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The Country Gentleman s Magazine 



On these points we shall adduce the testi- 

 mony of some eminent writers on cottage 

 architecture. The writer of the prize essay 

 in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural 

 Society, vol. lo, speaks as follows :— " The 

 aspect should be south, or as nearly so as 

 can be obtained, and the value of the situa- 

 tion would be enhanced if protected on the 

 north and east from the inclemency of the 

 weather." Mr Bardwell in his "Healthy 

 Homes," already referred to, says—" A cheer- 

 ful situation is, above all things, to be desired, 

 as it has generally a beneficial influence upon 

 the spirits : and the position of the house 

 ought to be such that it would have the 

 benefit of the sun every day in the year." 

 " A cheerful appearance," says J. W. Steven- 

 son in his " Cottage Homes of England " " in 

 a building adds much to the apparent re- 

 spectability of it, and gains the attention and 

 commendation of the inhabitants, and also 

 casual passers by. This arrangement causes 

 the occupier to cultivate his plot of land with 

 care, and as he probably expects a litde 

 praise for his exertions, it encourages him to 

 pay attention to, and makes him proud of his 

 garden. Get a man to the point of keeping 

 neat and pretty his front plot, and you may 

 rely upon his becoming attached to his 

 cottage and all it contains ; it will lead him 

 also to a proper cultivation of his kitchen 

 garden, and thence to the improvement of 

 his own station and respectability, and the 

 education and welfare of his family." These 

 remarks of Mr Stevenson of course presup- 

 pose the possession of a garden. The value of 

 his observations, however, touching the forma- 

 tion by working men of habits of respectability 

 through living in a house of " cheerful" aspect, 

 is in nowise influenced by the fact that the 

 vast majority of working men in large towns 

 and cities have no gardens to cultivate. In 

 such cases these habits, where they exist, will 

 become developed, and find scope for pro- 

 gress in the pursuit, after a humble fashion, of 

 literature, science, or art, as has been so re- 

 cently proved by the success of an Art Work- 

 men's Exhibition in the Royal Institution, 

 Manchester, as well as lately also in London. 

 Mr Stevenson is perfectly right as to the prin- 



ciple. Again, hear Dr \\'atson. In his 

 pamphlet on the " Economic and Sanitary 

 Improvement of Dwelling-Houses of Agricul- 

 tural Labourers, Cupar Fife," he says, " The 

 situation to be selected for the houses or cot- 

 tages of agricultural labourers should be such 

 that, if possible, their front should be to the 

 south. The situation selected for the house 

 or houses (if more than one is to be built) 

 should have sufficient space to render them 

 free and open all round, but particularly in 

 front and back, in order to secure the circu- 

 lation of fresh air without dampness or mois- 

 ture. There should be no trees close to the 

 house." 



4. Choose a chalky substratum for your 



site if possible. The next preferable is a 

 dry gravelly or sandy soil, desirable on ac- 

 count of their absorptive qualities. Do not 

 select clayey soil if you have much choice as to- 

 site, for its damp-retaining character will in 

 some cases act in opposition to your best 

 efforts at thorough drainage. It is well in 

 case you have to deal with marshy land to 

 make an artificial substratum upon which tO' 

 place your foundation. Various such sub- 

 strata have at times been suggested, as " con- 

 crete twelve inches thick," " bedding slate in 

 cement," " or laying asphalte through the 

 whole thickness of the wall under the floor 

 level." The foundations of the Labourers' 

 Friend Society's Model Cottages on Shooter's 

 Hill are grouted — that is, are composed of a 

 mixture of gravel, fresh lime, and water, 

 which, upon being mixed, should be imme- 

 diately spread and well beaten down, then 

 left some days to become firm. Mr James 

 Sanderson says, on this point of substrata — 

 " In the first place, if there be a choice, select 

 a gravelly soil, or one embedded with stone ; 

 these conditions may be said to form a na- 

 tural foundation, which requires little or no 

 artificial preparation." "A bed of gravel, 

 which is pretty firmly placed, reciuires little or 

 no artificial means, as we have just remarked, 

 to render it a safe foundation ; but in locali- 

 ties where clay, sand, loam, or earth prevail, 

 recourse must be had to those means in order 

 to make the ground sufficiently compact and 

 solid to bear the weight of the building. 



