119 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
may be converted into a cheese room by dairy farmers. 
The size is 39 feet by 30, (varying according to the 
number of the family)—sitting-room 15 by 25 feet —~ 
common 15 by 18, and sleeping 15 by 12—pantry and 
store-room 9 by 12£ each. Three entrances, two on the 
south side, into the landing place, one between the sit¬ 
ting and common room, one into the common room, and 
one into the store room; there are 3 or 4 windows to each 
story on the front or end standing to the west on the 
plan, and as many as needful on the northern side and 
each end; one chimney, which can be reduced in size if 
stoves are contemplated for warming the house. 
The cost, including cellar and painting, built in a plain 
but substantial manner, estimated at the market price 
of mechanic labor and materials for the whole, falls a 
little short of eleven hundred dollars, but say in round 
numbers $1,100. I think that although the price of ma¬ 
terials and perhaps labor may vary in dilferent sections 
of our country, the cost of such a structure will not much 
exceed that sum in any part of it. 
[Fig. No. 33.] 
IM11KutftttftiV?.t..0T1 nri/UliiuiIi« 1 .iiI ■uituu:itiiiriiititilfi»nifiiiiinlhll\lltllit'ltlllft<niflh!lh.iniltillniUlllli>liniB 
And now to the main object of my communication.— 
I have long looked with regret upon the habits of my 
countrymen, of estimating the present cost of any struc¬ 
ture they are about to build, without extending their 
views to posterity. Cheap buildings, that will answer 
for the present, with perhaps a little ornament for out¬ 
ward show, is the rage. This is eminently so in build¬ 
ing bridges, houses, barns and out-buildings. Now it 
seems to me, that economy alone would dictate to him 
who is to build, to take into consideration durability as 
one of the first elements in his calculation, and if he 
finds that a stone structure, which will endure say only 
thrice the length of time of a wood building, at from 
one-eighth to one-quarter increased out-lay at the outset, 
will, in the end prove much the cheapest; and add to 
this, the trouble and vexation attendant on building, 
which every generation must go through, if we follow 
up our present habits, gives greatly the advantage to 
durable structures. I have been led to make a calcula¬ 
tion of the comparative expense of an entire wood build¬ 
ing, with one of stone, and I find the difference is not 
by any means so great as is generally believed. I esti¬ 
mate, in the plan I have presented, the cost of timber, 
boards, nails, paint and labor necessary for the outside 
of such a house, and which would not be used in one of 
stone, to be $245. The cost of stone for walls and labor 
for the same, would be $320. The roof and the ma¬ 
terial for the inside will be equal for each, so that 
the difference is the small sum of $75. I am aware 
that the expense of stone will vary according to 
the facility of procuring them; but when we take 
into consideration the fact, that small stone of almost 
any shape, well laid in good lime, will make as good 
walls for buildings as any other, and that but few sec¬ 
tions of the country but that have them in quarries or 
scattered over the surface of the soil, the expense will 
not be so greatly variant as we should at first expect. 
I have estimated the cost per perch of stone, including 
laying, at $1.50, but a house has recently been built in 
this vicinity, which cost but $1.12 per perch. I think, 
therefore, that $1.50 per perch may be a fair estimate, 
in ordinary circumstances, of the cost of stone work for 
buildings—and who can doubt the greater durability 
and comfort of such houses ? Let the moss covered 
cottages of our father land, which have from generation 
to generation stood firm and undecaying monuments of 
the wisdom of our ancestors in building, speak for the 
first; and for the proof of their superior comfort, a neigh¬ 
bor of mine built a stone house fifty feet square, which 
he has sufficiently warmed for the two past years, at an 
expense of $25 per year in wood fires. It is true he 
used stoves, but he attributes, as one great cause for 
this saving of fuel, the imperviousness of his walls 
to the cold air. If this is true, that stone houses need 
so much less fuel to warm them, and I cannot doubt the 
fact, the saving of fuel alone would pay the extra ex¬ 
pense of stone houses. 
But I am extending my communication farther than 
you can spare space to occupy, and I will forbear, only 
suggesting a thought or two regarding roofs. Shingles 
are becoming scarce and inferior in quality, and we 
must look for a substitute. Slate are expensive, liable 
to break, and I suppose not quite tight; (of this, how¬ 
ever, I have no personal knowledge;) and in casting 
about for a good covering, sheets of zinc have appeared 
to me to be a desirable article. It has one good quality, 
at least; it will not rust like tin. Cannot some of your 
correspondents tell us where it has been tried, and how 
well it answers ? Such knowledge would be very desi¬ 
rable to future builders. 
Respectfully yours, 
EGBERT HAWLEY. 
Derby, Ft. 4th Feb. 1839. 
Judge Buel —Dear Sir—I send you the plan of my 
dwelling-house, with the improvements which several 
years’ occupancy have suggested. In size it is 38 by 30 
feet, built of a planked frame, with one tier of brick on 
the outside. This serves to exclude cold and moisture 
more effectually than any other material. Cellar as 
large as house, 7J feet deep. The conveniences of the 
inside will be seen from the rough draft annexed. 
[Fig. No. 34.]— Ground Plan. 
No. 1, Kitchen, 14 by 19 feet. No. 2, Entry or pas¬ 
sage to No. 5. No. 3, Fire-places and oven. No. 4, 
Closet. No. 5, Sitting room, Ilk by 15 feet. No. 6, 
Front entry, 8 feet wide. No. 7, Parlor, 15 by 15 feet, 
warmed by stove, the pipe passing into chimney resting 
on beam at a, (Fig. No. 35.) No. 8, Bed-room, 8 by 9 
feet. No. 9, Cupboard. No. 10, Place for hardware, 
brooms, &c. at the entrance to the cellar. No. 11, Bed¬ 
room, 8 by 9 feet No. 12, Cupboard. No. 13, Sink. 
No. 14, Buttery, 7 by 12 feet, having a cool part of the 
house, as it is or the north side, the house fronting the 
east. No. 15, Back kitchen. No. 16, Meal-room. No. 
17, Wood shed. No. 18, Walk. No. 19, Shed and barn. 
No. 20, Waste room for setting away cooking utensjls. 
Second Story. —No. 1, Sleeping room, warmed by kitchen 
stove-pipe. No. 2, Chimney and closet. No. 3, Sleep¬ 
ing room; (Nos. 1 and 3, 14 by 15 feet, with fire-place 
or stove.) No. 4, Small room, lighted from hall. No. 
5, Hall, a large room for spinning and weaving, or for 
beds; size 15 by 28 feet, or it may be divided by parti¬ 
tion. No. 6, Bed-room or closet, lighted from hall; 
stove in the hall. 
Thus I think you will perceive by this arrangement, 
at least one advantage—that the greatest possible 
amount of room inside is secured, in proportion to the 
dimensions of the building. I would also invite the at¬ 
tention of farmers to the materials of which the house 
is built, as affording for cheapness, strength, and dura¬ 
bility, as well as security from the effects of dampness 
and cold, the best now in use to my knowledge. You 
will notice this building fronts upon a road running 
north and south. The road being changed will some¬ 
what affect the position of the rooms. 
I suppose the first object to be attained by procuring 
a model of a farm-house, is in the plan of the lower part 
or basement story; of course the dimensions may be 
lessened or increased, and each builder will use his own 
discretion as to size as well as heighth of his dwelling. 
My house is one story and a half, so the proportions of 
the upper rooms are somewhat curtailed by the slope 
of the roof: this may be remedied by building a little 
higher, if thought an inconvenience. 
The doors are marked in Fig. No. 34, thus ( )—the 
windows are marked thus ( . ). Fig. No. 34, presents 
a ground plan of the house, and Fig. No. 35, the front 
side and south end. 24 light windows in the basement 
story, and 20 lights in the upper story. 
[Fig. No. 35.] 
Of the back kitchen, I have given but a loose descrip¬ 
tion, as its size will of course be determined by the ne¬ 
cessities of each proprietor. Very respectfully yours, 
WILLIAM YERBACK. 
Efficacy of Lime in preventing Insect depredations 
—Mildew of the Gooseberry. 
Mr. Buel —Sir—Although not a tiller of the soil, I 
have lately become a subscriber to your valuable paper, 
and feel a disposition to perform what little may be in 
my power, to increase the stock of agricultural know¬ 
ledge, and to stimulate to renewed exertions those who 
are practically engaged in this all important, though 
still too much neglected source of national wealth and 
greatness. In the Cultivator for May, page 57, I ob¬ 
served a communication, which stated among other 
things, that a piece of corn on ground where fragments 
of wall, See. had been strewn for manure, was exempt 
from the ravages of worms. This recalled to my recol¬ 
lection some facts which were communicated to me in 
conversation some time ago, by an intelligent old gen¬ 
tleman, who was for many years a farmer in Columbia 
county, in this state, and which were in substance as 
follows:—He once applied what he supposed at the 
time was plaster or gypsum, but which was afterwards 
ascertained to be lime, to a number of hills of corn, po¬ 
tatoes, cucumbers, melons, &c. It was applied at the 
time of planting, about a handful being thrown directly 
over the seeds in each hill, previous to their being co¬ 
vered with earth. He remarked that the corn to which 
this application had been made, was entirely exempt 
from worms, while other pieces of corn in the vicinity 
suffered severely from their depredations. The cucum¬ 
ber and melon vines, &c. were also exempt from their 
attacks, neither were they troubled by the striped bugs 
or flies, with which they are generally molested. The 
gentleman assured me, that he had afterwards repeated 
this experiment a number of times, and always with a 
like satisfactory result. It would seem from this, that, 
lime is to a great extent a preventive of the ravages of 
the grub and other insects, when applied at or previous 
to the time of planting. The mode practised by my in¬ 
formant, may not answer for all soils and situations, 
but the same result might probably be attained by 
throwing the lime mixed with earth over the surface, 
and ploughing or harrowing it under previous to plant¬ 
ing.* 
A short time since, at the house of a friend, while 
overlooking a volume of the Cultivator, (for 1835,) I 
noticed a communication in which hydraulic or water 
lime, (some account of which was given in a recent 
number,) is highly recommended as a paint for fences, 
out-buildings, &c. The writer asserts that it is more 
durable and much superior in all respects to common 
lime. With the exception of stating that he mixed it 
with skim milk, he gives scarcely any directions re¬ 
specting the proper manner of applying it. I shall be 
pleased if some of your correspondents, who have used 
the water lime for such purposes, will communicate the 
result of their experience, and if favorable, state the 
best method of mixing and preparing it, &c. 
There are, in my garden, some young gooseberry 
bushes, which have been well manured and pruned, but 
the fruit, since they commenced bearing, (about three 
years ago,) has been uniformly rusty, as it is commonly 
termed. To prevent this, I have tried several remedies 
without success. Last year, seeing salt dissolved in 
water somewhere recommended, I had it sprinkled over 
the bushes several times, commencing when they were 
in blossom, but without any effect. I have also tried 
lime, (recommended I believe in the Cultivator.) Last 
fall, it was applied freely about the roots, and the branch¬ 
es whitewashed as thoroughly as practicable, and a 
small quantity mixed with water was sprinkled over 
the bushes two or three times this spring. This expe¬ 
riment answered no belter than the other. It would be 
a source of gratification to me, and doubtless also to 
many other persons, to be informed of any effectual re¬ 
medy for this disease, which may be known to you or 
any of your numerous correspondents. Respectfully 
yours, E. 
New Utrecht, L. I. July 18, 1839. 
Remark. —We have cultivated the gooseberry eighteen 
years—during sixteen of which, we lost most or all of the 
crop by mildew or rust;—but the last two years the fruit has 
been line, clean and healthy. We impute the recent exemp¬ 
tion to the application of brine (salt and water,) to the ground 
about the bushes in the month of February, which we have 
done two years. We consider the mildew 7 a vegetable para¬ 
site, which abides permanently upon the collar and root of 
the bush, and from which seeds are disseminated, under a suit¬ 
able state of the atmosphere, in summer, to the fruit; and that 
the application of salt, when vegetation is dormant, destroys 
the parasite without hurting the bush. Pickle may be used 
in the growing season, at the rate of one ounce of salt to one 
gallon of w 7 ater. In winter it may be made much stronger. 
— Cond. 
Crosses of Vegetables. 
Deep River, Ct. 16th July, 1839. 
J. Buel, Esq.—Sir—Will you answer me, in the Cul¬ 
tivator, the following questions, giving either your own 
opinion, or that of correspondents ? I think the Eng¬ 
lish writers and some others are not correct on that 
subject. 
1. What kinds of vegetable, vine or plant, will cross 
or mix, so as to produce a good or bad kind ? 
2. Will any that does not produce a kind between the 
two, injure each other in this way ? 
3. Are not many of our seeds injured in this way, 
producing worthless plants among good crops? 
4. Will not the potatoe bulb or root, be injured in the 
blow, crossing without making use of the seed ? 
5. Will not perennials and annuals sometimes mix to¬ 
gether in the blow? 
6. Will the cucumber and melon—the muskmelon and 
watermelon, or the melon and squash, mix so as to in¬ 
ure the seed? 
7. Will not all of them in their own kind, mix or cross 
so as to produce good or bad fruit or roots? Yours 
truly, PHINEAS PRATT. 
ANSWERS. 
1 and 2. Vegetables, like animals, will mix and produce 
* If lime is a preventive, it must bo owing to its causth* 
quality, and should of course be applied in a fresh burnt 
state; and it would seem better, as a guard against the cut¬ 
worm, to apply it on the surface, after the seed is covered. 
The soil about the young plant then becomes saturated with 
the alkali, which must be obnoxious to the grub. We have 
applied both ashes and lime in this way to our corn; and al¬ 
though the crop sustained no injury from the worm, we can¬ 
not exactly say that the lime and ashes saved the corn.— 
Co7id. Cult 
