CONSTRUCTION OF FARM COTTAGES. 
187 
and hedge rows, with a beautiful fountain of living 
water, in the vicinity of the buildings, will add 
| greatly to the ornament, luxury, and comfort of 
every farm. 
5. If fancy buildings are to be erected on a farm, 
different kinds of style may be employed; but in no 
single building should two or more styles appear. 
Thus, a Gothic cottage should be purely Gothic 
throughout; for, a structure of this sort would look 
exceedingly awkward under a far-projecting Italian 
roof. In like manner, a Swiss cottage presenting 
to view Grecian lines and forms, in any way, would 
be quite as much out of place. As a general rule, 
however, the appendages, or out-buildings, to a 
farm house should partake of the same architectu¬ 
ral character as that of itself ; but cases may occur 
wherein it would be advisable to depart from this 
rule. 
6 . A landscape gardener, possessing a rational 
and discerning taste, in making a design, will adopt 
such a style as will best produce a scenic effect. 
For instance, in a situation, backed by a rugged 
precipice, with straggling hemlocks, or other ever¬ 
greens near by, approached, perhaps, by a rustic 
wooden bridge, thrown across a deep ravine, with 
no other dwellings in sight, a cottage built in imita¬ 
tion of a Swiss hermitage, would form a pleasing 
variety in the train of ideas that might run through 
the observer’s mind. Again, in a location on a river 
bank, or hill side, with a dark back ground, and 
viewed at some distance from before, a structure in 
the form of a Grecian villa, would produce a desir¬ 
able effect. 
7. Costly and fantastic ornaments are considered 
quite out of taste in embellishing a farm cottage. 
A picturesque neatness and simplicity should be 
aimed at, rather than whimsical and childlike de¬ 
signs. It is not in good taste to place on buildings 
of this class, turrets and battlements, in imitation of 
pointed Gothic and old Scottish baronial edifices; 
nor to adorn them with painted windows, nor sacred 
and profane subjects, which can only be associated 
with the dark ages of ignorance, sorrow, and op¬ 
pression. Neither is it in good taste to erect ex¬ 
pensive columns, pilasters, and entablatures against 
a cottage of this kind, in the style of the temples of 
the ancient Greeks. 
8 . A wooden or mud-walled cottage, covered 
with a tiled or slate roof, is at variance with con- 
gruity; because the walls are constructed of less 
durable materials. On the other hand, walls built 
of brick, or stone, supporting a roof of wooden 
shingles, or thatch, is equally at variance with con¬ 
sistency and sound taste. So it may be said of 
rustic wooden pillars supporting solid mason work 
as well as of stone pillars sustaining nothing but 
wood. 
9. The color of a farm cottage should be such as 
will be the most pleasing to the eye, and produce at 
the same time, the most harmonious effect in land¬ 
scape scenery. In general, light, warm tints of va¬ 
rious kinds, are to be preferred, such as straw color, 
yellow, reddish brown, lead color, and where a 
strong contrast is desirable with the back ground, 
chocolate color, or white. A safe rule to be ob¬ 
served by those who practice this art, is to paint 
every object in such a manner as will show at once 
the materials whereof it is composed—whether they 
be wood, plaster, iron, bricks, or stone. 
10. An architectural expression may be given to 
cottages by projecting bases and wail plates ; and 
an architectural style may be conveyed by the 
forms of the mouldings in window frames, door 
pannels, chimney tops, &c., and in general, by the 
lines, angles, and forms of the windows and roofs. 
11 . Every cottage should contain a verandah, 
portico, or entrance porch, contiguous to the entry, 
lobby, or hall; for, a porch, or verandah, shelters 
the entrance from wind, snow, or rain, besides add¬ 
ing comfort to the interior. In constructing an open 
portico, or porch, the floor may be paved with tiles, 
or flag stones, and the ceiling, if there are rooms 
above, should be plastered and overlaid with mor¬ 
tar, or cement, to keep out the cold. 
12 . Verge boards, or wind skews, which are con¬ 
fined to the gable ends of cottages, for preventing 
the wind from displacing the materials of the roof, 
are more expressive of their object, when formed of 
plain mouldings, than when they are weakened in 
appearance by childish carvings. 
13. The windows of a cottage, when made large 
and high, with clear glass, give an expression of 
cheerfulness in the interior, particularly when they 
rise nearly, or quite up to the cornices of the 
rooms, and a proper state of ventilation is produ¬ 
ced. In order to facilitate this, the upper portions 
of the sashes should be made to draw downwards 
from the top. Latticed windows, or those having 
blinds, are cheerful and picturesque, but they are 
sometimes so constructed, as to be ineffectual in 
keeping out wind and rain. Blank windows are 
deceptive objects, at best, and are never resorted to 
as expedients for producing symmetry and effect by 
designers whose taste is governed by the dictates 
of reason. 
14. High and massive chimney tops, in a cold 
climate like ours, give a cottage an appearance of 
cheerfulness, because they are associated in the ob¬ 
server’s mind with the glowing grates and comfort¬ 
able firesides within. They should always rise 
boldly out of the roof, so as to give symmetrical 
effect, and maintain, at the same time, a conspicu¬ 
ous place. As various kinds of iron stoves, grates, 
and ranges are manufactured, and may be had at a 
moderate cost, the old-fashioned fireplace is gene¬ 
rally dispensed with, except in certain parts of the 
country, where wood is plentiful, and mineral coal 
is not to be obtained. Besides, a great portion of 
the heat generated in a fireplace is absorbed by the 
mason work, and is wasted in the open air. If a 
fireplace be adopted at all, it should be formed in 
an interior wall and in a central part of the build¬ 
ing. And in no case , if it can be avoided, should a 
door way, opening into a room, be near to, nor on 
the same side of the apartm ent with the fireplace, or 
stove ; for it is well established, that, a door situa¬ 
ted so as to open hard by a fireplace, destroys, in a 
great measure, the comfort of the room. 
15. The kitchen, which is a most important ap¬ 
pendage to every farm house, should be large, high, 
well lighted and ventilated, and should be placed 
nearby, but not under, nor directly adjoining the 
dining room; nor should it be placed under, or con¬ 
tiguous to any other part of the main body of the 
