272 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. — Sept., 1922. 



Question No. 6 : Is tlio soil used in a wet .or semi-dry state? 



Answer : The soil is used in as dry a state as possible, ind tJio 

 best g'aiio'e is a« follows: — When the soil has been thoronf>hly well 

 sifted, and all stones larg-er than a pipe-head discarded, also nil roots 

 and leaves, then take a handful of the mixed materials and firmly 

 compress same in the hand until the impression of the fingers are well 

 formed; when this is dro])p(Hl upon the ground the wliole should 

 revert to its former state, i.e. loose earth. 



Question No. 7: Ir. il necessary to h;t\o a foundation? 



Answer: Al)solutely necessary, and the foundation sliould l)e 

 good and strong too, such as is shown in the diagrams*, otherwise 

 your building will develo]) nasty cracks, such ns are depicted in 

 photograph No. (1). 



Question No. 8 : How thick do you advise the walls to be? 



Answer: 18-inch external and J 0-inch internal walls. Never- 

 theless, many people build their walls 15 inches thick, and all those 

 constructed by Mr. Goldie are 12 inches, as shown in photographs 



Nos. (4), (5),' (6), and (7). 



Question No. 9 : Can you give me advice as to how I should treat 

 tlie outside walls, so as to make them wateir-proof as far as possible? 



Answer: Any of the following methods will suit : — 



(1) Application of hot linseed oil; one or two coats. 



(2) Application of hot coal-tar; first coat applied with the aid 

 of an ordinary garden bucket-pump — all other coats can 

 be put on with the brush.'' 



(o) There are three other practical recipes, all of which have 

 been severely tested by Mr. Goldie and the writer, and 

 there is no doubt in our minds that (5) is the best; in 

 fact it is the one universally used : — 



(a) Pure unslaked lime (one part to two parts water by 

 measure). 



(/?) Unslaked lime one-third paraffin tin to two-thirds 

 paraffin tin boiling water and J lb. tallow (melted), 

 mixed as follows : Boil water first, ])ouring over 

 lime, gradually stirring up thoroughly meanwhile, 

 and then adding the liquid tallow, stirring occasionally 

 during use. 



By the addition of a little washing blue, a truer 

 white would be obtained. The second coat applied 

 two or three days after the first has dried out will give 

 the best results. This is absolutely weather and heat 

 resisting. 



(c) Unslaked lime one-third paraffin tin, two-thirds paraffin 

 tin water to h lb. common salt, 



(4) Two coats Polar Bear Compo will gi\e a rather pleasing 

 effect and are easily applied. 



See previous article, April, 1922, Journal. 



