680 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



Each window should be supplied with a good patent spring fastener to keep out 

 intruders. The best for this purpose are those that are furnished with a little spring, which 

 holds the catch and prevents its being pushed back from the outside by any means, such as 

 running a knife-blade or thin piece of steel or iron between the upper and lower sash. Bay- 

 windows, properly located, add much to the exterior and interior appearance of a dwelling, 

 and are just as much in conformity with good taste on a farm-house, as that of a village or 

 city dwelling. 



Doors. The arrangement of the doora of a dwelling should be such as to secure com 

 fort and convenience, and save unnecessary steps in the household work. Their location 

 should be so planned as to give ready access to all parts of the house, and at the same time 

 not interfere with each other. They should also be of sufficient size. Narrow doors are a 

 great inconvenience, and should never be used in any building. In moving large articles, 

 such as furniture, from one room to another, a narrow door involves the risk of injury to 

 both the wood-work of the house as well as the furniture, as the battered condition of many 

 doorways fully prove. In farm-houses generally the doors are much too few in number and 

 too narrow. 



Double sliding doors for certain rooms are a great convenience, since they admit of 

 throwing two apartments into one when desired, furnishing a large, cool, airy room in hot 

 weather, or ample accommodations for a large gathering of friends on social occasions. A 

 sitting-room and parlor, or dining-room and sitting-room, can thus be easily converted into one 

 large apartment, rendering the interior of the house more pleasant, convenient, and comfort 

 able at certain seasons. 



The most common and convenient door-fastenings are those of the combined catch and 

 lock style, with a knob on each side of the door. For perfect security, the outside doors 

 should be provided with a peculiar spring-lock which cannot be easily tampered with. The 

 common lock can easily be fitted with an ordinary key, or the bolt readily forced back by 

 other means, hence, it is not a very good protection. Strong inside bolts for the entrance- 

 doors of a house are also a good security against intruders. 



Floors. The supports for the floors of a house should be strong and durable, and the 

 floors of good material, well seasoned and carefully put down. It would not probably be of fre 

 quent occurrence that the strength of a floor of a farm-house would be fully tested, but there 

 are occasions, such as social gatherings, etc., when a large company might be collected in a 

 single apartment, and we have personal knowledge of serious accidents being occasioned by 

 the floor giving way in old or improperly-constructed buildings, at such times. A great 

 strain might be brought upon a floor in this way, and it is well to provide beforehand for 

 any such contingency, by having the floors well supported in constructing a house, or, if the 

 house is already erected, extra supports can easily and at slight expense be placed under the 

 floor, and thus additional strength imparted. 



In laying the floor, if the timber is not well seasoned, it will shrink, leaving large cracks 

 between the boards, which will furnish a safe harbor for moths and bugs under the carpet ; 

 or, if uncarpeted, a place for the dust to collect, besides giving a room an unsightly appear 

 ance. In rooms that are not carpeted, a floor of alternate strips of light and dark wood looks 

 very nicely. The boards should all be of uniform width, not exceeding four inches, although 

 for a small room three inches is to be preferred. Black walnut and ash are the best materials, 

 but chestnut or yellow pine is sometimes used instead of ash for this purpose. Such floors 

 should be thoroughly oiled before being used. Finishing the interior of such rooms with the 

 same kinds of wood is also in very good taste; for instance, having the doors of black wal 

 nut, and the wood-work about them of ash and black walnut, the lighter wood coming 

 between the door and the outer casing, etc., and the light and dark alternating in the other 



