TERKA-COTTA ROOFING-TILES. 63 



sent me by Dr. Abbott shows the tjpicul Dutch pan tile 

 of the roughest description. 



Within recent years, pan tiles and flat tiles have been 

 nuuuitactured and used in this country. Their use has 

 been mainly confined to large structures, not for the sake 

 of economy or utility, but for architectural effect. Such 

 roofs have been far more expensive than similar ones in 

 Europe, and judging from the trouble many of these roofs 

 have given, it is quite evident either that the right kind of 

 tile has not been made, or that it has not been properly 

 applied to the roof. From the frequent breaking of the 

 tiles, it has been supposed that our climate, with its rig- 

 orous changes, was the cause of this. I have observed, 

 however, in Europe, that tiled roofs are quite as common 

 in regions north of the line of frost and snow as below that 

 line. In England, the effect of frost is spoken of as being 

 unfavorable to tiled roofs. Despite these drawbacks, it 

 would seem that the terra-cotta tile, when properly made 

 and adjusted, is one of the cheapest and mostdural)le of 

 roof-coverings, as it is certainly one of the oldest and 

 most widely distributed. 



Acting as a non-conductor, the upper portion of the 

 house is warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Slate 

 roofs absorb and transmit a good deal of heat. Shingle 

 roofs are a menace in times of conflagration. With the 

 best tile clays in the world and an abundance of the rude 

 labor usually employed in tile-making, there is no reason 

 why roofing-tiles should not come into common use in this 

 country, as they have in all other parts of the world. 



INTERLOCKING TILE. 



At the present day there are a great many forms of tiles 

 made in Europe, especially in France and Switzerland, 

 some of which are very ingenious. The object to be at- 



