iv AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
August, 1909 
ANY BEA 
LANE BROS. CO. ( 
New Papers on 
Concrete 
Reinforced 
Concrete 
Concrete 
Building 
Blocks 
Scientific American Supplement 1543 contains an 
article on Concrete, by Brysson Cunningham. 
The article clearly describes the proper com- 
position and mixture of concrete and gives the 
results of elaborate tests. 
Scientific American Supplement 1538 gives the 
proportion of gravel and sand to be used in 
concrete. 
Scientific American Supplements 1567, 1568, 1569, 
1570 and 1571 contain an elaborate discussion 
by Lieut. Henry J. Jones of the various systems 
of reinforcing concrete, concrete construction, 
and their applications. These articles constitute 
a splendid text book on the subject of reinforced 
concrete. Nothing better has been published. 
Scientific American Supplement 997 contains an 
article by Spencer Newberry, in which practical 
notes on the proper preparation of concrete are 
given. 
Scientific American Supplements 1568 and 1569 
present a helpful account of the making of 
concrete blocks by Spencer Newberry. 
Scientific American Supplement 1534 gives a 
critical review of the engineering value of re- 
inforced concrete, 
¢/Vianufacturers 
EACH NUMBER of the SUPPLEMENT COSTS 10 CENTS. 
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Scientific American Supplements 1547 and 1548 
give a resumé in which the various systems of 
reinforced concrete construction are discussed 
and illustrated. 
Scientific American Supplements 1564 and 1565 
contain an article by Lewis A. Hicks, 1n which 
the merits and defects of reinforced concrete are 
analysed, 
Scientific American Supplement 1551 contains the 
principles of reinforced concrete with some 
practical illustrations by Walter Loring Webb. 
Scientific American Supplement 1573 contains an 
article by Louis H. Gibson on the principles of 
success in concrete block manufacture, illus- 
trated. 
Scientific American Supplement 1574 discusses 
steel for reinforced concrete. 
Scientific American Supplements 1575, 1576 and 
1577 contain a paper by Philip L. Wormley, Jr., 
on cement mortar and concrete, their prepara- 
tion and use for farm purposes. ‘he paper ex- 
haustively discusses the making of mortar and 
concrete, depositing of concrete, facing concrete, 
wood forms, concrete sidewalks, details of con- 
struction of reinforced concrete posts, etc. 
Scientific American Supplement 1583 gives valu- 
able suggestions on the selection of Portland 
cement for concrete blocks. 
Scientific American Supplement 1581 splendidly 
discusses concrete aggregates. A helpful paper. 
Scientific American Supplements 1595 and 1596 
present a thorough discussion of sand for mortar 
and concrete, by Sanford E, Thompson. 
Scientific American Supplement 1586 contains a 
paper by William L. Larkin, on concrete mixing 
machinery in which the leading types of mixers 
are discussed. 
Scientific American Supplement 1626 publishes a 
practical paper by Henry H. Quimby on con- 
crete surfaces. 
Scientific American Supplement 1624 tells how to 
select the proportions for concrete and gives 
helpful suggestions on the treatment of con- 
crete surfaces. 
Scientific American Supplement 1634 discusses 
forms for concrete construction. 
Scientific American Supplement 1639 contains a 
paper by Richard K. Meade, on the prevention 
of freezing in concrete by calcium choloride. 
In Scientific American Supplement 1605 Mr. 
Sanford E. Thompson thoroughly discusses the 
proportioning of concrete. 
Scientific American Supplement 1578 tells why 
some fail in the concrete block business. 
Scientific American Supplement 1608 contains a 
discriminating paper by Ross F. Tucker on the 
progress and logical design of reinforced con- 
crete. 
A SET of PAPERS CON- 
POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y. 
MAKING A COUNTRY HOME 
By E. P. Powell 
VI—THE EVOLUTION OF> Tie 
AMERICAN COUNTRY HOUSE 
HEN New Englanders started on 
their pioneering westward the cottage 
style was dominant in New England. 
The building was so very solid that a good 
many samples still endure. “The beams were 
pinned together at every joint, and all the 
braces, with pins of beech wood, running 
through timbers not less than one foot in di- 
ameter. After settling a trifle these pins be- 
came sufficiently bent to make it impossible 
to drive them out. ‘To tear down such a house 
needed the ax and a cross-cut saw. ‘The 
clapboards were left until they became moss- 
covered, although generally retaining their 
position. “There were holes enough through 
which bumble bees entered and made their 
homesteads. I have known honey bees to find 
spaces large enough for a large storage of 
honey. Bumble bees took their honey from 
thistles which were abundant not only in the 
pastures, but in the streets; and from the 
hollyhocks which our fathers and mothers 
planted everywhere. I remember a row that 
went clear round a large field of corn. ‘The 
houses were too flat roofed, and frequently 
leaked. ‘The attics were constructed so that 
little heat could be wasted from the lower 
rooms. ‘The kitchen was the heart of the 
house, and one-third of it was a great open 
fireplace. Here the family assembled for 
paring bees, knitting bees and all sorts of 
games. Here the neighbors visited and gos- 
siped. Out of the kitchen opened one or 
more bedrooms, and a stairway to the small 
attic rooms, sometimes used for sleeping. he 
spare room also opened from the kitchen, when 
not in use held the spinning wheel and the 
rolls. The cellar of this house was rarely 
more than a dugout where the vegetables 
were stored. “The beams were low and the 
windows generally entirely lacking. Furni- 
ture was largely home-made, especially the 
stools, the tables and a possible lounge. There 
was one small table, called the stand, which 
held the candle by which the mother could 
see to read the Bible just before retiring at 
nine o’clock. The smaller children slept in 
a trundle-bed, fitted to roll under the larger 
bed of the parents during the daytime. 
This style of house was the germ of those 
which have been evolving through the Nine- 
teenth Century and up to the present time. 
The pioneers into New York very soon took 
a distinct step forward both in the style of ar- 
chitecture and in the comfort provided. The 
cellars were raised well above the ground, 
and were ventilated as well as lighted. “The 
floors, however, were not yet grouted and 
drainage was very inadequate. Such rooms 
were entirely unsafe to be under a dwelling, 
for they contained the mingled odors of de- 
caying cabbage, mold and other waste mate- 
rial. The kitchen grew smaller, and the 
number of rooms increased. ‘The brick oven 
was still built into the side of this house, and 
was used for “Thanksgiving feasts. “There 
was no wasting of coal, for no one had yet 
heard of either anthracite or bituminous. 
Every farmer had his own wood lot, and coal 
meant half-consumed scraps of maple and 
beech. The cleanest sticks of hickory or 
maple were none too good for the kitchen 
fire; and I have seen large barns built en- 
tirely of select black walnut. The door of 
this house generally opened at a corner, and 
directly into the living-room, which was still 
the kitchen. The parlor put in an appearance 
early in the century, and was furnished with 
