560 Abstract RepoH of Agricultural Discussions. 
Now, in proceeding to sj)eak of the defects of cottages generally, lie 
•would commence with the foundations. They must, he thought, all 
he aware of the evils of damp, drawn upwards by capillary attraction ; 
this damp had frequently been observed to rise to a height of five or 
six feet. Eain absorbed as it falls upon a building is bad enough ; but 
they must consider all the impurities that accompany the moisture 
that is brought up from the earth to estimate the full extent of the evil 
of damp rising by capillary attraction. The poor, living in cottages, 
generally endeavoured to keep up the temperatui'e by keeping out the 
air, and so made the interior of the cottage warm ; and the warmer it 
was, the gi'eater, of course, was the amount of evaporation. 
Two or three things were generally used, though not so often as they 
should be, on account of the expense, to keep do'mi damp. There 
v/ere slates laid in cement, and asx)halte. Vv'^ith slates in cement the 
work is frequently very impei^ectly done ; and where that is the case the 
damp rises up quicker in some parts. To meet this case he had provided 
a damp-proof com-se, made of bro\^^l stoneware — a material which was 
often used, on account of its hardness, imperviousness, and durability, 
for drainage purposes. It was made by earth being expressed through 
a. die, and perforated. These materials would be useless if they were 
obliged to be put together by means of a mortar or cement joint, be- 
cause the water would rise up ; but the joint was a section of one of 
the perforations. The two joints being brought togethei", that is to 
say, the two slabs being laid alongside each other, there is an open-air 
space right through the joint ; and if the house is built over a pond 
of water, nothing could rise above that. These materials are as ready 
to the bricklayer's hands as an ordinary brick, and as easily laid. 
They also answer a fiu'thcr purpose besides keeping down damp. 
Air-bricks are generally used for giving a cui'rent of [air and pre- 
venting dry-rot under a wooden floor. But air-bricks are generally 
insufficient for the purpose ; the air which they introduce is small in 
amount and limited in range ; and they are frequently put in the 
wrong place. Here, however, is a perforated course of bricks all 
round the building, producing a thorough circulation of air. 
Another requirement in a foundation is bonding, or strength. The 
best thing for that purpose is a layer of York stone ; but it is too ex- 
pensive to be generally used. The material which he had mentioned 
is as strong as York stone ; for it bore GOO feet of brickwork upon it. 
By its use damp is kept down, and all the air that is necessary intro- 
duced into the building.* 
He would next speak of the construction of the vralls. They often 
saw the walls of cottages constructed of 9-inch brickwork. Now, he 
considered that a brick wall only 9 inches thick was unfit to form the 
habitation of any human being. The through mortar-joint in the 
brickwork is a constant source of wet, which is conveyed from the ex- 
terior to the interior. They all knew that good bricks were always 
absorbent. Suppose there were a continuous rain, causing the bricks 
to absorb as much water as they could ; the first drying v/ind would 
* See Illustration No. 1 at the end of this Report. 
