THREE] GROWING THE HOUSE 
simply toward a public road where Tom, Dick, and 
Harry drive by. Generally the front away from 
the street should be the more healthful, and freest 
from possible annoyance to the eye of him who is 
living the place into shape. 
It is a curious fact that economy in house building 
is almost always shown. at the foundation. Cellar 
walls should be solid, thick, and eight feet high — 
no wasteful economy hereabout. There is no reason 
why one should creep about a dark underground 
dungeon to find potatoes for dinner. Where stone 
is plentiful, it is the only and fit material for foun- 
dation of either house or barn. Where stone is 
scarce, grout may be convenient — made of broken 
stone, sharp sand, and cement, laid slowly and 
thoroughly between plank supports, that are pulled 
up as the wall rises. 
Do not construct any half story. They are hot 
in summer, and generally uncomfortable at all 
times — without being economical. There is no 
reason why walls should so slope that we cannot 
stand erect anywhere about a room. You may 
spend more in five years trying to heat a cheapened 
house, with thin walls and ugly cellar and cheap 
materials, than a really well-built house would have 
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