640 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, tyc. 



stones. Hence all doors and windows in such walls should be surrounded by 

 casings of some sort; or have the jambs, sills, or lintels, splayed. Hence, 

 also, the propriety of quoin-stones at the angles of corners, of coping-stones 

 to the gables, of cut and dressed stones to the chimney-tops, and of larger 

 stones to the plinths than those generally used in the plain parts of the wall 

 above them. In the case of earthen walls, the jambs, sills, and lintels may 

 be of timber, or formed of brick carried up from the plinth. 



" 4. Every stack of chimneys should consist of four parts : a plinth, which 

 should be distinctly seen above the roof; one or more base mouldings, or 

 splayed weatherings resting on the plinth ; a shaft rising from the base mould- 

 ings, of analogous proportions to the. doors and windows ; and a capital or 

 cornice moulding and cap or blocking, as a termination to the shaft. The 

 materials of the chimney-tops ought in general to be superior in quality to 

 those of the walls ; for example, if the walls are of rubble stone, the chimneys 

 should be of stone squared and dressed. When the walls are of earth the 

 entire stack of chimneys will, of course, be built of brick or stone. 



" 5. When the flues of the chimneys are carried up in the outer wall, there 

 ought always to be a projection outwards in that wall, beneath the chimneys, 

 carried up from the ground, so as to give the necessary space for the flues, 

 the strength of a buttress to the wall, with a sufficient breadth for supporting 

 the chimney-tops, and the architectural expression of all these purposes. 



" 6. Eaves-gutters, and ridge and hip coverings, with similar details essen- 

 tial as 'finishings,' as well as for habitableness and comfort, should never be 

 omitted. The eaves-gutters should be properly supported by brackets, these 

 being of stone or brick, except in the case of earthen walls, where they ought 

 to be of wood. 



" 7. Over the front door or porch of every cottage, there ought to be a 

 worked stone, on which should be cut the name of the cottage, the initials of 

 the first occupant, a number, a sign, or some distinctive mark of the cottage, 

 by which it may be registered in the Book of the Estate. 



" 8. In rendering cottages ornamental, the most important parts and 

 members of structure are those on which most decoration should be be- 

 stowed ; such as the porch, entrance door, window of the principal room, 

 upper parts of the gables, chimney-tops, &c. : and, in ornamenting each 

 particular part, the most important details of that part should receive the 

 highest degree of decoration ; for example, the hinges and latch or lock of a 

 door should be made richer than the muntings and styles, and the muntings 

 and styles richer than the panels ; and, hence, a door in which no ornament 

 is bestowed on the latch or the hinges ought not to have the muntings, styles, 

 or panels, studded over with ornamental nail heads as is often done. 



" 9. Nothing should be introduced in any design, however ornamental it 

 may appear to be, that is at variance with propriety, comfort, or sound work- 

 manship. The mind revolts at the idea of tacking the walls of houses wi'h 

 ornaments that have no connexion with construction or use. 



" 2558, For the Labourers' Cottages on Estates managed by Agents, we 

 would recommend a tour of inspection by a competent person, and a Report 

 drawn up on their present state, and on the means of their improvement. 

 The Report should include the character of the surface soil and subsoil on 

 which each particular cottage stands ; the state of surface and underground 

 drainage; the aspect of the different sides of the cottage, and its shelter or 

 exposure ; the sources of water and of fuel ; the state of the back-yard, &c, 

 if any ; the state of the garden ; and the connexion of the cottage with the 

 nearest public road. The cottage itself ought next to be examined as to plan 

 and accommodation, height of the side walls, thickness of the walls, roof and 

 "utters, floor, windows, stair, fireplace, bed-rooms, exterior appearance, &c. 

 The Report should then point out the additions and alterations necessary to 

 render the cottage what it ought to be, illustrating these bj' plans, sections, 

 and sketches, and giving lists of fruit-trees and shrubs, where these are wanting 

 for the garden. Would that we could hear of some of the first landed pro- 





