiritual seance! KITCHEN CABINETS A kitchen cabinet (see also Chapter XXVII, Kitchen Cabinets) is a thing of duty and joy forever. It is the first cousin to the table and really is but the table extended and expanded into drawers and shelves and closets. It signifies the demand of the modern housewife for a shipshape tool chest with all the materials ready to her hand so that there may be no reaching, stretching, or relay races around the kitchen in the preparation of the recurring daily meals.