On  the  Construction  of  Farm- Buildings. 
269 
wall,  and  at  12  feet  distance  from  each  other,  be  sunk  l£  or  2 feet  info 
the  ground,  and  rising  6 feet  above  the  surface ; the  part  underground, 
and  for  G inches  above,  should  be  well  charred  to  prevent  the  posts  rotting, 
which  they  are  very  liable  to  do  at  the  part  immediately  above  and 
below  the  surface.  Of  all  kinds  of  wood,  larch  is  best  suited  for  the  posts. 
Let  beams  or  joists  extend  from  post  to  post,  resting  on  and  firmly  spiked 
to  them ; these  joists  set  on  edge  need  not  be  more  than  4$  inches  by 
2£  inches,  or  two-thirds  the  breadth  and  the  thickness  of  a Norway  batten, 
which  kind  of  deal  will  answer  the  purpose  admirably,  and  save  expense 
in  labour  and  stuff.  Let  three  principal  rafters  of  4)  inches  by  24  inches 
extend  from  the  tops  of  the  posts  to  the  back  wall  at  9 feet  high,  with  a 
purline  of  the  same  scantling  running  across  at  their  mid-length.  Let 
also  rafter-spars  2^  by  2 inches,  cut  from  Norway  battens  of  their  breadth 
into  three,  proceed  from  the  top  of  the  joists  in  front,  resting  on  the 
purlines  and  extending  to  the  back  wall,  firmly  fixed  to  a spar  fastened 
to  the  wall ; these  small  rafters  should  be  at  2 feet  intervals.  And  lastly, 
let  eaves-boards  $-inch  thick,  the  breadth  of  a batten,  be  placed  across 
the  ends  of  the  rafters  in  front,  and  projecting  4 inches  beyond  the  line  of 
the  tops  of  the  posts;  and  similar  boards  across  the  ends  of  the  rafters 
next  the  back  wall ; then  across  the  rafters,  in  the  space  between  the 
boards,  let  laths  1 inch  wide  and  ^ inch  thick'be  nailed  at  intervals  of  15 
inches.  The  shed  will  now  be  ready  to  receive  the  paper-covering,  which 
will  next  be  described. 
“ The  description  of  paper  most  suitable  for  the  purpose  of  roofing  is  that 
used  for  laying  on  ships’  bottoms  under  copper  sheathing,  and  known  by 
the  name  of  sheathing-paper  : a very  common  size  of  which  is  30  inches 
by  24  inches,  and  weighing  about  J lb.  the  sheet, — such  size  is  exactly 
that  to  suit  the  roofing  specified  above.  The  paper  is  prepared  and  laid 
on  in  the  following  manner,  viz. : — cover  one  side  of  the  sheets  of  paper 
with  hot  coal-tar,  and  whilst  the  tar  is  still  hot,  dredge  or  sift  on  it  as 
much  dry  sea  or  clear  washed  river-sand,  well  dried  in  an  oven,  as  will 
adhere  to  the  tar ; then  cover  the  sand,  when  the  tar  has  become  cold 
and  set,  with  a thick  coat  of  lime  slaked  with  a saturated  solution  of  alum 
or  soda  ; this  whitewash  should  be  of  the  consistence  of  thick  cream, 
with  a portion  of  glue  or  other  sizing  matter  in  it.  Let  the  sheet  of  paper 
thus  prepared  be  laid  on  the  roof  with  the  prepared  side  downwards,  and 
nailed  to  the  laths  with  fine,  short,  and  very  flat-headed  scupper  nails  ; 
and  so  cover  the  entire  roof  with  prepared  sheets  of  paper,  the  edges  of 
which  must  be  laid  as  closely  together  as  possible  without  overlapping. 
The  upper  side  of  the  paper  thus  laid  on  must  be  thickly  and  evenly 
covered  with  hot  coal-tar,  and  another  stratum  of  paper  laid  upon  it ; 
after  which,  the  outer  side  of  this  second  stratum  must  be  prepared  with 
coal-tar  and  sand  in  the  same  manner  as  the  under  side  of  the  first. 
“ To  make  the  roof  complete,  it  should  be  neatly  pointed  with  Roman 
cement  wherever  it  may  join  any  wall,  in  order  to  prevent  any  wet  finding 
its  way  in  at  the  junction.  To  finish  all,  the  whole  must  be  covered  with 
a limewash,  described  above,  to  which  a slate,  tile,  or  stone  colour  may 
be  communicated  by  the  addition  of  a little  lamp-black,  Venetian  red,  or 
umber.  This  will  form  an  extremely  durable  covering,  quite  impervious 
to  rain  and  perfectly  safe  from  fire  ; and,  at  a very  trifling  increase  of 
expense,  the  whole  of  the  timber  used  in  the  construction  of  the  shed  may 
be  rendered  fireproof  by  being  immersed  for  twenty-four  hours  in  a satu- 
rated solution  of  alum  or  soda. 
“ At  the  present  prices  of  materials  and  labour,  the  cost  of  shed  and 
fold  for  32  square  yards,  complete,  according  to  the  specification  above 
(carriage  of  materials  not  included)  will  be  as  follows,  viz. : — 
