On such a “shelf of steps” the china is “out of the way;” and for the same virtue I like to hang china on the wall—pitcher, jugs, cups, as well as plates—they are so safe and yet so plainly visible in that position. Then you can do away with “the dozen little teetery tables” that litter and obstruct our rooms and make man’s life a burden. There is a certain restfulness in the spacious parlors of some old houses that I know, a sense of room in which to move, of liberal elegance, of substantial good taste, that is owing largely to the absence of small littering chairs and tables. Everything is upon the walls that can be hung or placed there; decoration is profuse, but not in the way. I would rather keep china anywhere than upon a table. Perhaps the upsetting of a tea-table, with its burden of eighteen teapots, and the utter annihilation of teapots and depression of spirits that resulted, may have conduced to this feeling. For the purpose of hanging plates upon the wall come various little wire frames or holders; but when you have fifty or one hundred plates in your dining-room, even these cheap holders are quite an expense. Mr. Prime gives in his book an illustration and the details of the manner of making a wire frame or holder by which to hang plates on the wall. This invention of his is very ingenious and very good; many a one have I in my home; but it requires for its manufacture a wire-workman or a tinker, either amateur or professional, and tools of various kinds, and a neatly made spiral cylinder of wire. This places the possibility of manufacturing Mr. Prime’s holder quite out of the reach of the average woman. I, too, have invented a holder, and it can be made by any woman, since she need employ but one tool—her own distinctive instrument—a pair of scissors. The materials, too, are peculiarly feminine—picture-wire or strong twine, and dress-hooks. I will say for the benefit of the masculine china hunter who may read these pages that both white and black dress-hooks can be purchased for a few cents a dozen, and of various sizes, from the heavy cloak hooks, which are strong enough to hold a thick Delft plaque, to the tiny hooks that are sufficient to sustain a fragile saucer. And the process of manufacture of my plate-holder is so simple! You use your tool but once—to cut off the length of wire. Then place four of the dress-hooks at equal distances around the rim of the plate, slipping them firmly over the edge. String your wire on the back of the plate through the two loops at the end of each of the four hooks and draw it tight. Twist the ends of the wire firmly and neatly together, make a little wire loop by which to hang it, and your plate-holder is done. A man may use a pair of “cut-nippers” to cut the wire, and a pair of pincers to twist it if he so will; but a pair of scissors is all that is really necessary, and will answer every purpose, though the usage is not thoroughly conducive to the welfare of the scissors.