1046 



Notices of Books. 



[JAN., 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



Cottaire BuildinfiTS in Cob, Pies, Chalk and Clay C. Williams-Ellis 



(London : Offices of "Country Life," 1919, 65. net). This book is a 

 new and valuable addition to the " Country Life Library." Its 

 publication indicates an increased interest in the whole question of 

 bu Iding material. The needs of the housing problem are proving to be 

 an incentive to research and inquiry into every method of construction, 

 \\Tien the material used by our ancestors in the construction of their 

 mud huts is shown to be, if scientifically used, good building material 

 for our houses to-day, one is inclined to believe the truth of the saying 

 that " there is no new thing under the sun." 



This book should be read before wa'ls of earth are condemned ; it 

 would then be understood that certain methods of building have been 

 so long neglected that to inquire into and revive their use almost amount 

 to something novel. Many of these ancient methods were thoroughly 

 practical. 



Construction in cob, chalk and clay lump has in the past been 

 employed in countless small buildings throughout England, and the 

 fact that such buildings are still standing four square to the winds 

 testifies to the u^fulness -and the durability of the material. The 

 book contains much valuable information and good illustrat ons of 

 buildings of these materials, but the really mteresting chapters are 

 those dealing with pise or rammed earth used for building walls. This 

 method of building has been 1 ttle employed in this country, though it 

 has been used most successfully in parts of France and Australia. The 

 material, being the native earth dug from the site, has the same 

 advantage of cheapness as is possessed by the cob of Devonshire. 

 There is no expense for purchase and transport, but it is considered 

 superior to cob. 



Mr. St. Loe Strachey has been mainly instrumental in introducing 

 this kind of building into this country, and his enthusiasm refused to be 

 damped by those who prophesied evil. He persisted in his experiments, 

 and has gone far enough to prove that pise is an eminenth^ practical 

 form of walling for modern-day use in sm^ll buildings. He has written 

 a racy preface to the book telling how he came to make his experiment 

 and what he has achieved. Mr. Williams-Ellis supplements this in the 

 body of the book, with reports from other sources and some practical 

 hints on the construction of the shutter'ng that is essential for the 

 hard ramming of the earth, and tells us what kind of earth is required 

 for success. 



Pise buildings would seem to go some way to solve the housing 

 problem of the present day, at any rate for rural houses. The material 

 offers a method of bu Iding walls without bricks and without skilled 

 labour, sound in every sense. 



The " Country Life " Book of Cottaeres, — Lawrence Weaver 

 (London: Offices of '-Country Life," 1919, 9^. ^d. net). This book 

 was first published in March, 191 3, and was then extensively reviewed. 

 In this new edition many chapters have been whol y rewritten and 

 furnished with fresh illustrations, showing the most recent types 

 of cottages, especially those for the housing of the agricultural 

 labourer. 



