utruRt/ - 
L^URAL 
/c<j LT U RE .^9 : 
EXCELSIOR 
WAFH 
ROOM 
BEO 
BOOM 
6X8 
WOOD 
SHED 
LAUNDRK 
7X9 
PANTRY 
STORE 
BOOM 
WOOD 
SHED 
ANO 
WASHROOM 
BEO BOOM 
7 X12 
PANTRV 
NEW YORK CITY AND ROCHESTER N, Y, 
m -_ wa ) ft.l.ttO PER YEAR. 
TliRlHS. (Single iVo.i Eislit t’er 
<nTi'f'Tf*T*K! 3 41 I ’ni-li Bow, New York. 
OX'.TICL.S. -j Buffalo Ht., Rochester. 
YOU. XX. NO. 34. 
FUR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 1869. 
WHOLE NO. 1022, 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year lsiK>, by I). D. T. MoOltR, in the Clerk’s Offlee of tbe District Court of the United States for the Southern District of Now York.] 
Kural Arclntfcture. 
■<T) V--0 0 
WORKINGMEN'S HOMES. 
In' the Rural ibr April24, and elsewhere, 
are sundry architectural suggestions for the 
erection of cottage houses for workingmen, 
wherein ground plans find elevation frontage 
are given for several stylvs, but the cost is 
not stated. It would lie of great benefit to 
many a workingman if some of your well- 
posted readers would supply something of 
an order that would require less mechanical 
skill in the construction—something that a 
man could build liimself at odd times, 
morning and evening. The plans and ele¬ 
vations in No. 17, vol. 20, have too much 
architecture about them to meet such a 
want. 
i have heard of houses being built from a 
mixture of gravel and lime, called by some 
cobble wall, by others rubble wall houses. 
There is another kind of house, and one 
which any man with ordinary intelligence 
can put up. It is built by laying boards one 
upon the other horizontally, and nailing 
them together as you go around with the 
work, thus forming the, walls. 
I happen to be one ot the workingmen 
class, and, like loo many of them, possessed 
of few greenbacks, but hig hope* for the 
future. I have a small patch of God’s green¬ 
sward in the country, where I desire to 
settle and cultivate, but as there Is no house 
upon it, 1 must wait, until my hard-earned 
savings will allow me to invest in that 
luxury—my own home. 
1 have searched all the readable matter 
within my reach for information as to the 
quantity of each kind of material required, 
and how to build one of those solid wooden- 
wall houses, and have not succeeded, but 
am of opinion, that having to hire such a 
very small amount of labor, that difference 
alone would more than counterbalance the 
extra cost; for I am told they cost more than 
frame houses. 
Please give us designs, with instructions 
as to the disposition of the various material, 
and the quantity of each hind required to 
erect a house of two, three, four or more 
rooms. Country Home. 
-*-*-*.-- 
INTERIOR DECORATION: 
Something ot the Management of Colors. 
Wk find the following in the Manufacturer 
and Builder for July:—“ Painters, as a gen¬ 
eral rule, acknowledge but three primary 
colors— blue, red, and yellow; and whatever 
exception may be taken to such a statement 
on scientific grounds, there is no question 
that such a view of the subject does afford 
certain practical advantages. It is further 
assumed that all other tints are mere mix¬ 
tures of these three colors. For instance, 
green is made up of blue and yellow; violet 
of blue and red, and orange of red and yel¬ 
low. If one luts no taste, and no power of 
discriminating between colors, it is a useless 
task for him to undertake decoration; it is 
useless for him to rely upon the painter; for 
what is wanted, is thaL education which will 
enable us to make a judicious selection, suit¬ 
ed to the several purposes to which they are 
to be applied. Thus, in arranging colors, 
we cannot put bright scarlet next to white 
without a tinge of green appearing on the 
edge of the scarlet; for, in looking first at 
scarlet and then at any other color, a green 
hue will invariably appear about it; and 
again, after first looking at green, other ob¬ 
jects will have a tinge of red. This illusion 
lias doubtless occurred to many, and to 
avoid these unpleasant effects is in a great 
measure the object to be attained in the se¬ 
lection of appropriate colors for wall or fur¬ 
niture decoration. 
“Where violet and green are placed in 
juxtaposition, each color having one ele¬ 
ment—blue—in common, this [ 
similarity on one point, makes 
the dissimilarity on tin* others 
stand out more clearly; so 
that the green on the violet , 
appears more yellow, whilst 
the violet, on the other hand, . 
appears more red. La like . 
manner, if orange and green ■ 
he taken—the yellow element 
in the one canceling, so to •' ; - * 
speak, the yellow in the other 
—the orange will assume a <Jr 
reddish hue and the green a f\ X V'lel'V 
bluish. An upholsterer should if 
he very careful in choosing the jfi Jrojj SSg 
colors of .studs used for cover- fjj 
iiigs. It will not do to cover /I B 
mahogany furniture with scar- * 
let: the color is too bright, 
and when placed beside it. the ,11 .IT- 
mahogany loses brilliancy ami _ 
becomes like walnut wood. w"* 
Many persons, however, like 
the color, and insist that it 
shall accompany mahogany. — 
1 11 such cases the unpleasant —-’’—s.-P 
effect produced can be, in a fi 
measure, relieved by put ting a sfe-T-~~~T s > \ 
green or black braid or an 
edging of yellow silk or gilt 
lace on the border where the 
elolh and wood meet. In pa- 
per-hangiug a room, it is well 
to remember that, on crimson- 
colored grounds black looks 
green, and in the same way black upon green 
loses its luster, and vice verm. 
"Orangeupon red is injurious to the eye¬ 
sight.; violet, upon blue looks washed out; 
blue upon green looks spinach color by can¬ 
dle light, and gray upon green would show 
pink. Such combinations of colors should 
always he avoided, as the effect produced 
upon the eyesight on entering a room whose 
side walls are decorated in green and black 
or red and black, or an orange figure upon a 
red ground, is anything but agreeable. It is 
the same in dress. The most striking effects 
are those produced by selecting harmonious 
colors, whereby the eyesight, is maintained 
in a state of repose, and not affected by the 
false tints caused by the improper mixture 
of colors. The trade in paper-hangings has 
now become so extensive that, such faults 
seldom occur, and yet there arc defects still 
noticeable in the prevailing style where a 
light ground is interspersed all over at. equal 
distances apart by small gilt figures; noiv 
this, iu effect, is sometimes good, but in moat 
cases the effect is like looking at some ara- 
t tin t's COTA’AC-TF. lr.I.M V A'l’IO.V. 
the arrangement of rooms in regard to lo¬ 
cation and size, to be faulty. Had two or 
more plans of the principal floors been given, 
one could undoubtedly be selected that would 
please the particular fancy of the individual; 
thus, at. a comparatively small cost,, one ele¬ 
vation is made to answer a double or triple 
purpose. Practicing what 1 preach, i 
herewith present two plans of the principal 
floor of the accompanying elevation. 
PARLOR. 
12X14; 
KITCHEN. 
VERNAHOA. 
LIVING ROOM, 
18X14 
Plan op First Floor— No. 1. 
The pecuniary circumstances of many 
beaque ornament which appears all mixed will not allow ot the lurnishingol the pallor 
up, because the eye cannot take in all the ^satisfactory manner. Others who are 
figures at once. Now, if we have a pale pink, abundantly able prefer to adorn the living- 
blue, gray, violet, green, or other ground rn,)tn ' and tl,UH ei, j°y daily tins luxuries of] 
color, and at the top decorated with a bright comfort and ease, and do not, as a few arc 
colored border, the same at t he base—or cli- vvont 10 ' lo > lHvish all ornaments on the par- 
vided off into panels by stripes, ornaments, ^ ol " ll U, leaving the kitchen and living-room 
medallions, rosettes and lines —the effects comparatively unfurnished, uninviting and 
can then be at once grasped by the eyesight, cheerless in aspect, 
and the result is interesting and pleasing." I I I i i 
FARMER’S COTTAGE. 
In accordance with the desire of the 
Editor that correspondents furnish elevations 
and plans of residences adapted t o tin:* wants 
of the mechanic and laborer, the accom¬ 
panying elevation and plans are submitted. 
In design they are adapted, and will please 
as a village or country residence. 
It is unnecessary to here furnish a detailed 
description of what a farmer’s or mechanic’s 
residence should be; but it maybe proper 
to suggest, for the benefit of architects at 
large, the beneficial results that would arise 
LIVING ROOM. 
|<ITCM EN. 
IGX 14. 
VERNANOA 
Plan op First Floor—No. 2. 
toots and builders of which 1 desire to spealc, 
viz., the plan or idea of having the kitchen 
situated in one of the rear rooms of the 
house, or in such a position that a direct 
view of the highway from the kitchen win¬ 
dows is impossible. Within the kitchen 
walls the good housewife, is compelled to 
spend a great portion of her lime in the 
prosecution Of domestic duties. Who is able 
to give good reasons to excuse this old-fogy 
style of architecture? Ask the tens of thou¬ 
sands of American farmers’ wives, who 
spend a great portion of their lives in the 
daily monotonous labor of kitchen duty, 
ami, us far sis my observation extends, their 
almost unanimous answer would be: — If I 
were ever to build or have the planning of 
another house, tlio kitchen would occupy a 
trout and sightly position, and not be, as at 
present, secluded in this unbarred dungeon 
from an immediate view of the moving 
panarama of highway travel. The foregoing 
is penned in no fault-finding mood, hut is 
offered as it suggestion lo those whom it may 
concern. L. D. Snook. 
-- 
BRICKING UP HOUSES. 
1 v 
The way houses, churches and other build¬ 
ings are "bricked up” around Milwaukee, 
Wis., is:—Build an ordinary balloon frame, 
having the foundation wall project about six 
inches beyond the frame; then sheet up with 
common boards and lay a single row of 
bricks on the foundation, leaving an inch of 
space between the sheeting and the bricks. 
This gives a dead air space, and also enables 
the wall to be carried up plumb. 
To bind the wull every fifteen courses in 
height and three feet apart in the courses, 
drive twenty-penny nails, letting the heads 
project into the mortar an inch and a half or 
two inches. Nails of this size will just, fill 
the spaces between the bricks, while larger 
ones would cause the wall to lean. Wooden 
brick are deemed unnecessary, as, also, to lay 
bricks between the studding. T. L. 
CHEAP BUILDINGS. 
The American Builder enumerates the 
following faults in cheap building; 
“1st. Cramping a house down to the 
smallest possible space, so as to make more, 
‘yard room,’ which will never be used. 
“2d. Making no calculations as to Ihcslze 
of rooms or t he location of furniture. 
“ 3d. Building chimneys by guess, so that 
one has to have a dozen lengths of useless 
stove pipe, or else place his stoves in t he most 
incOnvenient lncations. 
“ 4th. Arranging windows and doors so 
that one opens against the other, or in the 
very spot to he occupied by a piece of furni¬ 
ture, or so placing them that no fresh air can 
get through the house even though the whole 
should Ik* open. 
“ 5th. Providing no means of ventilating 
rooms, Save by open doors or windows; 
hence all the impure air which is generated 
Ity breathing, cooking, and fermentation, as 
it is rarifiod, rises lo the top of t he room, and 
there remains to brood discomfort, disease, 
and death. 
“6th, Nailing sheathing to the outside of 
the studding, and clapboards (or siding) close 
to the outside of that, leaving small or no air 
chambers between them; and, as in nine eases 
out often, green materials for each covering 
have been used, they shrink and rot, soon 
making a honey-comb of the shell, though 
plastered with paint and cement. 
“ 7lh. Laying the lower floor directly up¬ 
on joists, or at best lining it with culls, full 
of knots and shakes which are but little better 
than nothing, and ns a consequence the floor 
is always cold and uncomfortable. 
“8lh. Tn finishing, first laying the bases, 
pilasters, and casings (perhaps of green lum¬ 
ber,) and then lathing and plastering up to 
them, so that when they dry large orifices 
are left, to let, in cold and moisture. 
“0th, Betting his work out, as a whole, 
trusting to the honesty of the contractor to 
do it, w ithout having plans or specifications 
properly drawn, and without any one to 
oversee, criticise, or direct it.” 
to suggest, for the benefit of architects at The former class will find the plan of Good Materials. — In building, greater 
large, the beneficial results that would arise principal floor (No. 2) best suited to their care should be taken to use good materials 
from the practice of furnishing with each wants and conveniences, for the reason that 1 For foundation limber, and like purposes, 
elevation two or more differently arranged a parlor is dispensed with. The chamber of good judges pronounce red elm more dura* 
plans of the first floor; for oftentimes many upright part may be divided in small rooms blc than any other wood; and oak, white 
persons about to build a residence who are or left undivided, as the wants of the family elm, or red beech, probably conic:; next in 
perfectly suited with the exterior appearance will decide. order. It is poor economy in architecture 
of the design, upon careful examination find Herein is a common error among arclii- to put up light, cheap frames. 
STRAW HOUSES. 
An English inventor has built some houses 
on a novel principle at New Hampton, 
England. The houses are of a cheap order, 
designed for laborers. He compresses straw 
into slabs, soaks them in a solution of flint 
to render them fireproof; coats the two sides 
with a kind of cement or concrete; and of 
these slabs the cottages are built. By inge¬ 
nious contrivances, the quantity of joiner’s 
work is much reduced, and the chimney is 
so constructed as to secure warmth with the 
smallest consumption of fuel, and at the 
same time heat a drying closet. The cost of 
a single cottage of this description, combin¬ 
ing “ all the requirements of health, decency, 
and comfort,” is £85. The Commissioners 
on the Employment of Children, Young 
Persons, and Women in Agriculture report 
favorably of t hese cottages. 
-♦♦♦- 
VENTILATION — AIR - FOUNTAINS. 
A mode of ventilating churches, halls, etc., 
by means of jets of fresh air passing through 
pipes to the center of the space to be venti¬ 
lated, and above reach of the heads of those 
present, in conjunction with ways of egress 
for the foul air through the floor, after being 
cooled by the fresh nir mixed with it, is pro¬ 
posed by Mr. R. Moffat. Smith, of Manchester, 
architect. The system of ventilation, Mr. 
Smith observes, could be combined with 
warming apparatus. The fresh air would 
enter the central space through ornamental 
tube standards, or could descend from tlio 
roof, as in a ball-room, although the jets 
would be turned upward. By means of valves 
or taps, the air could lie regulated at pleasure. 
—London Builder. 
