The syphon type is, of course, the best obtainable. Many closets are sold especially from catalog and by mail, as absolutely silent. Never, if you can help it, buy anything of this sort from a photograph. No closet can be absolutely silent. If there is any flow at all, complete silence would be impossible. A minimum of noise is the best that can be achieved, and the best makers have closets of this sort. The bowls are generally of porcelain, and the best ones are of vitrified china (really porcelain), which is non-absorbent and quite the thing for this use because of the freedom from discoloration. For general use, the less wood around the seat, the better. The tank as a flushing medium is still about the best thing to use. There are on the market various flush valve types, some of which operate with a foot button on the floor or with a hand lever on the right side of the closet. These may be good in some locations, but neither the ordinary plumber nor the man in the house can repair them in an emergency. The piping in the valve type of flusher requires careful arrangement to avoid trouble. Sometimes it is rather convenient to have the closet in a doored recess opening into the room and available from the hall as well. This is especially to the point when there are few bathrooms in the house. INCIDENTAL FITTINGS Chairs and stools are usually in white enamel or in fancy rooms are made to match the general style which prevails in the decoration. The question of closets in the bathroom is entirely dependent upon individual taste. You can have the wall and mirror finished type, or the long door regular closet, or a combination of these, with or without full length mirror. In some rooms a glass shelved linen closet is found to be a real convenience. The soap racks, etc., have lately become recessed in walls. This system is not popular, however, because, although useful and economical for hotel or institutional use, it adds no charm to the fine bathroom. Rather, it detracts from its dignity. A nice way to have scales in a bathroom is to have the dial encased in the wall, and the tray on which one stands, sunk into the floor. This arrangement economizes space and is very welcome to fastidious people. Plan the bathroom of your house early. Talk with your architect. Insist upon the best and get it. Your bathroom need consist of very few things, in the last analysis, and the wisest plan is to get the best. The cost will be from $250 upwards, for fixtures. However, it is wisest to buy the best you can afford so that a replacement cost is obviated. There must be no skimping of plumbing work, because that would be a menace to both health and wealth, and the plumbing costs no more for good material than for bad. CHAPTER XXXV THE WINTER OF YOUR CONTENT Hot or tempered air is the theme--how the air in our rooms is kept pleasant in cold weather and not too hot--this is the duty of the heating plant.