82 THE FARMER'S AND 



a weak mortnr of sand and lime, when these articles are 

 cheap, is recommended as affording a more adhesive ma- 

 terial for the plaster. The wall may safely he carried 

 up one story, or two or three stories ; the division walls 

 may be seven inches, just the width of the brick. The 

 door and window frames being inserted as the wall pro- 

 ceeds, the building is soon raised. The roof may be shin- 

 gles or thatch. In either case, it should project over the 

 sides of the house, and also over the ends, at least two 

 feet, to guard the walls from vertical rains The exte- 

 rior wall is plastered with good lime mortar, and and then 

 with a second coat, pebble-dashed. The inside is plas- 

 tered without dashing. The floors may be laid with oak 

 boards, slit, five or six inches wide, and laid down with- 

 out jointing or planing, if they are rubbed over with a 

 rough stone after the rooms are finished. Doors of a cheap 

 and neat appearance may be made, by taking two single 

 boards of the length or width of the doors ; placing these 

 vertically, they will fill the space. Put a wide batten on 

 the bottom and a narrow one on the top, with strips on the 

 side, and a strip in the middle. This door will be a batten 

 door, but presenting two long panels on one side, and a 

 smooth surface on the other. If a porch or veranda is 

 wanted, it may be roofed with boards laid with light joints 

 and covered with a thick paper dipped in tar, and then 

 adding a good coat, after sprinkling it with sand from a 

 sand-box or other dish with small holes. 



Houses built in this way are dry, warm in winter, and 

 cool in summer, and furnish no retreats for vermin. Such 

 houses can be made by common laborers if a little car- 

 penter's work is excepted in a very short time, with a 

 small outlay for materials, exclusive of floors, windows, 

 doors, and roof. 



The question will naturally arise, Will the wall stand 



