RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 
349 
adopted, not only appears in the two ends of the main 
building, but terminates every wing or projection of almost 
any size that joins to the principal body of the house. The 
gables are either of stone or brick, with a handsome 
moulded coping, or they are finished with the widely pro- 
jecting roof of wood, and verge boards, carved in a fanciful 
and highly decorative shape. In either case, the point or 
apex is crowned by a finial, or ornamental octagonal shaft, 
rendering the gable one of the greatest sources of interest 
in these dwellings. The projecting roof renders the walls 
always dry. 
The porch, the labelled windows, the chimney shafts, 
and the ornamented gables, being the essential features in 
the composition of the English cottage style, it is evident 
that this mode of building is highly expressive of purpose, 
for country residences of almost every description and size, 
from the humblest peasant’s cottage, to the beautiful and 
picturesque villa of the retired gentleman of fortune. In 
the simple form of the cottage, the whole may be con- 
structed of wood very cheaply, and in the more elaborate 
villa residence, stone, or brick and cement, may be preferred, 
as being more permanent. No style so readily admits of 
enrichment as that of the old English cottage when on a 
considerable scale ; and by the addition of pointed verandas, 
buy windows, and dormer-windows, by the introduction of 
mullions and tracery in the window openings, and indeed, 
by a multitude of interior and exterior enrichments gene- 
rally applied to the Tudor mansions, a villa in the rural 
Gothic style may be made a perfect gem of a country 
residence. Of all the styles hitherto enumerated, we con- 
sider this one of the most suitable for this country, as, 
while it comes within the reach of all persons of moderate 
