AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[ilABCH, 
78 
Fij;. 1. —COTTAGE. 
Small, Convenient, Cheap Houses. 
BY NAIIIIAGANSET. 
Snug, conveuient, and cheap cottages, for 
people of small means, are a great desideratum. 
They who have wealth in abundance, can build 
large houses and provide for every luxury. But 
is it impossible that the poor man should have 
a comfortable, convenient home ? From the 
many ill-contrived, small dwellings that have 
been carelessly thrown together for the discom¬ 
fort of those who inhabit them, it might be in¬ 
ferred that, in the poor man’s vocabulary, were 
no such words as comfort" vnxdiconvenience." 
Because a house is small, it need not be incon¬ 
venient. But to combine desirable conveniences 
within a limited and economical space, requires 
more thoughtful study than where an abundance 
of room is at one’s command. And this 
thoughtful study the poor man often has not 
time to bestow; those he may employ to con¬ 
struct his dwelling may be too incompetent 
or indifferent to supply it, and the result is, 
that when the building is completed, it is lack¬ 
ing in many of those little contrivances which 
so much contribute to the comfort of a fomily, 
and which, if seasonably provided for, might 
have been enjoyed without any additional cost- 
There have been, from time to time, many 
little bits of fanciful architecture placed before 
the public, under the stjde of “ Cottages for the 
Poor;” but, while charming to look upon e.x- 
teriorily, they have, for the most part, within 
been destitute of those essential features that 
contribute to the real wants of those who would 
live respectably, but who wiwsJ live economically. 
With no disposition to disparage the attempts 
to make a house externally attractive, we deem 
it of still higher importance to provide for its 
interior convenience; but we believe that 
neither point need be sacrificed to the other. 
In illustration, we present a plan for a cottage, 
adapted to the wants of any laboring man, with 
a family of four or five children. In this plan, 
covering 18x30 feet, we have the following ac¬ 
commodations :—A large living room (L\ serv¬ 
ing as parlor and kitchen; a good sized bed¬ 
room {B) opening from it, with a clothes-closet 
(C) of good dimensions,—a convenience often 
wanting in small houses,—and a snug little 
closet, with shelves, by the chimney. There 
is a spacious pantry (P), where stores may 
be deposited, such as flour and meal barrels, 
etc. On the opposite side of the sitting room 
is a convenient China closet {OG), wfith a slide 
connecting it with the back entry, in which a 
sink (<Si) is placed. The window here may 
be of less dimensions than the others, only fur¬ 
nishing sufficient light for the sink; the space 
beneath the sink should be closed up as a 
kettle closet. From the back entry is a 
descent to the cellar. From the front entry 
is the stairway to the attic (-4), closed from the 
entry by a door at the foot of the stairs. Above 
are two large bedrooms (S, each of which is 
supplied with a good closet, and each, when 
necessary, can have the comfort of a fire. Over 
the front entry is a large linen closet (C), which 
may be supplied with shelves, and used for the 
packing away of bedding, etc. In the outer attic 
is a space, such as every house requires, for put¬ 
ting trunks, chests, stoves, etc., when out of use. 
Any one who has lived in a house, where, in 
case of sickness, it was impossible to kindle a 
fire in a bedroom, for the want of a chimney, 
will appreciate the conveniences which this 
plan affords. They, also, who have been obliged 
to garnish the walls of their sleeping rooms 
with the various articles of their wardrobe, will 
understand the comfort and great convenience 
which the closets afford. And every good 
housekeeper, though she be pecuniarily poor, 
will know how to value the spacious pantry 
and convenient china closet. We have made 
no provision for a parlor, separate from the 
living-room, for in families whose wants this 
plan was designed to meet, little use is made of 
such a room. They ordinarily keep but one 
fire, and live in one room; and, with the con¬ 
veniences furnished by closets and pantry, the 
living-room may always be kept in a present- 
Attic; B, JJ, i>, Bedrooms; C, C, C, Closets; FB, 
Front Door; i, Living room; F, Fiintry; S, Sink. 
able condition. With the convenience of a 
back entrance, the front entry may always be 
kept clean and neat. It affords space for cloak- 
hooks and umbrella-stand; and, with a bit of 
oilcloth upon the floor, may be as genteel as 
many of much larger dimensions and more am¬ 
bitious pretension. Against the blind end of 
the house, (having only an attic window,) if ex¬ 
posed to the south, a trellis might be raised, 
and a grape vine trained, w'hich would be at 
once fruitful and ornamental also. 
While we have aimed mainly at internal con¬ 
venience, wm think, also, that the exterior of 
our cottage is not without attraction. What 
every building requires, to give interest to its 
outline, is expression^ —something that shall break 
up the monotony of a plain, dead surface. This 
we have secured by the little front gable, the 
projecting roof, and the simple hoods above the 
doors and windows,—which are plain pieces of 
2-inch plank, supported by the simplest form 
of a bracket underneath, as shown in fig. 3. 
These do for the house in regard to expres¬ 
sion, what the projecting lines of mouth, chin, 
nose, and eyebrows do for a man’s face. They 
cast shadows, and thus, though inexpensive, give 
character and expression to the building, and im¬ 
part an interest it would not otherwise possess. 
A man’s face might be as flat as a board, and 
his eyes, nostrils, and mouth but so many per¬ 
forations through it, and they might still answer 
every absolutely necessary purpose of his physi¬ 
cal being. It is the projecting 
lines of his features, across 
which play the light and shade, 
that afford that variety of ex¬ 
pression, of the study of which 
we never tire. By the applica¬ 
tion of this same principle, a 
house may be made more in 
„ teresting than a mere sugar 
box. In the above design, the 
posts should be at least twelve feet, the lower 
rooms nine feet between joists, and the roof be 
pitched at a right angle,—as they sa}--, at a 
quarter pitch. 
-■ «- 
Gravel-wall, or Concrete Buildings. 
No one will seriously consider the erection of 
gravel-wall buildings for his own use, who is 
not situated where saud, gravel, and larger 
stones may be readily obtained. Where these 
are at hand, the subject is well worth the con¬ 
sideration of every one who is going to build. 
First, decide who will do the work. If yov 
must trust it all, or chiefly, to a professional 
stone-mason, brick-layer, or builder of any 
kind, take his advice and use stone, brick, or 
wood. If you can attend to it yourself, and, at 
least, sttperintend the whole, you will do well. 
The materials requisite are sharp sand (free i 
from dirt), gravel (free from dirt), and well-burn- ■ 
(id lime. The presence of stones, even of the size | 
(jf one’s fist, among the gravel, is no disadvant- i 
age, and, if not present, they may be added. If, j 
however, no stones of an intermediate size be¬ 
tween small gravel and large flat stones exist, 
as is very often the case, the stones may be ; 
broken up, or laid in the wall with the mortar, j 
Such a wall, however, is a departure from the | 
proper concrete wall, though perhaps equally 
good, if well laid. It may be laid in “flasks,” i 
or “curbing,” like concrete. The lime need i 
not be of such quality as is necessary for fine 
smooth mortar; no matter how coarse it is, if 
it be only freshly burnt, and capable of making ■ 
a strong mortar. If it sets quickly, so much 
more rapidly the work may be pusheci forward. 1 
Oyster-shell lime answers perfectly well. It I 
ought to be thoroughly burned, and unslaked. 
Do not buy and transport the slaked shell 
lime with one-fourth of its weight of water. 
When the ground is dry, and well-drained 
naturally, the foundation may be of concrete, 
made by using one-third good hydraulic cement 
with the lime. A wide course of flat stones 
is perhaps the best arrangement to base a 
foundation wall upon. In case springs are en- j 
countered, or the ground is of a wet nature, j 
it is well to lay a tile drain outside the founda- ; 
tion. With proper care, even in such a soil, 
hydraulic concrete may well be used, but it is j 
usually better to lay a good stone foundation I 
where the soil is very wet. 
There are several methods of carrying up 
the walls, which are worthy of attention. Tlio 
simplest consists in placing a “curbing” of 
boards on each side and putting in the concrete 
thus formed, where it sets. With a little con¬ 
trivance, corners may be turned very accurately 
and well. The difficulty with this method is 
the care requisite to carry up a smooth, even 
wall, with square corners. Another method, 
