The elements of beauty should not be lacking in the kitchen.  Pictures and fancy articles are inappropriate; but a few pots of easily cultivated flowers on the window ledge or arranged upon brackets about the window in winter, and a window box arranged as a jardiniere, with vines and blooming plants in summer, will greatly brighten the room, and thus serve to lighten the task of those whose daily labor confines them to the precincts of the kitchen.

THE KITCHEN FURNITURE.—­The furniture for a kitchen should not be cumbersome, and should be so made and dressed as to be easily cleaned.  There should be plenty of cupboards, and each for the sake of order, should be devoted to a special purpose.  Cupboards with sliding doors are much superior to closets.  They should be placed upon casters so as to be easily moved, as they, are thus not only more convenient, but admit of more thorough cleanliness.

Cupboards used for the storage of food should be well ventilated; otherwise, they furnish choice conditions for the development of mold and germs.  Movable cupboards may be ventilated by means of openings in the top, and doors covered with very fine wire gauze which will admit the air but keep out flies and dust.  All stationary cupboards and closets should have a ventilating flue connected with the main shaft by which the house is ventilated, or directly communicating with the outer air.

No kitchen can be regarded as well furnished without a good timepiece as an aid to punctuality and economy of time.  An eight-day clock with large dial and plain case is the most suitable.

Every kitchen should also be provided with a slate, with sponge and pencil attached, on one side of which the market orders and other memoranda may be jotted down, and on the other the bills of fare for the day or week.  In households where servants are kept, the slate will save many a vexatious blunder and unnecessary call to the kitchen, while if one is herself mistress, cook, and housekeeper, it may prove an invaluable aid and time-saver if thus used.

[Illustration:  A Convenient Kitchen Table.]

Lack of sufficient table room is often a great source of inconvenience to the housekeeper.  To avoid this, arrange swinging tables or shelves at convenient points upon the wall, which may be put up or let down as occasion demands.  For ordinary kitchen uses, small tables of suitable height on easy-rolling casters, and with zinc tops, are the most convenient and most easily kept clean.  It is quite as well that they be made without drawers, which are too apt to become receptacles for a heterogeneous mass of rubbish.  If desirable to have some handy place for keeping articles which are frequently required for use, an arrangement similar to that represented in the accompanying cut may be made at very small expense.  It may be also an advantage to arrange small shelves about and above the range, on which may be kept various articles necessary for cooking purposes.