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NEW YORK, AND ROCHESTER, N, Y„ MAY 10, 1873, 
( PRICE Six CENTS. 
1 82.50 PER YEA It. 
VOL. XXVII. No. 1f». I 
WHOLE No. 1215. j 
r Entered accord in g to Act of Ooyraw, In tho ymir 1873, by TJ. I). T. Moure, In the office of the Librarian of 'conKrew, at 
Ilurat grrhitcttmt. 
OCTAGON HORSE AND ELAN. 
I think the Rural New-Yorkkb can do 
much good yet by continuing to publish 
plans for dwellings. The country we occupy 
is so broad, the climate so variable, out- 
tastes and wants so diverse, that many plans 
may be shown before each one’s ideal model 
is seen, or the proper hints given, What 
feature of your paper con hope to shower 
blessings more abundantly than the one that 
shall cultivate a taste for making our dwell¬ 
ings what they should be — exponents of 
our civilization ? I look over plans of build 
ings with much interest, and when my paper 
has a house plan in it, f look first at that to 
see if it gives a new idea. T don’t know why 
I should be considered peculiar in this re¬ 
spect, as “I am only a farmer and, being 
a farmer and having a home, I do like to sec 
a well-arranged and comfortable house. 
It has been my fortune—and I hope no one 
will deem it a misfortune—to spend the most 
of my life in the extreme northeast part of 
these States, where the winters mean some 
thing ; where we can make a better show of 
personal vigor than of rich surroundings, and 
where men deal more in expedients than in 
accumulated capital. 
I want to build a house in which I may 
pass the remaining winters allotted to me, in 
such a manner as not to be ever wishing for 
a place in Florida or Bermuda. If I should 
ask your advice in regard to my future house, 
you would very properly ask me to fu-st show 
you my lot. Well, you 
may understand it to _- - 
be on the east end of a 
narrow ridge—elevat¬ 
ed a little above all 
other lands within a 
half mile — the top of 
tiie ridge now occu¬ 
pied by an apple or¬ 
chard, and north of 
the orchard, on the 
declivity, a grove of 
native forest, well 
grown. The end of 
this ridge, as it termi¬ 
nates towards the east, 
is a well - rounded, 
fertile plat of three- 
fourths of an acre, 
with an easy descent 
on all sides, except 
the west. 
To the south and 
southwest is a fine 
view of a broad river 
and good farms be¬ 
yond. To the east a 
railroad is seen as laid 
along the valley, the 
cars hi full view for a 
mile as they pass 
through the scattered 
suburbs of a large vil¬ 
lage, and disappear 
behind a few acres of 
forest to the north¬ 
west. North, is seen 
high lands, with farms 
and wood-lots in the 
distance. The scenery 
is interesting on all 
sides, except the west 
and northwest, where 
the view is shut by the 
orchard and grove. This open lot is now 
bounded on the southeast, east and north by 
a bank-wall of granite, laid in an excavation 
lor a farm-road around the hill. Nature, 
with some help from my hands, has here 
made a spot hardly surpassed in beauty of 
scenery, even in Now England. 
In talking with you of a house in detail, I 
and ashes. I want a house of pleasing ex¬ 
terior, with warm, dry walls, cheaply kept 
in repair ; rooms ample and convenient, with 
least practicable exterior. 
IPor materials, this locality has good gran¬ 
ite. Good bricks can be bad on the cars but 
thirty rods distant, at about seven dollars per 
thousand, The best of roofing slate, at. same 
GREEN HOUSE 
11X32 
S1IUIM»2£ 
\P/AZT/\5 , 
GROUND PLAN. 
must put in my confession that I have become j 
chronic wi t.h complaint regarding the national 
habit, in country and village, of setting up 
dwellings to be speedily bunted down. I 
want my hard-earned dollars to be invested 
in a house that shall stand to give shelter and 
comfort to others when I am forgotten—a 
house that shall not kindle when tins square 
mile of village, with its shingle palaces, may, 
on some unfortunate day, be turned to smoke 
SECOND FLOOR, 
point, for from three to six dollars per square. 
Good lime and sand near. Spruce frame on 
tho spot at ten to fourteen dollars per thou¬ 
sand. Pine, and other finishing lumber, at 
usual country rates in the “Pine tree State.” 
With these facilities—and this preamble—1 
proceed to some of my ideas regarding a 
bouse. I propose a light balloon-frame, to 
be filled in with bricks, and a brick wall out¬ 
side, with a space of two inches between, 
OCTAG-ON HOUSE - ELEVATION, 
Washington,] 
thus giving the wall a thickness of ten inches 
beside the inside finish. The interior wall, 
inclosing the stairway (see Figs. 1 and 2) to 
bo of brick, from bottom of cellar to attic, in 
connection with the chimney, thus avoiding 
all wood-work around chimneys. Ou attic 
tloor set an octagon, eight feet in diameter, 
tiie posts to extend eight feel; above the roof, 
lo each of these eight posts join a rafter 
from each of the house corners. On the four 
sides, east, west, north and south, build gable 
roofs, as shown in side elevation (Fig. 3). 
LThis lias been omitted since we have under¬ 
taken to give a perspective incorporating our 
correspondent’s idea. — EDS. Rural.] The 
other four sides have a pitch of roof, as 
shown. The stairs to be lighted down from 
cupola. Among the conveniences in the plan 
you will notice the sink is within reach of the 
dish-closet, and the dishes are taken from the 
other side of the closet for the table. The 
cooking range, or stove, is located as near as 
possible to the dining-room. In all the rooms 
the fires are opposite the windows, as they 
should bo. Leaving out I he rest of the long 
story and omitting cellar, stable, &e., I leave 
the grist with you till further advised. 
Poxeroft, Piscataquis Co., Maine. C. C. 
1 ’• S.—To persons who have not given the 
matter much thought, it may be of interest 
to note the vast room in this figure compared 
with tho length of tho outside wall. The 
sides being 10 feet, the width of the house 
between opposite walls, outside, is 10 H 11 . 31 + 
11.31=33.03 feet. Draw lines through the 
figure to connect opposite angles, and we 
have eight triangles, the base of each being 
10 feet and the hight 19.31. Multiply the 
base by half the per¬ 
pendicular and the 
product by the num¬ 
ber of triangles — or, 
which is the same, 
19.31 x JO x = 1285.34 
square feet ; add to 
this for the ten feet of 
projection 10*10=100, 
and we have 1895.84 
square feet of floor in 
each story, including 
thickness of walls; and 
for this inclosed space 
we have 10 < 3= 128 i 20 
=•148 feet of outer 
wall, Let any one 
take the usual figures 
of houses with wings 
and calculate their 
outside and the in¬ 
closed space, and they 
will then understand 
tho great advantage 
of the plan shown in 
this regard.—c. c. 
GROUND PLAN EXPLANATION 
1, front door; 2, 
chamber stairs ; 3, cel¬ 
lar stairs ; 4, pump, 
5, sink ; 0, dish-closet; 
■ 7, door to wood and 
stable ; 8, commode, 
\fith ventilating tube 
to chimney; 9 stairs 
from cellar to green¬ 
house ; 10, glass door 
from parlor to green¬ 
house ; 11, cook stove. 
Wk are glad to pub¬ 
lish such suggestive 
articles and plans, and 
shall be glad to re¬ 
ceive others. 
