PROCEEDmaS OF THE FARMER^ ClTJB. 383 



of the same length and six inches wide be employed, each contaiu- 

 ina: the same amount of timber as a board, and a floor laid on them 

 would spring up and down to such an extent as to render the room 

 exceedingly unpleasant to live in. 



KOOFS OF BUrLDINGS. 



If there is any one part of a building of any kind, that far trans- 

 cends in value all other parts, it is the roof. Without a good 

 roof it is utterly impracticable that other parts of a building 

 should render satisfoctory service. A poor roof is an intolerable 

 nuisance even on a sheepfold or a dog's kennel. Whatever the 

 building may be, a roof that will turn the rains of summer and the 

 water from the melting snow that accumulates on the building in 

 winter, is a consideration of primary importance to every person 

 who owns a dwelling-house. Leaky roofs may be made of the 

 very best of materials. A building covered with the choicest 

 quality of pine shingles, if laid by a bungler, who is not careful to 

 "break joint" properly, will leak badly. A few ^oor shingles in 

 various parts of the roof, which is made mostly of the best shingles, 

 will make a bad roof. Zinc cannot be relied on as a valuable roofing 

 material, as it will crack. A tin roof will frequently corrode and 

 crack, and become leaky, and it will often be impracticable to find 

 the defective places which admit the rain. Slate is expensive and 

 heavy. Over and above these considerations is the one all import- 

 ant one, that where dwelling houses are exposed to the heavy 

 accumulation of snow in winter, Avater is liable to back up from the 

 eaves and find its way beneath the shingles down to the inside walls. 

 This is a common occurrence, and the walls of many fine houses 

 have been nearly ruined by " back water " through the roof. The 

 only reliable remedy is to form a roof of such material as the 

 influences of the weather will afiect but little, and which will 

 endure for ages. 



It is a subject of congratulation that science has recently 

 enabled builders to avail themselves of a material for roofing that 

 possesses the merit of cheapness and durability at the same time. 

 We allude to the plastic slate roofing. We have no tin, plastic 

 slate or shingles to sell; but we have seen, in the city of New York, 

 enough of plastic state roofs to warrant us in stating, for the bene- 

 fit of farmers, that this material is the cheapest, the most durable, 

 and will render the best satisfaction of any material that can be 

 employed for covering buildings. In company with J. R. Van 



