Suggestions for its Improvement. 
17 
at night, and this can hardly be effected with less than four rooms. 
Yet how many instances are there in which families are crowded 
together in two rooms, or even in one room, outraging all decency! 
— in which youths and girls approaching to the state of young men 
and young women occupy the same sleeping-apartment, and that 
sometimes the same in which their parents repose ! Is it possible 
that such improper interminglings can take place without demo- 
ralizing results? Can young females so brought up, be expected 
to have those feelings of modesty which constitute so great a 
charm, and form so important an element in the female cha- 
racter ? Or can youths so reared in disregard of the decencies of 
life, be expected to turn out sober, discreet, and well-conducted ; 
or to make good husbands, good lathers, and respectable members 
of society ?* 
In reference to these considerations, it may be assumed that no 
cottage should have less than four rooms — say two below and two 
above — with windows and suitable means of ventilation ; that the 
ground-floor should be raised a foot or eighteen inches above the 
level of the surrounding surface, which must be properly drained ; 
and that one of the upper chambers should have a fireplace, for 
use in case of sickness. A porch will add greatly to the comfort 
of the dwelling. The floors may be formed of brick, tile, or 
stone, unless the neighbourhood affords the means of making 
good clay or mortar floors, which sometimes answer as well. It 
is not important of what material the cottage is built, so long as 
it is roomy and substantial. Its form is moreover a matter of 
secondary importance, provided that convenience be attended to 
in its construction : but no cottage need be unsightly, although 
the merely ornamental is disregarded ; for harmony of form and 
simplicity of arrangement never fail to produce a pleasing effect, 
without the aid of decoration. 
The number of cottages required in any case must of course 
depend upon local circumstances, and to this point the landlord's 
attention ought to be especially directed. His position as owner 
of the land, necessarily imposes upon him the duty of providing 
for its proper cultivation ; and cottages for the farm-labourers are 
as necessary for this object, as the house and outbuildings are 
necessary for the farmer, and the landlord should provide what- 
ever is needful in the one case as well as in the other. 
With respect to situation, it is obvious that the labourer's 
cottage should be near to his work, and that he ought not to be 
compelled to walk four, five, or six miles to his daily toil, thus 
• Ample illustrations on this point will be found in the Local Reports 
on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population, presented to Par- 
liament in July, 1842; a few extracts from which are appended in a note 
(B) at the end. 
VOL. VII. C 
