Fig. 13.
Fig. 14.
At the end of the room, behind the screen, are two couches, to be run one under the other, as in Fig. 13. The upper one is made with four posts, each three feet high and three inches square, set on casters two inches high. The frame is to be fourteen inches from the floor, seven feet long, two feet four inches wide, and three inches in thickness. At the head and at the foot is to be screwed a notched two-inch board, three inches wide, as in Fig. 14. The mortises are to be one inch wide and deep, and one inch apart, to receive slats made of ash, oak, or spruce, one inch square, placed lengthwise of the couch. The slats being small, and so near together, and running lengthwise, make a better spring frame than wire coils. If they warp, they can be turned. They must not be fastened at the ends, except by insertion in the notches. Across the posts, and of equal height with them, are to be screwed head and foot boards.
The under couch is like the upper, except these dimensions: posts, nine inches high, including casters; frame, six feet two inches long, two feet four inches wide. The frame should be as near the floor as possible, resting on the casters.
Fig. 15.
The most healthful and comfortable mattress is made by a case, open in the centre and fastened together with buttons, as in Fig. 15; to be filled with oat straw, which is softer than wheat or rye. This can be adjusted to the figure, and often renewed.
Fig. 16 represents the upper couch when covered, and the under couch put beneath it. The cover-lid should match the curtain of the screen; and the pillows, by day, should have a case of the same.
