]76 
THE FLOEIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ August, 
here figure are, in fact, wooden houses, ornamented by the tasteful introduction 
of contorted branches of trees, selected and fitted together so as to bring out a 
pattern or design. Such houses are very durable if fairly treated as to staining 
and varnishing, which are preferable to painting, as giving them a less artificial 
appearance. Such houses are, of course, cooler, if set in a shady position, but if 
necessarily set in an exposed place where the sun strikes on them,'the roof should 
be double and packed with some non-conducting material, so as to avoid all 
nUSXlC bUMMEK-TiOUSiS. 
possible over-heating of the interior. Summer-houses of similar character may 
be made with a frame-work of wood, with the walls constructed of reeds, or of 
moss, or of heather, the latter being a very suitable material in those parts of the 
country where heather alDounds. The roof, instead of being formed of wood, may 
be thatched with reeds or heather, or even straw, though this is much less 
durable, and a roof of this kind is in some respects preferable, as counteracting in 
a greater degree the effect of sun-heat. Fir-cones are sometimes tastefully used 
in decorating rustic houses of this kind, and sometimes unbarked wood may b® 
