25 2 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
A Summer Cottage, Costing $150, 
BY 8. B. REED, ARCHITECT, CORONA, LONG ISLAND, N. Y. 
These plans are for an economical Cottage, for 
an occasional summer residence of a family of four 
persons. It is suited to almost any place, either by 
the water, or on the mountain, where rest and 
recreation are sought. It costs scarcely more than 
a first-class family tent (which it is designed in a 
measure to supplant), and is far preferable, as it 
affords better protection and accommodation, and 
is more convenient and comfortable. It 
also admits of some of the home-like 
ways of living. Tents supply little com¬ 
fort; their form necessitates a cramped, 
disagreeable position, with barren walls, 
and very small facilities for housekeeping. 
They sway and vibrate with every wind, 
and are intolerable in a storm. Out-door 
shade, so desirable in summer, is usually 
already provided by large trees. A single 
low tree, with extended branches, may 
shade several cottages, and serve as sup¬ 
port for swings and hammocks for the 
young folks. In connection with the 
building, stationary fixtures for bedsteads, 
tables, etc., arranged to fold up when 
not in use, save largely in room and furni¬ 
ture expenses. Exterior, (figs. 1 
and 2).—The upright boarding and bat¬ 
tening of the sides, the figured gable 
barges, hooded projections, and steep roof, are 
appropriate in material and style. The build¬ 
ing is set one foot above the ground, and the 
space below is inclosed by turfing around to the 
level of the sill. For better appearance, and to 
raise the floor further from the ground, an ad¬ 
ditional foot or two of elevation may be given, 
Fig. 4.— BED CLOSED. BED OPEN. 
with increased banking or terrace_ Accom¬ 
modation, (fig. 6).— The interior has two 
rooms and two closets. The front portion intended 
for the family-room is of fair size, with two win¬ 
dows in each of two sides, and three doors, as 
fthown. A folding-bed is built in one corner,, and 
a large shelf between windows at A; sufficient room 
remains for a center-table, chairs, etc. The rear 
room, or kitchen, has two windows, an outside 
door, and a closet. A circular shelf and a stove are 
placed at the side of the closet. A bunk placed 
in the opposite end of the room, serves as a 
seat during the day, and for a bed at night. A 
table is hung against the partition.Cox- 
strxction. —The foundation may be of stone, 
or posts set in the ground. The floor timber is 
framed together—levelled on the foundation, and 
floored over, and the edges cut even with the sills. 
The upright frame of li x 5-inch plank, and the 
plates 11x6 inches, are then placed in position, 
with openings for doors and windows, as shown in 
figure 4. The exterior boarding, dressed on both 
sides, is then put on and battened. The roof is 
similarly boarded—with the center portion ceiled 
down, leaving an air space above. At the ends of 
this air space in each gable, are openings through 
the siding for the passage of the heated air from 
under the roof. Similar openings in the ceiling 
over the center of each room, lead into the air 
space. Each opening is neatly finished with lat¬ 
tice work. The roof projects 8 inches, and has a 
3-inch marginal strip all around, with pierced barges 
in each gable, covered with pine shingles. The 
door openings are protected by shingled hoods 
resting on dressed trusses. The windows are neat¬ 
ly capped. Each window has battened shutters, 
with wrought-iron hinges and fastenings. The in¬ 
side framework (6ee fig. 3) forms the jambs of the 
doors and sashes, to which they are hung with 
ordinary buts. The intervening spaces show as 
panels. The inside partition is 61 feet high, and 
has an 8-inch cap projecting mostly to the kitchen 
side; this cap strengthens the partition, and forms 
a shelf. The outside and partition doors are 
panelled; the others are battened and clamped. 
The kitchen closet has four shelves, and the other, 
or front closet, has one shelf and two rows of hooks. 
The circular shelf at the side of the kitchen closet 
is set level with the bottom of the sash, and has a 
sheet of zinc attached to its inner edge extending 
to the floor, protecting the surrounding wood-work 
from the heat of the stove. The table is 21 x 4 
feet, is hung to the partition, and supported on 
swinging braces. The bed frame is constructed 
of ceiling boards, as shown (see fig. 4); when 
opened, answers the purpose of a bedstead, and 
when closed serves as a closet for the bedding. 
The bunk (6ee fig. 5) is also of ceiling boards 
clamped together. These devices are easily made 
by any carpenter, are inexpensive, and answer their 
purpose acceptably. The outside has two coats of 
paint, of any desired color, prepared and applied in 
the usual manner. The inside is stained with oil. 
Estimate, cost of materials and labor: 
378 feet of timber, at $1") per M. $5.67 
2 sills, 3x7 in. 20 feet long. I 1 ridge, 2x7 in. 20 feet long. 
11 beams,3x7 in. 13 ft. long. | 2 perlins, 3x4 in. 20 feet long. 
30 flooring boards, at 28c. each.. 8.40 
53 ceiling boards (dressed both sides), at 28c. each... 14.84 
54 ceiling boards (dressed one side), at 28c. each. 15.12 
53 battens (half round, 1 V*-inch wide), at 6c. each.... 3 18 
10 nlanks. $3.50 ; 15 boards, at 28c. each, $4.20 .. 7.70 
14 bunches shingles, at $1.25c. each . 17.50 
6 sashes. $6.00; 3 panelled doors, at $1.15 each. 9.45 
2 lengths of tile pipe,, at 50c. length — . 1.00 
Hardware, nails, and incidentals. 16.14 
Painting, $25.00; carting, $6.00. 31.00 
Carpenter’s labor, not included above. 20.00 
Total Cost, complete-.....$150.00 
The Massachusetts Experiment Station has 
been established in connection with the Agricul¬ 
tural College at Amherst, by a gift from a friend of 
agriculture. This College has already rendered 
most valuable service to the farmers of America by 
its experimental work, as well as by the educated 
young men it has sent out to influence good hus¬ 
bandry. It has done much to investigate fertilizer 
questions ; with it the Massachusetts fertilizer 
law originated, which example has been followed 
by many other States, resulting in an enormous 
saving to farmers against the frauds that 
were formerly practised against them by 
unprincipled dealers. Its experiments on 
crop fertilization, the beet-sugar industry, 
and the flow of 6ap in trees, have also 
been of great value. Yet all this work 
has been done at the personal inconveni¬ 
ence of its officers from love of the sub¬ 
ject, who were only paid for the work 
of instruction, and have had very little 
pecuniary help from State or individuals, 
in the work. The investigations now 
undertaken by the Experiment Station at 
the College, are as follows : In cultivation 
of amber sugar-cane, and manufacture of 
sugar therefrom ; testing the comparative 
feeding values of Southern, Western, and 
Northern corn ; testing the purity of farm 
and garden seeds ; on feeding stock with 
reference to the best kind and amount of 
foods to produce particular results, and a Lysime- 
ter has been put in operation, the same as that on 
the American Agriculturist Experimental Farm, re 
ferred to elsewhere. Experiment Stations and farms 
are capable of doing incalculable good to agricnl- 
Fig. 6 .—FLOOR PLAN. 
ture ; and it is a great stigma on the enterprise of 
our farming community that they are not establish¬ 
ed in every State. While in Europe there are hun¬ 
dreds ; here there are only two Experiment Stations, 
