Notes on Cottas^cs luith Cottage Plans 



355 



belo'.v the foundations, if declivity allow, so 

 as to take off the subsoil water) should not 

 only go all round, but through and through, 

 below tlie underfloor of the cottage ; and to 

 allow of this deep drainage, elevated sites 

 having a good exposure should be chosen. 

 Drains which go no deeper than the level of 

 the foundations can be of but litde service in 

 Keutralizing the capillary attraction of the 

 ground on which the house stands, and which 

 is rendered all the more powerful in bring- 

 ing moisture to the surface by the heat of 

 the house above. Care should be taken 

 not to leave the foundation courses as it 

 were a kind of trough for the water 

 to lodge in ; the whole earth to the depth of 

 foundations ought to be excavated, not only 

 over the whole site within, but for i8 inches 

 beyond the walls, filling up the outside space 

 with small stones or gravel to within 6 inches 

 of the finished surface, and inside, where pave- 

 ment is used, with dry stone shivers and re- 

 fuse of lime." We avail ourselves, also, of the 

 following remarks of Mr J. Sanderson, in his 

 -'■ Rural Architecture," on this subject of site 

 drainage : — "Before we dilate, however, upon 

 the nature of foundations, let us direct atten- 

 tion to the drains, the structure of which, though 

 of the first importance, is not sufficiently 

 attended to. In digging to form the founda- 

 tion, especially in towns, a proper level ought 

 to be taken, in order that drains should have 

 a regular fall into the common receptacle or 

 sewer, which would effectually take off the 

 T-efuse. In addition to this precaution, a 

 close trap should be fixed at the junction 

 with the sewer to prevent rats and unpleasant 

 odours from coming into the drain, both of 

 which are of common occurrence. These in- 

 conveniences most householders in towns 

 have, more or less, to endure, and in many 

 instances they prove a positive nuisance, for, 

 with rats in the house, and odoriferous smells 

 •constantly assailing the olfactory nerves, there 

 can be but little comfort or enjoyment, how- 

 ever convenient may be the arrangements in 

 other respects. A common S trap is suffi- 

 cient for this purpose, and is easily and 

 •cheaply procured, though regular builders, as 

 ihey are called, seldom pay attention to this 



point, and generally shirk it, unless a rather 

 sharp eye be kept upon their proceedings. 

 Dr Watson asserts that "houses, generally, re- 

 quire to be surrounded by a well-made drain, 

 laid with tile pipes and broken stones, for the 

 double purpose of carrying off all dampness 

 from the ground, as well as rain and foul 

 water from the house." Indeed, the neces- 

 sity for the drainage of the site is so univer- 

 sally admitted, that to dwell upon it would 

 be a work of supererogation, as in hundreds 

 of other instances the truth of the theory is 

 generally conceded, its lack of practical appli- 

 cation being the real ground of complaint. 

 ^Ve shall treat somewhat at large upon this 

 topic in the paper on the "Sanitation of 

 Cottages." 



3. The situation of a cottage should be as 

 cheerful as possible. The influence of joyous 

 accessories on the health and character of 

 human beings cannot be too highly estimated. 

 It has been repeated for the thousandth time, 

 that between mind and body there is a 

 mutual sympathy, which produces the most 

 wonderful consequences ; and an examination 

 of our experience, however limited, will con- 

 vince us of the truth of the principle. How, 

 otherwise, is it, that almost every man bom 

 and bred in the Faubourg St Antoine turns 

 out a vagabond or a thief? The degraded 

 sensuality of the parents, the sin-impressed, 

 physical frame of the child, the squalor and 

 the filth, the stench and the gloom, the 

 drunkard's vileness, and the harlot's pollu- 

 tion, all undoubtedly have to do with this 

 result : and not the least of the causes is to 

 be reckoned the darkness, as of death, the total 

 absence of joyousness which lower over the 

 degraded street. The site, then, of a house 

 should be as cheerful as we have it in our 

 power to make it. If possible, let it have 

 plenty of sunshine about it, which will impart 

 this " cheerful " aspect to it in a way that 

 nothing else can. And in order to secure as 

 much of sunshine as may be, it is necessary 

 to observe two or three particulars : — Give 

 your cottage a southern aspect. Do not, if 

 in the country, embosom it in trees. Do 

 not build it on a slope, whose shadow shall 

 envelope it. If convenient, let it stand alone. 



