ii4 
Labourers' Cottages. 
[may, 
more adapted to cottages than double-hung sashes. They 
have, however, disadvantages compared with the latter owing 
to the difficulties experienced in regulating ventilation with- 
out draughts, in keeping them water-tight, and in cleaning 
the outside from within. 
By fixing the windows flush, or nearly so, with the external 
face of the wall, wide window-boards can be provided, which 
are generally found very useful, and are greatly appreciated 
by the labourers' wives. 
A height of 8 ft. or 8 ft. 6 in. to the rooms should be 
ample, and it should be borne in mind that it is not so much 
the height of a room which makes it conducive to health as 
effective ventilation. The door should act as an inlet 
and the window as an outlet, and for this purpose the 
twindow-opening should extend as nearly as possible to the 
'ceiling. 
Ledged doors would be in keeping with cottage archi- 
tecture, but if panelled doors are provided, they should not 
be less than lj in. in thickness, owing to the liability of thin 
doors to twist. All fireplaces, windows, and doors should 
be arranged with a due regard to convenience, so as to provide 
ventilation with an absence of draught. 
Staircases. — Stairs should be conveniently planned and 
well lighted. Ample headroom should be provided, a point 
in construction which is frequently overlooked. It is desir- 
able to allow 6 ft. 9 in. to 7 ft. measured vertically. The 
width of stairs should not be less than 2 ft. 8 in. to 3 ft. 
A feature in planning, also, should be to make the "going" 
as easy as possible, and to effect this the treads should be 
9 in. wide, and the rise from step to step 7 in. to 7^ in., but 
not exceeding the latter. Winders should be avoided as 
much as possible. 
Pantry. — A suitable pantry should be provided to each 
cottage, and so arranged that one, at least, of its walls is 
external, in which a window can be provided for affording 
light and ventilation. 
Scullery, &-'c. — A copper, either portable or built in the 
usual manner, should be provided for washing purposes in 
the scullery or in an outbuilding. By the use, at a trifling 
cost, of one or other of the patent steam exhausts, a good 
