1846. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
373 
PLAN OF A COTTAGE — Fig. 103. 
Mr. Tucker —Having observed in the Cultivator, a 
request that some one would furnish a plan for a cot¬ 
tage, the rooms all to be on the same floor, I beg to 
enclose you one which I hope will be agreeable to your 
correspondent. Having neither cellar nor attic, it 
would be warm in winter and cool in summer; would 
be free from the unwholesome vapor arising too often 
from decaying vegetables in a cellar under a residence; 
and not only free from cold draughts of air from the 
attics, but in case of fire would be very easy to escape 
from—indeed no loss of life could occur. It could be 
also very cheaply built, there being no expensive car¬ 
penter’s work, as the ground floor would be the only 
one, and that might be made of plaster, painted, and 
covered in winter with carpets, in summer bare. In 
this way the building might be made nearly fire proof. 
The walls may be either stone, (in which case they must 
be lined with wood and plaster,) brick, rough-stone 
plastered, dried clay, or gravel and lime, or even lath 
and plaster. All these last to be durable, should be 
either coated with Hearle’s cement, or with a cement 
made with slacked lime, litharge, and linseed oil—say 
oil enough to moisten the lime, and an ounce of litharge 
to a gallon of oil; then mixed with three parts sand and 
water to a consistency for use; making a perfectly hard, 
durable cement that resists weather and frost. 
For a roof, the plan lately adopted in Upper Canada, 
I think preferable; namely, simply to cover with dry, 
narrow, well-seasoned boards, tongued and grooved— 
the joints from the apex to the eaves. These boards to 
be afterwards painted with some coarse color—say 
ochre, and then sanded. This should be repeated after 
a year; the joints if needful filled up with lime, oil, and 
sand; and then finished with any color desired; or for 
economy, the cement called Hearle’s; or the composi¬ 
tion of lime, oil, and sand, might be applied, to be re¬ 
peated at the end of a year—as during that time the 
boards will shrink, however well they may previously 
have been seasoned. 
These roofs are almost as fire proof as slate or metal, 
and in ease of fire do not endanger other buildings as 
shingles do; they are also cheaper than shingled roofs, 
and neater. 
In finishing the interior—which ought invariably to 
be plastered, being cheaper, cleaner, and more durable 
than wood—a mode has been adopted lately in Montreal, 
in some public buildiugs, of great service where econo¬ 
my is looked to; namely, coloring the plaster while 
wet, in a similar manner to that adopted in London, in 
the new houses of Parliament, and for years back com¬ 
mon in Italy—I mean fresco . It consists in applying 
certain durable colors mixed with simple water to the 
plastered wall before it has time to dry. In this way it 
becomes incorporated with the plaster, is perfectly du¬ 
rable and can be washed—even if not intended to be the 
permanent coloring, it causes the wall to look neat un¬ 
til dry enough for painting or papering. The follow¬ 
ing colors answer perfectly and never fade: 
Blue black—grey, in shades. 
Blue vitriol—blue—is decomposed by the lime, and 
forms this color. 
Powder blue—or smalts—this is used for linen occa¬ 
sionally—it is finely powdered glass. 
Blue verditer—blue. 
N. B. Prussian blue, damp blue, blue ochre and all 
such, fade at once. 
Mineral green-—green. 
Blue verditer and chrome yellow—green. 
N. B. No other greens can be used except chrome 
oxide, which is too dear. 
Yellow ochre—yellow. 
Green vitriol—yellow—this is decomposed by the 
lime, and a yellow is the result. 
Chrome yellow—must be used with care, or scarlet 
specks will be formed. 
Bed ochre, Venetian red, ) various shades, all dura- 
Indian red, purple brown, $ ble. 
Vermillion—answers well, and gives the most beau¬ 
tiful shades—very superior to those with Oil. 
Vandyke brown, 'i 
Raw umber, > all good. 
Burnt umber, ) 
Of course, vegetable or animal colors are useless. 
I have so contrived the building that a green-house 
can be annexed having no windows opening into it— 
except those from the parlour. For the cellar and root- 
house, I propose one be constructed under the coach¬ 
house—the floor to be composed of solid timber and 
plaster, to keep out the frost—and that an ice-house, 
with a dairy and pantry over it, be built in another 
part of the yard. A stable, with manure pit beneath, 
and hay loft over, being constructed at some little 
distance, for fear of fire. 
I now refer to the plan herewith: 
a, outer hall, 10 feet by 10, 10 feet high; 
b, inner hall, 
33 feet by 10, 12 
c, drawing-room, 
24 feet by 19, 14 
a 
a 
d, kitchen. 
24 feet by 14, 14 
('e 
c; 
e, dining-room, 
24 feet by 14, 10 
a 
f, library, 
12 feet by 19, 10 
a 
g, best bed-room. 
12 feet by 19, 10 
a 
a 
/t, pantry, 
10 feet by 14, 14 
it 
a 
i , store closet, 
10 feet by 10, 10 
U 
a 
fe, nursery, 
10 feet by 19, 10 
a 
ee 
l, four bed-rooms, 
* 94 feet by 16, 10 
fC 
a 
m, servant’s room, 
10 feet by 10, 10 
a 
a 
n, man’s room, 
10 feet by 9, 10 
a 
a 
o, green-house, 
50 feet by 25, 18 
tt 
in centre. 
I have given an elevation to exhibit, the general ap¬ 
pearance, and also add a section to show how the extra 
height of the parlor and kitchen is got out of the rise in 
the roof. This height is a great improvement in ap¬ 
pearance, adds to the comfort of the resident, and is 
required to make the proportions correct. The nurse¬ 
ry and servants’ bed-room windows, should open down 
to the floor, as should those in the parlor, kitchen, and 
pantry. The inner hall can have a stove in it, to warm 
the bed-rooms, and the stoves in the parlor, best bed¬ 
room, and nursery, can communicate with flues to 
warm the green-house. Zea. 
Montreal, 1846. 
American wheat, 9’ bushels, of 60 pounds to the 
bushel, equal to the English quarter. 
* If these are too small, three of 12 feet each instead of four. 
