202 XALM'S ENGLAND. 



of tiles or thatch, were very steep and high-pitched, so 

 that it was quite impossible to go upon them, as with us 

 in Sweden, where straw-thatch is used, but for all such 

 one was obliged to have a ladder to stand upon when 

 there was anything to do to the roof. The rain-water 

 could also not remain so long on such a steep-sloping 

 thatch roof. 



Halmtaken, the thatch roofs, were here made in 

 this way, that one first erected a framework of wooden 

 beams upon which the thatch roof [T. I. p. 203] is to 

 rest, by erecting wooden rafters from both the 'long- 

 walls,' which rafters at their lower ends stood on the 

 roofplate, tak foten; but at their upper ends leant 

 against each other at the roof-tree of the house and 

 formed there an unguium acutum. Across and above 

 these rafters were nailed horizontal laths all the way 

 up the rafters up to the ridge, Krapp-asen, one 

 row of laths above the other, about a foot between 

 each row. They had afterwards begun to lay thatch 

 down at the eaves, takfoten, so that the thatch might 

 be a foot thick, sometimes more, sometimes less. The 

 straw was then laid so that the large ends of the straw 

 were turned downwards, and the small ends upwards ; 

 but at the ends of the sides of the ridge-shaped roof, it 

 was turned so that it did not there lie parallel with the 

 other straw on the roof but obliquely, that is to say, the 

 lower ends obliquely outwards from the ridge and the 

 upper more on to the inner part of the thatch, as is seen 

 in the accompanying Figure. [Fig. omitted. J. L.] 



The straw is fastened thus: when it had been arranged 

 as one would have it, it was then bound round at the 

 upper end with a withe of willow, en vidja af Vide, 

 or hazel, and so [T. I. p. 204] fast to some of the 

 above named horizontal laths. That is to say, the lowest 

 row of straw was first bound in that way fast to the roof- 



