Shade cloth is made of muslin or linen cloth rendered opaque by being heavily sized and stiffened.

The lower grades are stiffened with clay, mixed with water, and pressed into the meshes of the cloth by passing through rollers. The better grades are stiffened with lead and oil.

Holland shade cloth is made of linen, filled and stiffened with starch.

Many kinds or brands of window shadings are on the market, and each carries a strong guaranty, but they consist mainly of those two qualities known as "water color" and "opaque oil" shades.

The "water color" shade is inexpensive, and is made with water color on cheap cloth. These colors are not fast, and will run if they get wet, although with proper care they should last for years.

The "opaque oil" shade is much the better quality, and about twice the price of the water color shades. The color in these shades will not run to any extent when wet, but unless the shade is removed from the brackets and stretched and dried it will lose its shape. Probably more of these shades are sold than any other grade, and they have been known to last for twenty-five years.

The Holland shade is very durable and is highly rec-ommended, although higher in price and more or less transparent, and to make a dark room in the day time necessitates another shade.

While all shades may not have a filler, the paint is usually prepared in such a way as to act as a filler when applied.

How To Detect Quality Goods

To detect the quality of shade cloth, it is necessary to examine the cloth he-fore the paint and filler is applied. This is impossible, usually, but the same result may be obtained by taking a small piece of the shade material, about two inches square, and holding it between the thumb and index fingers of each hand, rubbing briskly until the filling and paint falls out of the cloth. Then the thread of the cloth can he seen. The standard weight of handmade cloth will contain fifty-six of these tiny threads to the inch, while most of the machine-made cloth is hut forty-eight to the inch. The closer these threads are woven the better the shade should he.

Shade Rollers

Shade rollers pla\ an important part in window shades, and unless a shade is mounted on the best rollers constant trouble may he expected. The high-grade shades contain better rollers than are used for the cheap shades. The rollers alone in the best grade of shades cost nearly as much as the completed water color shade.

There are many kinds of shade rollers on the market; buy the best you can get and save money and patience, as a poor roller is an abomination.

Care Of Window Shades

Window shades require attention if satisfactory service is expected of them. It is well to take them out of their brackets once a year at least and adjust the rollers, which in time become somewhat weakened by the constant strain.

When a shade runs to one side and off of the roller at the end, it should he taken down and examined. Ordinarily this is caused by the shade not being mounted squarely on the roller.

If the roller seems too weak to roll the shade up, it can be remedied by pulling the shade down as far as it will go, and then getting on a ladder, taking the shade out of the brackets (while unrolled) and rolling up the shade by hand. After the shade is rolled up, put it back in the brackets and pull down the shade as usual and the spring in the roller will be found to be stronger.

Another way is to take the shade from the brackets and tighten the roller spring with the fingers.