RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 
347 
In this country, no architectural feature is more plainly 
expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the ve- 
randa , or piazza. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of 
our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source 
of real comfort and enjoyment ; and the long veranda round 
many of our country residences stand in stead of the paved 
terraces of the English mansions as the place for promenade ; 
while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the 
days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of the 
cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open 
colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. The 
obvious utility of the veranda in this climate, (especially in 
the middle and southern states,) will, therefore, excuse its 
adoption into any style of architecture that may be selected 
for our domestic uses, although abroad, buildings in the 
style in question, as the Gothic, for example, are not usually 
accompanied by such an appendage. An artist of the least 
taste or invention, will easily compose an addition, of this 
kind, that will be in good keeping with the rest of the 
edifice. 
These various features, or parts of the building, with many 
others which convey expression of purpose in domestic ar- 
chitecture, because they recall to the mind the different uses 
to which they are applied, and the several enjoyments con- 
nected with them, also contribute greatly to the interest of the 
building itself, and heighten its good effect as part of a har- 
monious whole, in the landscape. The various projections 
and irregularities, caused by verandas, porticoes, etc., serving 
to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gra- 
dual transition, with the ground about it. 
The reader, who thus recognizes features as expressive of 
purpose in a dwelling intended for the habitation of man, we 
