Remarks on Labourers' Divellings. 355 
has been almost, or perhaps totally, unacquainted, with the landscape- 
gardener's art, and the latter quite deficient in that of the former; and 
until these two professions be united, so far as it regards country seats, 
we must always expect a degenerate taste in landscape scenery. 
The walls of this cottage, may be built either of stone or brick, as 
the situation may require ; stone is much more preferable where it can 
be easily procured. If the walls are to be of brick- work, a great sa- 
ving might be made by leaving a vacuity in the centre of them, to be 
filled up with a composition of lime, sharp sand, or gravel. This sort 
of wall, as has been shown by different examples, is both strong and 
durable, when properly tied by transverse bricks at every two or three 
feet. If red bricks are used, or very small blue stones, forming what 
is called a ruble wall, — then it will be necessary to wash them over 
with a composition of lime, sharp sand, lamp-black, yellow ochre, and 
water, (of com-se) : the walls, in the building of them, being left rough 
to receive it, as the durability of the composition depends greatly on 
this. I have seen walls studded with small pebbles, and others with 
small flints, which looked exti-emely well, when not methodically done. 
The roof, may be of thatch, as it is the warmest, as well as the most 
characteristic covering for a cottage. The trellis-Avork round the 
o o 
window, may be made of plain fillets of wood, about an inch broad ; 
or it may be simply boughs of trees, having a seat, as shown by the 
plan ; climbers and twiners, might be trained up this trellis-work, so 
as to form a handsome summer seat. 
The extract inserted in your Magazine, (page 221) respecting the 
great advantage of keeping bees, — has induced me to show a good 
many hives, placed on a stand. Rabbits might be kept in the under 
part — I am not aware they would disturb the bees, if they did — some 
other place might be found for them. The advantages of a few hive.?, 
from Mr. Wallace's calculations, to the cottager, would be truly great; 
besides, "a bee-hive's hum to soothe his ear." 
Some of your readers, I am well aware, will object to the foregoing 
design, as being too ornamental and fine, for the possession of hard- 
working people. I shall probably give good reasons for this apparent 
finenesss in some future communication ; in the mean time, suffice it 
to say, that I have no desire to increase the taste for plain uncouth 
cottages, or add to the number of miserable hovels ali'eady existing ; 
and I expect, ere long, that the cottagers will inhabit such comfortable 
houses, as those I have here given. 
The peasantiy of this country have been a race of quite neglected 
people ; they do not enjoy half the advantages their continental neigh- 
bours do. They will sink deeper and deeper in the scale of miserv, 
unless something be done to raise them from their fallen degraded 
tate; year after year, the population, and with it the poor rates, will 
