NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



281 



COTTAGES. 



Our engraving represents a beautiful cottage built 

 for a gentleman's summer residonee. It is verj' 

 commodious and convenient, and is handsomely fin- 

 ished outside and in. The walls are made vs'ith up- 

 right planks and battens, which is a very substantial 

 and durable mode, and for a cottage better in appear- 

 ance than clapboards. We show the ground plan. 

 The parlor is wanned by a furnace. The room in 

 the rear of the parlor, connected by folding doors, is 

 ■used for an extension of the parlor, but it may be 

 used as a study or library, or for a bed-room by those 

 ■who would have a sleeping-room below. From the 

 back kitchen are stairs to the room over it, and under 

 them stairs to the cellar. The dimensions of the 

 building exclusive of the piazzas and portico, are 

 forty-two feet by thirty-two. The wing in the rear 

 is fifteen feet square. 



In the second story are four large sleeping- rooms 

 in the main building, and another over the back 

 kitchen, communicating with the hall, affording a 

 passage from the back stairs to all parts of the second 

 and third stories, which many desire. The two win- 

 dows, in front, communicating with the sleeping- 

 i"ooms, in this story, extend below the eaves, which 

 renders the rooms more pleasant ; and the second 

 story, on tliis account, does not extend up so far as 

 usual, so that there are two good sized bed-rooms in 

 the attic. In the front of the hall, in the second 

 story, is a dressing-room. 



According to the carpenter's estimate, a cottage in 

 this style, externally, finished in a neat and thorough 

 manner, would cost about three thousand dollars, in 

 this vicinity. Where labor and materials are cheaper, 

 it could be built for fifteen hundred to two thousand 

 dollars, according to the style of finish. 



In the construction of this cottage, there is great 

 saving of materials and labor, by using planks for the 

 walls of the usual width, varying from eight to four- 

 teen inches. The appearance is the same as though 

 they were of a uniform width, excepting on close 

 inspection ; and even then it is no disadvantage to the 

 appearance. In most cases, time and lumber are 

 wasted in reducing the planks or boards to a uniform 

 width. 



For a permanent residence, in the interior, or for a 

 farm house, we would suggest several improvements 

 in this plan, and some changes might be made as 

 a matter of economy in building. A chimney could 

 be made between the parlor and the room in the rear, 

 for tlie convenience of warming both rooms ; and by 

 extending the folding doors nearly to the wall, the 

 rear room could be used as a part of the parlor, or, 

 with a narrow door, it might be used for other pur- 

 poses. With folding doors it could be used for 

 other purposes generally, or for an extension of the 

 parlor. 



The dining-room could be used for a sitting-room, 

 the kitchen for a dining-room, and the back kitchen 

 for a kitchen. In this case, the oven and a fireplace 

 should be in the kitchen, in connection with the 

 boiler, which is shown on the plan. 



COUNTRY LIFE. 



IIow often do we hear country ladies bewailing 

 their lot, complaining of the monotony of a country 

 life, and envying the destiny of such of their ac- 

 quaintance as live in the turmoil and excitement of 

 a town ! Wo\ild our fair readers but explore the 

 rich treasures of rational and pure enjoyment that 

 are so profusely scattered around a country house, 

 they would be more apt to condole with them than 

 envy their sisters of the city. Our object, in these 

 pages, will be to awaken in your minds an interest 

 in the various works of nature, so thickly strown 

 around you ; to direct your attention to the birds, 

 which build their nests, and sing their varied songs 

 of love and joy, in every tree, and bush, and shrub; 

 to the flowers, which deck with their tliousand hues 

 the sunny bank and the fertile meadows, the parched 

 heath and the rippling brook ; and, above all, to 

 teach your thoughts to ascend from the admiration 

 of the creature to the contemplation of the Creator, 

 and in all your observation of the works of nature, 

 " to look through nature up to nature's God." 



Each season has its glories and its wonders. First 

 comes Spring. Animated by her genial breath, the 

 whole face of nature changes ; that which is now 

 wrapped in the gloom and sleep of winter, will soon 

 awake to renewed life and vigor, and all this will 

 take place at first slowly and gradually. Now, then, 

 is the time to commence your observations, before 

 the multiplicity of objects distracts your attention 

 and bewilders your ideas. You must acquire a habit 

 of observing; not merely of looking and of seeing, 

 but of intimatelj% narrowly observing ; for be assured 

 that an observant Polyphemus, with his solitary eye, 

 obtains far more information in one day than an un- 

 observant Argus, with his hundred eyes, in a whole 

 month. It is surprising how your interests in your 

 daily walks will be increased, when you have gained 

 an insight into the history, the uses, and the various 

 objects which you meet with. No walk, at least no 

 country walk, can be devoid of interest to a mind 

 desirous of acquiring information. You will ever be 

 meeting with something new to excite your admira- 

 tion, ever falling in with something fresh, to impart 

 instruction and to aftbrd amusement. These country 

 walks will give vigor to the mind, and health to the 

 body ; that which before was too frequently looked 

 upon as a toil, will now be regarded as a pleasure ; 

 you will often be induced to take exercise in the 

 open air, and the result will be a buoyancy of spir- 

 its, and a lightness of heart, and a cheerfulness of 

 temper, which all your poor amusements, and all 

 your previous formal walks had failed to produce. 

 — Plough, Loom, and Anvil. 



THE NORTHERN SPY APPLE. 



The correspondent of the Springfield Republican, 

 writing from Rochester, N. Y., April 24, says, — 



The choicest winter apple cultivated in the Genesee 

 Valley is the Northern Spy. It does not ripen so as 

 to be suitable for eating until February ; it keeps 

 well till June, and even until the 4th of July. The 

 following remarks are quoted from Richard J. Hand, 

 Esq., of Mendon, situated near Rochester : — 



"I have," saj's he, "grown the Northern Spy 

 apple from fifteen to t\\enty years. I have on the 

 whole found it a good bearer — fruit extremely fair 

 looking — size good ; and with me it yields a better 

 crop than the Swaar. I have kept a few in fine 

 order until the 4th of July. The general crop I can 

 keep till the last of May or first of June. The qual- 

 ity I consider superior to any other apple. I have 

 sold my crops in Rochester ; and they have averaged 

 at least one dollar a bushel, for ten years last past ; 



