Cottages for Agricultural Labourers. 



233 



would permit. The height of each room is 8 feet, and the di- 

 mensions are — No. 1, 11 feet by 10 feet; No. 2, 11 feet by 7 feet 

 6 inches ; and No. 3, 8 feet 6 inches by 7 feet, containing 860, 

 645, and 469 cubic feet respectively. One room only (the largest) 

 is provided with a fireplace, which will be found quite sufficient 

 both for ordinary and extraordinary occasions. One might be 

 placed in every room if required, without deranging the plan. 

 A convenient closet is obtained at the top of the stairs, and another 

 in a recess adjoining the fireplace in Bedroom No. 1. 



The Out-Offices. — It is very objectionable to make these indis- 

 pensable adjuncts form part of the cottage itself; and equally 

 offensive to good taste (if isolated) to have such a primitive out- 

 line as indicates most unmistakeably their respective uses. In 

 the plan the two extremes are avoided, and a situation is selected 

 within easy reach of each cottage, and they are so contrived as to 

 conceal as much as possible the purposes for which they are 

 designed. Within the enclosure accommodation is made for 

 keeping a pig, and where such a practice is not interdicted, it is 

 better to build a suitable place, than leave the tenant to exercise 

 his ingenuity upon old wood and thatch, and supply the defi- 

 ciency in a manner most offensive to the eye, and prejudicial to 

 the health of those around him. 



Materials, Construction, Supply of Water > Sfc. — A difficulty 

 arises here in laying down rules for universal adoption; the 

 geology of the district, local customs, and the facilities of transit 

 may interdict it: the author has, however, endeavoured to hit the 

 rule rather than the objection, by suggesting as the most appli- 

 cable — brick for the walls, Baltic timber for the carpenter's work, 

 and Welsh slate covering for the roofs. It must be distinctly 

 understood notwithstanding, that any variation in the materials 

 will not affect the general arrangements. All the window-frames 

 are proposed to be of wood as being more economical and agree- 

 able than iron or stone, and the squares not being large, the 

 outlay for renewal in the event of breakage will be so trifling as 

 to offer no inducement for the occupant to substitute a piece of 

 old newspaper for a square of glass. The eaves of the cottages 

 project for the sake of appearance and better security of the 

 walls. The water from the eaves on the south front is conveyed 

 into the drain leading from the sinks in the sculleries, by which 

 means any refuse will be effectually washed away at every fall of 

 rain, and on the north side a sufficiency of water may be collected 

 in water-butts (for the use of the tenants) placed against the 

 outer walls of the staircases. The hard water pump (communi- 

 cating with a well) is placed against the back wall of the cottages 

 exactly central between the two, and the waste water therefrom 



