September, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



367 



A Form of Slab Building Which Is Common but Which 

 Should Be Avoided 



An Unusual and Artistic Manner of Applying 

 the Slab 



The Bark Cabin 



Durable, Attractive and Inexpensive Summer Homes 



By Dorothy Sythe 



ESTLED on the wooded slope of Mount 

 Minsi, in one of the most charming sec- 

 tions of the Blue Mountains — noted for 

 ideal summer cabins — stands a surprisingly 

 attractive and inexpensive mountain home 

 that is said to have served as an inspiration 

 for the numerous "vacation cabins" that 

 now surround it. While it is just such a cabin home as will 

 appeal most strongly to lovers of the picturesque in site and 

 construction, it possesses the still greater advantage of being 

 within the means of any hard-working business man of the 

 city who longs for retirement to nature's restful and nerve- 

 healing charms during his vacation; and one that he can 

 readily build with his own hands — from the material found 

 in the rocky soil and the rough-barked trees of the few acres 

 of his mountain site. 



It is unnecessary to give a list in detail of the various 

 expenses in construction; as prices vary according to the 

 amount of material at hand, and the amount of work that is 



done by the owner. To be really helpful to the prospective 

 builders it is of more importance to state how the roughly 

 constructed but attractive summer home was put together, 

 how the interior was quaintly and appropriately furnished, 

 how the broad stone portion of the outside chimney formed 

 a unique fireplace within at little cost, and how the curious 

 walls of rough bark were made durable as well as artistic. 



Where the old log cabins in ancient types have been im- 

 practical and stone for cabin construction expensive and dif- 

 ficult to obtain, city residents who desire suburban cottages 

 or tiny summer homes in the mountains have looked about 

 for some picturesque and inexpensive exterior finish. One 

 ingenious builder hit upon a novel plan that could not well 

 be patented, and the result has been a widespread interest 

 in the building of "bark cabins." 



The thought originated in eastern Pennsylvania, in the 

 Delaware Water Gap section, and soon the bark cabins of 

 Mount Minsi became widely noted. Then other owners of 

 building sites in mountainous and wooded sections became 



Another Unusual Way in Which Slabs Are Used 



A Correct Form of Using Slabs for a Cabin 



