A graceful outline is insured by unity of design, the achievement of a restrained dignity through the blending of simplicity, proportion, and successful eye guidance. The eye will travel at an accelerated pace along smooth lines and curves, but becomes confused by harsh collisions. Although rectangles may be required in the basic structural design, corners can be rounded, and sharp angles opened to speed up the eye's indecision at abrupt changes in direction. Nature offers countless examples of gracefulness in the outlines of curving branches and flower stems. For this reason elliptical curves so proportioned that they lead the eyes effortlessly to a central, dominating feature will give to the entire composition a harmonious theme. For the amateur without access to power tools, the production of curves is a somewhat disheartening prospect. Until the confidence of successful achievement is his, he will do well to translate his curves and ellipses into series of lines or steps for the eyes to follow. If these steps are proportional, the eyes will follow a pleasing series of points in ascending and descending proportion. So, too, hexagonal or octagonal outlines can be substituted for the continuity of a circle, and the chamfering of sharp corners can be relied upon to replace a round leg or column. To sum up: to insure a harmonious whole avoid monotony, provide the eyes with smooth lines for movement, and create a center of interest. Material. Just as the kind of material may control the choice of the overall type of design, so the texture, grain, and figure of the wood will exert a strong influence on the way it is to be worked or the place it is to occupy in the ensemble. This principle may be observed in the doors of welldesigned furniture, which have stiles and rails of straightgrained stock, but frequently use panels of wavygrained woods. Although oak has been one of the most popular choices for the fabrication of sturdy English and Early American furniture, it will be noted in a later table that its basic hardness, plus its coarser texture, limits its use to the more rudimentary designs that include only elementary embellishments, such as chamfering and gouge cutting. Because of this essential hardness and obvious durability, desisrns for oak furniture very properly feature a sort of masculine ruggedness. resulting in pleasing simplicity. On the other hand, the finer grain of mahogany and the silkv texture of walnut are readily adaptable to various forms of design, from the earliest antique to the latest modern. CABINETMAKING furniture woods Many data are now available for the study of our native woods, thanks tc United States Department of Agriculture and its Forest Products Laboratory, everyday information and advice, however, the home craftsman will find it pi able in more ways than one to cultivate an acquaintance with the local lur dealer and, if possible, to use the local lumber yard as his laboratory.