330 



THE FARMERY. 



[Chap. III. 



into four rooms, and all is of good materials and ■vvorkinansliip, at a total 

 cost, except i)ainting and papering, of S4."J0. The sills and slee[)ers are pine, 

 3 liy 7, and the joist 3 by ti, spruce, and all would have been just as good, 

 if procurable, 2 by 6 inches ; and there is not an upright stick larger than 

 2 by -i of liunilock. Tiiis house, notwithstanding its cheapness, is strong, 

 durable, warm, and good-looking. AVhat more could we have of a ponder- 

 ous, expensive frame ? 



Our horse barn is 22 by 24 feet, and 13 feet high, and has but one upright 

 stick in it larger than 2 by 4 inches. As the hay-loft is a high half story, it 

 was thought best to have a center-post, which is 3 by 7, to support the ridge 

 pole in the middle. The studs aic covered with smooth ])ine siding, and the 

 lower story is lined with rough boards, and the building is as strong as we 

 desire, and cost, completely iiuished, with good floors, stalls, mangers, doors, 

 and windows, $300. The carpenter's work was oidy $50. 



We have dwelt more fully upon this subject of balloon frames than nj)on 

 many others, because we look upon it as one of very great importance. It 

 is one that, if fully understood, would induce and enable farmers to have 

 better dwellings and other farm buildings. 



352. Concrete WaHs. — The best advice that we can give one who asks for 

 information about making concrete walls, or how to build houses of gravel, 

 or broken stones and lime and sand, is that he buy a little book called a 

 " Home for All," published by Fowler & Wells, which gives all the details 

 of this mode of building. Mr. Fowler directs mixing a large mortar-bed 

 of lime and sand together, with twice as much sand as slacked lime, made 

 quite thin, and well worked. Into this mixture of lime and sand and water 

 the gravel or broken stone is put and evenly mixed, and then shoveled out 

 into a barrow or hoisting tub, and from that dumped into a smaller mortar- 

 bed on the scaffold, where it gets another good mixing, and wetting if 

 needed, and is then shoveled into the box that forms the mold to give shape 

 to the walls. In tlrs mold it hardens in one day so that the mold can be 

 removed, but it takes a longer time to dry hard enough to put on the next 

 course. Such walls, if well made, arc almost as solid as hewn stone, and 

 much cheaper where lime is not costly, and where sand and gravel or broken 

 stone can lie had for hauling. 



The proportion of materials given in the book referred to for a concrete 

 «vall are eight wheelbarrows full of lime, mixed with sixteen barrows of sand 

 into a thin mortar, to which add sixty or eighty barrows of pebbles or rubljle- 

 stoiie. The lime may be of the coarsest kind, and not over one bushel of 

 stone lime to thirty bushels of sand and stones. A wall three stories high 

 is recommended — twelve inches thick for the first, ten inches for the second, 

 and eight inches for the third. To protect the outside plastering, the roof 

 should be a projecting one. 



We do not know how far this plan of building can be recommended upon 

 the score of economy. We think that will depend very much upon circum- 

 stances. If broken stone or pebbles are very convenient to the building site. 



