THE QUAINT AND DURABLE THATCHED ROOF 



With an arrangement of stakes projecting from 

 the peak of the roof, and sustaining an over-hang of 

 slender rafters and battens, about a foot above the 

 roof, an ornamental ridge may be formed that will 

 serve as a sort of supplementary roof. This form 

 of roofing the ridge is frequently seen among the 

 best houses in Japan, and the decorative value is 

 considered well worth the extra work required to 

 complete it. The thatch of the ridgei-roof is left very 

 thick at the edges, and trimmed squarely off. Strips 

 of bamboo are laid in various fancy forms to confine 

 the close-laid thatch at the peaks and ridges of these 

 oriental roofs. And now that bamboo is so com- 

 monly grown among the ornamental shrubbery of 

 our lawns, it readily may be secured in sufficient 

 quantity to be used extensively in various forms of 

 thatching. 



What is known as " pine-thatching" is becoming 

 popular in the mountain regions, where quantities of 

 pine needles may be gathered for use in garden 

 architecture. The favorite method of preparing a 

 quaint roof of the pine needles is, first, to roof the 

 building with boards covered with water-proof roof- 

 ing paper. Then with broad, flat brushes, the paper 

 is given a heavy coating of tar or pitch paint and 

 the pine needles are generously sprinkled on, while 

 the tar or pitch is still fresh, and evenly distributed 

 as thick as the tar can be made to hold them. This 



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