Radiators, in the direct system, should be placed far enough from the walls to permit free circulation over the heating surfaces, and should not be directly covered at the top. Ordinarily there are good reasons for putting them near the more exposed places, such as windows and outer doors. As both steam and hot water furnish a dry heat, provision should be made in every room for evaporation of water. SUMMARY With no prejudice against good furnaces, it may be said that hot water apparently affords the greatest possibilities for comfort and regularity of heating, and that there are usually no reasons why it cannot be utilized in country houses. A hot-water installation is likely to cost twice as much as a furnace, but if we are to live in the house it is better to make our estimates cover ten or twenty years rather than to bear too strongly on first costs. The following table, while it must not be taken as fully conclusive, gives at least a basis of consideration: HOT AIR. STEAM. HOT WATER. First cost.................. Small. Higher. Highest. Comparative coal consumption ............ 18 1/2 tons. 13 1/2 tons. 10 tons. Average durability.......... 12 years. 35 years. *Indestructible Heat distribution........... Uneven. Regular. Even. Temperature................. Variable. Fair. Regular. Ventilation................. Good, if Good, with Good, with properly indirect indirect managed. system. system. Quality of heated air....... Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Dust and dirt............... Much. Little. None. Danger of fire.............. Moderate. None. None. Danger of explosion......... Slight. None. None. Noise....................... None. Occasional. Almost none. Management.................. *Delightful. *Pleasure. *Joy. Relative cost of apparatus.. 9 13 15 Ditto, plus repairs and fuel for five years..... 29 1/2 29 2/3 27 Ditto, plus repairs and fuel for five years..... 81 63 52 1/2 * Makers' statement. These comparisons are probably, on the whole, somewhat unfair to the high-grade furnace. CHAPTER IV FURNITURE Much of good sense and more that is nonsensical has been written about furniture. Observation tends to justify belief that in general effect the nonsense has proved more potent than its antithesis. THE QUEST OF THE BEAUTIFUL