THE EMIGRANT'S HAND-BOOK. 83 



lent and highly estimable individual, Mr. Denson, of 

 Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, th author of the Peasant'? 

 Voice, who built his own cottage in the manner described 

 below : 



" Mode of building the mud walls of cottages in Cam- 

 bridgeshire. After a man has dug a sufficient quantity 

 of clay for his purpose, he works it up with straw ; he is 

 then provided with a frame eighteen inches in length, six 

 deep, and from nine to twelve inches in diameter. In 

 this frame he forms his lumps, in the same manner that 

 a brick-maker forms his bricks ; they are then packed 

 up to dry by the weather ; that done, they are fit for use, 

 as a substitute for bricks. On laying the foundation of 

 a cottage, a few layers of brick are necessary, to prevent 

 the lumps from contracting a damp from the earth. The 

 fire-place is lined and the oven is built with bricks. I 

 have known cottagers, where they could get the grant of 

 a piece of ground to build on for themselves, erect a cot- 

 tage of this description at a cost of from JC15 to J630. I 

 examined one that was nearly completed, of a superior 

 order ; it contained two good lower rooms and a chamber, 

 and was neatly thatched with straw. It is a warm, firm, 

 and comfortable building, far superior to the one I live 

 in ; and my opinion is, that it will last for centuries. 

 The lumps are laid with mortar, they are then plastered, 

 and on the outside once roughcast ; which is done by 

 throwing a mixture of water, lime, and small stones, 

 against the walls, before the plaster is dry, which gives 

 them a very handsome appearance. The cottage I ex- 

 amined cost 33, and took nearly one thousand lumps to 

 complete it. A laborer will make that number in two 

 days. The roofs of cottages of this description are pre- 

 cisely the same as when built with bricks or a wooden 

 frame. Cow-house sheds, garden walls, and partition 



