A thorough airing each morning and opening of the windows a few minutes after each meal to remove the odor of food, are important items in the care of the dining room.  The furnishing may be simple and inexpensive,—­beauty in a home is not dependent upon expense,—­but let it be substantial, tasteful, harmonious in color and soft in tone, nothing gaudy or showy.  Use no heavy draperies, and have no excess of ornament and bric-a-brac to catch dust and germs.  A hard-finished wood floor is far superior to a carpet in point of healthfulness, and quite as economical and easy to keep clean.  The general furnishing of the room, besides the dining table and chairs, should include a sideboard, upon which may be arranged the plate and glassware, with drawers for cutlery and table linen; also a side-table for extra dishes needed during the service of a meal.

An open fireplace, when it can be afforded, aids in ventilation as well as increases the cheerful aspect of the room.

A moveable china closet with glass encasements for keeping the daintier china, glass, or silver ware not in common use is often a desirable article of furniture in small homes; or a shallow closet may be built in the wall of the dining-room for this purpose.  A good size for such a closet is twelve inches deep and three feet wide.  Four shelves, with one or more drawers below, in which may be kept the best table napery, afford ample space in general.  The appearance of the whole may be made very pleasing by using doors of glass, and filling in the back and sides of the shelves with velvet paper in dark-brown, dull-red, or any shade suitable for background, harmonizing with the general furnishing of the room.  The shelves should be of the same material and have the same finish as the woodwork of the room.  The upper side may be covered with felt if desired; and such artistic taste may be displayed in the arrangement of the china as to make the closet ornamental as well as convenient.

TABLE-TALK.—­A sullen, silent meal is a direct promoter of dyspepsia.  “Laugh and grow fat” is an ancient adage embodying good hygienic doctrine.  It has long been well understood that food digests better when seasoned with agreeable conversation, and it is important that unpleasant topics should be avoided.  Mealtime should not be made the occasion to discuss troubles, trials, and misfortunes, which rouse only gloomy thoughts, impair digestion, and leave one at the close of the meal worried and wearied rather than refreshed and strengthened.  Let vexatious questions be banished from the family board.  Fill the time with bright, sparkling conversation, but do not talk business or discuss neighborhood gossip.  Do not let the food upon the table furnish the theme of conversation; neither praise nor apology are in good taste.  Parents who make their food thus an especial topic of conversation are instilling into their children’s minds a notion that eating is the best part of life, whereas it is only a means to a higher end, and should be so considered.  Of all family gatherings the meals should be the most genial and pleasant, and with a little effort they may be made most profitable to all.  It is said of Dr. Franklin that he derived his peculiarly practical turn of mind from his father’s table talk.