Bed

In Persia everyone sleeps on a mat, which in summer is jaid on the roof of the house. In India beds are raised 4 ft. from the ground, to avoid the insects. The Greek and Roman beds were similar to modern ones. Anglo-Saxon beds were wooden benches fixed in rece es, the bedding being a sackful of straw. In the 13th century beds were similar to those now used, but feather beds were not generally used till the 15th century, and the old “four-poster" was Introduced in the following century. Birmingham is the centre of the bedstead’ trade. In 1849, 400 metallic bedsteads were made in a week, in 1865 there were 5000, and in 1885 there were 20,000. There are hair, straw, and spring mattre es. The largest B. in the world is Sarah Bernhardt's, which is Rye House, is 12 ft. square, and can accommodate 2 dozen persons at once. It is of oak, dated 1463, and is said to have belonged to Warwick the kingmaker. A still bigger bed is mentioned in the Bible, as belonging to Og, King of Bashan—about 84 square