AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
265 
in the country. Now their names are legion. 
But tncre is room and work enough for all. Let 
each aim at preemenence, by making its pages 
the most valuable and reliable source of inform¬ 
ation. 
-e-*o- 
None of the January magazines have yet 
reached us, except the National. This is full 
of good things, and we can direct our readers 
to no better way of investing two dollars in 
magazine reading, than to subscribe for this 
deservedly popular periodical. Carleton & Phil¬ 
lips, 200 Mulberry street. 
REVIEW. 
A Home for All; or the Gravel-Wall and Octagon 
Mode of Building ; New, Cheap, Convenient, Superior, 
and adapted to Rich and Poor. By O. S. Fowler, Fow¬ 
lers & Wells. New York. 1854. 
Like an earnest and energetic man, tinctured 
somewhat with enthusiasm, after adopting a 
practical idea, Mr. Fowler has set to work to 
carry it out; and having done so successfully, 
is so well pleased with the result, that for the 
good of mankind he has written a book about 
it. This is just what we like; and instead of 
placing their lights under a bushel, we heartily 
wish that others would give their knowledge to 
the world, instead of keeping mum, and grumb¬ 
ling at all the world beside. We have said that 
Mr. Fowler has adopted an idea. We should 
have said, rather, that he has advanced two 
ideas, neither of them original with himself; 
for we have met them both, years ago. The 
first is the somewhat ancient mode of pise walls 
in building—the other, the octagon form. We 
have looked over the book with some care, 
and the concluding paragraph so well explains 
the objects of the author, and is, withal, so 
frank in its avowals, that we give it entire : 
Finally, readers, the great outline ideas of this 
work—“ the gravel-wall and octagon form”— 
we leave at the door of your common-sense, to 
be adopted or rejected, and modified or im¬ 
proved, as each reader pleases. That its details 
are complete is not claimed. That it is suscep¬ 
tible of important improvements is admitted— 
and this is one of its beauties, that it admits of 
so much diversity in its internal arrangements 
of rooms, thus suiting itself to the tastes and 
wants of all. That it is in part suggestive, or 
throws out general facts and suggestions, not 
worked out perfectly into detailed specifications, 
like a loaf of bread put upon the table, requiring 
to be cut up into slices, but the bread —the 
main thing—there for all, is also admitted. But 
that no reader who intends to build can read 
this work with a scrutinizing mind, without 
gleaning therefrom a great variety of most valu¬ 
able hints, plans, suggestions, and ideas, capa¬ 
ble of being applied so as very greatly to im¬ 
prove his prospective house, even if he adopts 
neither the gravel-wall nor octagon form, so as 
thereby to enhance his home comforts for the 
balance of his life, and that it will enable him 
to save himself scores, and even hundreds, of 
dollars in building a house, is maintained by the 
author, and submitted to the sound sense and 
practical experience of the builder. And if 
criticised, let it be with generosity; for it has 
been written, not to make money for the au¬ 
thor, but to save it to the builder, even while 
adding to his home joys. 
These thoughts could not have been ex¬ 
pressed in a better spirit, or in a manner better 
calculated, even if intended, in case the whole 
book were an absurdity, to disarm harsh criti¬ 
cism upon its contents, and meeting our author 
in his own spirit, we shall as frankly give our 
views of his work, as he himself has submitted 
his ideas and labors to the public. That rural 
architecture in America, in its mode and effect, 
is to be rapidly reformed and improved, is evi¬ 
dent. The frequent publications on this sub¬ 
ject of late, show that the public mind is awake, 
as evinced in the demand for them. Mr. Fow¬ 
ler has given the best possible evidence of his 
own confidence in the plans he proposes, by 
erecting a spacious house and out-buildings for 
his own occupation, at Fishkill, near the Hud¬ 
son River. He has told us, in graphic, intelli¬ 
gible words, the whole story, from the bottom 
of the cellar walls to the look-out upon the top. 
Every room, closet, pantry, scuttle-hole, and 
cupboard, are named, planned, and described. 
The cost of every thing is detailed, and the ar¬ 
guments pro and con. are given for the excel¬ 
lence and superiority of what he has done. It 
would take too long to describe, and too much 
space to write, his various modes of procedure 
with his material, from the crude lime, the un¬ 
mixed sand, and the newly-excavated gravel 
and stones of which he composed his walls, or 
the manner of the labor which placed them 
into harmonious and convenient proportion, so 
agreeable to his own eye, on completion; and 
as the whole affair is new, in its practice, at 
least to our builders, we must refer them at 
once to the book itself, which is cheap, and 
easily comprehended. 
In regard to the material he recommends, to 
wit: a composition, or mortar, composed of 
lime, sand, gravel, small boulders, broken quar¬ 
ry-stone, broken bricks, iron scorim, or slag— 
in fact any hard and imperishable material, 
mixed with lime and sand, of which he com¬ 
poses his walls, his buildings will remain the 
best possible proof of their utility. There they 
stand for examination, and time will test their 
merits. 
To the shape of his structures,—the octagon, 
either for a dwelling-house, barn, or other out¬ 
building,—with a full understanding of the vari¬ 
ous merits the author claims for it, we altogether 
dissent. For the country, the square, or ob¬ 
long-shaped house, with rear, or side-kitchen 
wing on the ground floor, of one to two simple 
stories, well spread over the ground, with con¬ 
venient rooms for all sorts of family occupation, 
after much experience and long observation, 
we conceive to be the best possible shapes, and 
most grateful in effect, to both the eye and the 
mind, in their contemplation. In them, archi¬ 
tecture may exhaust all its proper proportions, 
and true ornament all its legitimate fancy, with¬ 
out violence to good taste and correct judgment. 
They may also embrace all the conveniences so 
earnestly contended for, and so well suggested in 
the octagon, without its incongruity and faults, 
which, with all the advantages claimed for it, 
gives no adequate compensation for their exist¬ 
ence. We believe a house should have its front, 
sides, and rear; its lawn, side-grounds, and 
back-yard ; and these all indicated unmistake- 
ably in its exterior, and in the variety of its 
architectural style and finish. The innovations 
of our author in the shape, as well as much of 
the material of his recommendations for roofing, 
side-covering, and other minor matters, we 
fancy will hardly prove to be improvements 
over present and long-tried methods. 
In the discussion of barns and farm-build¬ 
ings, our author is evidently not at home. He 
lacks experience in their use and required ac¬ 
commodations. Had he confined his remarks 
to the structure of their walls, more confidence 
would be given to his recommendations; but, 
like most reformers, his enthusiasm has run 
ahead of his knowledge in these particulars, 
which more experience in them would correct. 
We cannot, however, but look on his errors 
with lenity, so earnest and well intended are 
his suggestions. And as it occurs to us, we 
must enter our earnest protest against his 
recommendation, that where his tried material 
cannot be had, unburnt clay, instead of lime 
and sand as the cementing principle of build¬ 
ing walls should be substituted. Olay, un¬ 
burned, in a frosty climate, is utterly worthless 
in walls for any building whatever. Rain pene¬ 
trates them, making them moist, and frost crum¬ 
bles them to ruins in a short time ; and we are 
not a little surprised that one possessed of the 
chemical knowledge of the writer should not 
have detected its deficiencies. We have seen 
this mode of building walls too often tried and 
abandoned, to be mistaken. Glass roofs for 
barns, and various equally unprofitable recom¬ 
mendations of our author, will rarely by adopt¬ 
ed by the building community in this country, 
at least in the present state of the arts. 
On the whole, we are glad Mr. Fowler has 
written this book. There is much in it truly 
instructive and valuable to every man, either 
in city or country, who is about to build a 
home for himself or others. He is a good hu¬ 
man physiologist, understands well the laws of 
health in ventilation, warmth, and temperature 
—the position of building-grounds, and the 
various et ceteras appertaining to them. We 
recommend every man about to build a house 
to buy this, with other books; for in the cost 
of his structures, a few dollars expended in 
works of architecture, and a few hours in their 
attentive perusal, may save him hundreds in 
expense, and add untold comforts for a lifetime 
in the enjoyment of a residence. Any man 
about to build, who has a single practical idea 
of his own, is a dunce to throw himself alto¬ 
gether into the hands of his architect or builder, 
let them be ever so accomplished, without un¬ 
derstanding somewhat of his requirements him¬ 
self ; for if he does so, he is sure in the long run 
to pay dearly for his negligence. 
The philanthropy expressed in the observa¬ 
tions on the “ poor man’s cottage,” and “asso¬ 
ciation houses,” in the last pages of the book, 
must commend themselves to every charitable 
and benevolent mind; and we trust at no dis¬ 
tant day see the main suggestions set down 
extensively adopted. 
- 9 • •- 
A subscriber in Mayfield, Warren county, 
Georgia, in a postscript to a business letter, 
says: “We have not more than two-thirds of 
an average crop this year. There has been 
more sickness among us than usual. We have 
as yet (Dec. 19) had little cold weather.” 
-» « «- 
Export op Breadstuffs. —During the past 
four months, there have been exported from 
this country to Europe alone nearly one and a 
quarter million bushels of wheat, and about 
three-quarters of a million bushels of corn. 
-- 
Without friends, the world would be but a 
wilderness. 
