Construction of Labourers' Cottages. 499 



Although it is beyond the limits of internal fittings, we may 

 here allude to a contrivance lately patented by 

 Mr. Beadon of Taunton, called the Patent Im- 

 perishable Eaves Gutter. It is peculiarly applic- 

 able to agricultural dwellings : it consists of the 

 last tile being formed with a curve, as shown at . y^ 

 Fig. 4 ; it is nailed to the last batten, and pos- ^^[ 

 sesses the advantage of cheapness and of impossi- 

 bility of ripping in stormy weather. It presents 

 also a more sightly appearance than the ordinary 

 shuting, which cannot be fixed parallel to the 

 line of eaves, or is liable to sag between the 

 supports.* 



Economy of Heat. — One very important feature in the economy 

 of warmth is the substitution of wood floors for stone, brick, or 

 tile paving. 



In the Sanitary Report, p. 269, the effects of using the latter 

 materials are thus described : — 



" In Berkshire tlic floors of the cottages are laid with red tiles, called ' flats,' 

 or with bricks of a remarkable porous quality, and as each of these ' flats ' or 

 bricks will absorb half a pint of water, so do they become the means by which 

 vapour is generated. The cleanly housewife, who prides herself upon the neat 

 and fresh appearance of her cottage, pours several pails of water upon the floor, 

 and when she has completed her task with the besom, she proceeds to remove 

 with a mo]i or flannel so much of the water as the bricks have not absorbed. 



" After having cleaned the cottage, the fire is usually made up to prep*are 

 the evening meal, and vapour is created by the action of the heat upon the 

 saturated floor. Thus the means adopted to purify the apartment are equally 

 as injurious to the health of the inmates as the filth and dirt frequently too 

 abundant in the cottages of labouring persons." 



The same objection, namely the absorption of moisture, does 

 not perhaps apply so strongly to stone as to brick floors ; still it 

 should be borne in mind that stone is a more rapid conductor, 

 and consequently absorbs a larger portion of heat than brick. 



The ground-floor should be at least G inches above the level of 

 the surrountling soil, and a layer of slate bedded in cement, or 

 gas-tar and pitch, should be laid at that level round the walls to 

 prevent the damp rising. 



The roof should project about 1 foot 6 inches, so that the 

 walls of the cottage may be kept dry, and the radiation of heat be 

 checked.. 



Tlie fireplaces should be constructed back to back in the 



* The present holder of the jiateiit, Mr. J. U. Lawes, of St. Albans, says, " I 

 consider the gutter-tiles more particularly adapted for cottages and cheap sorts of 

 buildin<r, as, when once put up, they last for ever. The price of the tiles is 4<f. 

 each, l.'j to 14 inches in length. I do not consider their cost, when fixed, is more 

 than .')(/. per foot ; and, in fact, I have olVered to put up a large quantity at that 

 price. As in new cottages two rows of tiles cau be saved, the cost of these eaves- 

 gutters is very much less than any other." 



