THE TIM BUNKER PAPERS. 181 



the outside, and the green color. But there is no sub 

 stitute for a green Venetian blind upon the outside. It 

 bars the heat, and lets in the breeze in summer, and is 

 always agreeable to the eye. Houses are built for com 

 fort rather than for show, and I think comfort should be 

 studied more than anything else. If we can make taste 

 go along with it, that is so much clear gain. 



It makes a good deal of difference about the season of 

 painting. In the heat of summer, the oil seems to strike 

 all into the wood, and the lead washes off sooner. If I 

 could have my choice of weather, I would select the clear 

 days of spring or fall, with a north-west breeze, if any. 

 Then, with good materials, the paint dries gradually, 

 makes a good body, and will be a good deal more durable. 



There is one thing I have just learned about painting, 

 and it must be as true as preaching. Paint upon a build 

 ing well sheltered by^ trees will last twice as long as paint 

 in an exposed position. The gable end of the house, to 

 which Mrs. Bunker called my attention, is almost bare, 

 while the lower part has still a fair coat of paint. The 

 reason is, that the upper part of the house is fully exposed 

 to the raking winds, while the lower part is partially 

 protected by the barn and the shrubbery. On the west 

 side of the house is a covered piazza. The paint sheltered 

 by this is almost as good as when it was first put on, five 

 years ago. In violent storms the wind moves from forty 

 to sixty miles an hour, and the rain is driven with this 

 velocity against the sides of the house. Of course, there 

 must be a good deal of mechanical violence done by this 

 continual battering of the rain drops. A friend, who has 

 three sides of his house sheltered by trees, is of the opinion 

 that a coat of paint will last twice as long as upon the 

 fourth side, which is without any protection. Trees break 

 off the winds, and are of as great advantage in preserving 

 a house as they are in warming it in winter. They 

 should not stand too near a dwelling, so as to make it damp 



