320 



The Country House 



... 



Fig. 57. Section through pro- 

 tecting wall, and drain 



the end of it, and it should be carried as deep as may be practical. This wall con- 

 sists of a solid wall of stone laid in cement, a \vall of puddled clay and a dry wall of 

 small stone containing a porous drain (see Fig. 57.) The dry wall should be of 

 course on the side of the cesspool. It may not be practical to use this in every 



case, but there are many instances where it may be worth 

 a trial and serve to save the water supply from destruction. 

 Chimneys. Where chimneys are set in the outer wall 

 of a house and at the lower pitch of the roof they are very 

 apt to smoke badly in cases where the wind comes down 

 over the ridge. This is due to the fact that the wind natu- 

 rally follows the line of the roof, and consequently goes 

 down the chimney rather than over it. To remedy this 

 defect the chimneys should be carried to a considerable 

 height, and even that may not entirely do away with the 

 trouble. For these reasons it is best that the chimney be 

 located in the inner walls of the house or in some gable end. 

 Closets, Outside. There are several styles of outside 

 w r ater closets which may be used where heat is not practi- 

 cal to prevent y^eir freezing. The main points in all of 

 these is the protection from the frost of all pipes, traps 

 and valves which hold water, and the quick draining of 



such pipes as convey water. These closets usually work automatically, by the 

 weight applied to the stool when in use. 



About the only form of outside privy or closet is that suggested by Mr. 

 Lawler, and shown in Fig. 58. This type will make a serviceable closet for the 



summer cottage which does not boast of an inside water 

 closet. The vault is built of masonry, so as to hold 

 water. The soil pipe to the cesspool is trapped where it 

 enters the vault. The water from the roof is carried into 

 this last, and is calculated to keep a certain amount of 

 water in the vault. With the idea that a scarcity of rain 

 may cause the lowering of the water so as to uncover the 

 trap, we have introduced a sliding indicator which is con- 

 trolled by a float in the vault. When the water falls the 

 float naturally goes with it, and the red field (r) comes 

 into sight in the slot (s). At such time the vault must be 

 filled artificially. The house leaders may connect with this. 

 Composting. All refuse capable of fermentation or 

 decay should be composted in the following manner: It 

 should be spread thinly on a dry loam bed in some out- 

 of-the-way spot and covered or mixed with a sprinkling of 

 some light, dry, absorbent substance, as wood ashes, saw- 

 dust, dry mould, peat, spent vegetable ashes, marl, crushed 

 straw or dry loam. As one layer becomes dry and hard- 

 ened a second may be placed on top of it. In this manner the composting bed 

 will accumulate, and be ready at the end of the season for digging into the garden. 





Fig. 58. An outside closet for 

 rural districts 



