is possible, not even of a temporary nature.  The family goes without hot water until a new coil is put in or a complete new heater substituted.  Obsolescence is a term high in favor with American industry; and only too often when one goes seeking a new part for a machine with a decade of good service to its credit, one is met with, “Oh, we don’t make that model any more.  We might be able to locate a stray coil but it would take about two or three weeks.”  The disgusted home owner naturally goes out and buys another kind of heater, one without a copper coil.

Whether or not a laundry is part of the service wing depends, of course, on how much of that type of work is to be done at home.  There are two points of view here.  Some households prefer to scoop the family linen into a bag, make a list, and hand it over to a commercial laundry.  Others find a dependable laundress nearby or provide facilities for doing the work at home.  The clear air of the country and easy drying conditions influence many towards the latter course.

Like the kitchen, the room set aside for this purpose should have good light and air as well as easily cleaned wall and floor surfaces.  There should be at least two tubs as well as a washing machine and a small ironing machine.  There should also be space provided for indoor drying of clothes since, even in the country, a week of stormy weather is not unheard of.  Some kind of a stove is also necessary for any needed boiling of clothes, making starch, or the like.

Servants’ quarters should be cheerful, light, airy in summer and comfortably warm in winter.  They may be part of the service wing; they may be on a separate floor of the main section of the house; or, if the garage is part of the house, located over that.  For best results they should not be in too close proximity to the rest of the family.  In the country, servants are more confined to the scene of their labors than in the city.  Consequently they need and like a certain amount of privacy as well as a place to relax and see their friends.  In addition to bedrooms and bath, a sitting room of some kind is most practical.  It need not be large or expensively furnished.  A few comfortable chairs, a table or two, possibly a desk and a good reading lamp will suffice.  A small radio also adds to the general contentment.  In summer if the service wing boasts a screened porch so much the better.  If not, some shady nook or arbor nearby where they may rest or read during their spare time may mark the difference between sullen service, frequent change of personnel, and the perfect servant who remains year after year.

PETS AND LIVESTOCK

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XIII

PETS AND LIVESTOCK

Few country households are content with a bowl of goldfish.  Something a little more responsive is demanded where the peace and quiet of nature press so close.  A cat to drowse on the hearth or catch an occasional mouse; a dog to accompany one on walks and greet the head of the house ecstatically each evening; these, of course, are the most obvious and popular pets.  Both can be and are kept in city apartments and suburban homes but their natural habitat is the open country.