426 



HOUSES, PORTABLE. 



ment. There was only one American com- 

 petitor at the Antwerp Exhibition, William 

 M. Ducker, of Brooklyn, N. Y. His design, 

 described herewith, was awarded a special 

 medal presented by the Empress of Germany, 



FIG. 4. SMALL PORTABLE HOUSE. 



FIG. 5. SUMMER COTTAGE. 



and has since been ordered on trial by several 

 European Governments. 



It is contrived with an eye to all the proba- 

 bilities of field service, combining simplicity, 

 lightness, and durability in a remarkable de- 

 gree. The unit of construction is a folding 

 section, shown in differ- 

 ent positions in Fig. 6 ; 

 closed for transporta- 

 tion in the middle, a 

 front view open at the 

 right, and a side view 

 open, with the bed and 

 table lowered at the 

 left. Each section, too, 

 has its own glazed win- 



dow, opening inward on hinges, and a slatted 

 shutter, opening outward. A row of these 

 opened sections, set up side by side, edge against 

 edge, forms the sides and ends of the barrack. 

 They are fastened together by an interlocking 

 system of keys and sockets so 

 that they are perfectly firm and 

 solid. The ridge-pole is in three 

 sections, the interior ends rest- 

 ing on perpendicular uprights. 

 Rafters rest on the ridge-pole, 

 and on the tops of the side sec- 

 tions where slots and keys hold 

 all securely in place. Over the 

 whole a water - proof roof of 

 army duck is stretched and 

 laced to hooks provided for the 

 purpose. The floor consists of 

 box-like panels keyed to the 

 side-sections and to a long cen- 

 tral box running the whole 

 length of the structure, which 

 has a special mission of its own. 

 It is open to the air through 

 suitable registers at either end, 

 and may be connected with a 

 heating apparatus or used sim- 

 ply for ventilation, for which 

 purpose other registers open in 

 the top of the box that forms 

 the ceniral strip of floor. The 

 floor, being raised above the 

 ground, prevents all dampness, 

 and permits free circulation of 

 air under the whole building. 

 Attached to each end of the 

 building is a small annex, one 

 of which may be used for cook- 

 ing, or heating, or both, and the 

 other for closets necessary in a 

 hospital. The material used to 

 cover the sections is a very stiff and heavy 

 paper board, two thicknesses, with an air-spt 

 between them being employed to secure uni- 

 form temperature. 



The standard size of building is 18 by 34 

 feet. It contains twelve sections, each with its 



FIG. 6. SECTIONS OP DUCKER'S PORTABLE BARRACK (OPEN AND CLOSED). 



