521 
P I 
snontlis 10 dry: then fuch as wifh to make the building 
more folid and durable, give it a rough-call coating on 
the outfide with lime and fand. 
It is further obferved, that beating, or compreffion, is 
ufed in many different forts of work. The ancients em¬ 
ployed it in making their rough walls; the Italians em¬ 
ploy it for the terraces which cover their houfesj the 
Moors for all their walls; the Spaniards, the French, and 
others, for fome of the floors of their apartments. The 
intent of the ancient architefts, when they recommended 
the beating of cement, and other compofitions ufed in 
building, was to prevent them from fhrinking and crack¬ 
ing ; and it is employed for the fame purpofe in the walls 
which are made of earth. The beater, by repeated 
llrokes, forces out from the earth the fuperfluous water 
which it contained, and clofely unites all the particles 
together, by which means the natural attraflion of thofe 
particles is made powerfully to operate, as it is by other 
natural caufes, in the formation of ftones. Hence arifes 
the increafing ftrength and aftonilhing durability which 
houfes of this kind are found to pofl'efs. It is added 
that upon beating afmall portion of earth, and weighing 
it immediately afterwards, it was found to contain thir¬ 
ty-nine pounds and a half; fifteen days after it had loft 
four pounds and a quarter; in the fpace of another fifteen 
days it loft but one pound ; and in fifteen days after that 
its weight diminilhed only half a pound. In the fpace of 
about forty-five days the moifture was completely evapo¬ 
rated, and its weight was diminiffied about one-eighth ; 
confequently only one-eighth of the whole mafs was oc¬ 
cupied by moifture, and this fmall proportion cannot at 
all aft'efl the folidity and confiftency of the earth fo treat¬ 
ed. This experiment is alfo fufficient to fliow the differ¬ 
ence between this kind of building, and that vulgar kind 
called in England “ mud-walling;” the latter cannot be 
executed without adding a great deal of water to foften 
the materials employed, which entirely deftroys theircon- 
fiftency ; the water, which occupies a confiderable fpace 
in the mud, leaves, in evaporating, an infinite number of 
pores or little cavities, and thus the walls become weak 
and brittle, and incapable of fupporting feveral ftories, 
or fuch ponderous weights as the beaten earth or pife can 
fuftain. 
The earth proper for this work, fays Mr. Salmon, 
ftiould be neither fand nor clay, but partaking of both. 
Clay is particularly objectionable, as is alfo chalk, or cal¬ 
careous earth of any fort. Sand is alfo not proper, unlefs 
accompanied with fome binding quality : the bolder and 
coarfer the fort of earth the better. When ufed, it 
fliould retain no more moifture than juft to make it ad¬ 
here together, under the preffure of the thumb and fin¬ 
ger. Notwithftanding earths bordering on fand appear 
to make the ftrongeft work, neverthelefs good earths may 
often be found in parts that do not abound with fand. 
Thofe that abound with a mixture of grit or fine gravel 
are generally the beft. Having provided proper earth, as 
much fliould be put in each layer as to form about an 
inch and a half when compreffed by ramming. The ram¬ 
mer, Mr. Salmon thinks, fliould not be more than half 
an inch wide on the edge, in order that it may more for¬ 
cibly comprefs every part of the earth, which a flat ram¬ 
mer would not do fo well. This, however, mull make 
the work very tedious. 
In making the walls, about three inches in'thicknefs 
of loofe earth fliould be put in each courfe, which done, 
the fame, by means of a trowel made for the purpofe, is 
drawn back and cleared from the face of the wall, and 
the fpace then filled up with the facing-compofition, form¬ 
ing on an average about one inch in thicknefs; the 
whole then is firmly rammed, (in which, and properly pre¬ 
paring the facing-fluff, much depends the perfection of 
the work,) till it is quite hard, when it will be compreffed 
to about one inch and a half in thicknefs. The common 
facing-ftuff is com poled of lime one part, and earth, 
the famefort as ufed for walling, three parts. Thelime 
Vot,. XX. No. 1387. 
S E. 
and earth mixed and flacked together, the fame as for mor¬ 
tar. The more it is flacked and wetted the better, pro¬ 
vided time can be allowed for it again to dry and pulver¬ 
ize, fo as to be fit for ramming. The better fort of fa¬ 
cing-ftuff may have a fmall quantity more of lime in it. 
The proper feafon for performing this work is any 
time that the earth is to be procured fufficiently dry for 
the purpofe; the more early in the feafon the better, in 
order to give it time to dry before finifliing, or if late it 
would be advifable not to finilh till the year after it is 
built. Windows and doors may be left in the walls 
wherever wanted, by fixing the head of the moulds and 
carrying up quoins to form the fame ; in ereCling which, 
fome bond-timber fliould be laid in coarfe mortar and 
rammed in with the earth. Lintels may alfo be laid at 
the proper height. This method is cheapeft, where only 
one window or door of a fize is wanted ; but, if many, 
the readied way would be to make fome rough frames 
of boards of width equal to thicknefs of walls, and place 
them in the fituation of the windows and doors. When 
done, the earth is rammed up to them, laying bond- 
timber at the fides, and lintels over them. In both cafes 
the windows and door-frames are to be .put in their 
places and faftened to the bond-timber, after the w'all is 
up. The bond-timber, lintel, and plates, fliould be kept 
as thin as poflible, in order to prevent any difagreement 
between the earth and timber in the fhrinking or drying 
of the fame. The bond-timber about 4 inches by ij; 
floor or wall plates 6 inches by 2 ; lintels about 4 inches 
thick; and it may be worthy of notice that any flabs or 
rough fluff may be ufed, the earth being fure to ram 
clofe to it and keep it in place. 
For common cottages, when the whole of the walis are 
up and covered in, the holes fliould be flopped with very 
coarfe mortar, made the fame as the facing-fluff, but ufed 
wetter, and the wall then lime-wafhed over with lime and 
fharp fand, which fliould be made up in fmall quantities 
and ufed whilft hot. This may readily be done by adding 
a knob of lime and fand a little at a time as it is ufed. 
For better kind of cottages the better fort of facing-fluff 
may be ufed, ^nd then, as before, the whole lime-whited ; 
or, if it be required to make the finifliing as perfect as 
poflible, the following is the beft mode; viz. With 
water and a brufli thoroughly wet and foak the face of 
the wall for two or three yards in fuperficie at a time; 
all which part, during the faid wetting, fliould be conti¬ 
nually rubbed and worked about with a hand-float, till 
fuch time as the face is rubbed fmootii and even, by 
which the facing-compofition will fo vvafh-up as to be¬ 
come a pleafant regular colour, the face fmooth and hard 
when dry, and not liable to fcale off as a coat of plaftering 
would do. This.finifliing would be flill improved by a 
fmall quantity of lime being put in the water ufed for 
foaking the face, and after the wall is well foaked and 
rubbed, as above mentioned, there be thrown thereon 
with a brufli, fome of the lime and fand (fuch as ufed 
for lime-whiting,) and that alfo worked into the face; 
the face will then become as perfefl and hard as ftucco. 
With regard to the expenfe of the walls of this fort, as 
labour is the principal part of the coll, and as in fome 
places labour is dearer than in others, the befl mode of 
eftimatingit at different places will be from the quantity 
that a man fliould do in a day, and which I have found 
to be yard fuperficial, in the common day’s labour of 
ten hours. Ih fliort, this method of buildingieems, from 
its cheapnefs and durability, and the readinefs with which 
it is executed, to deferve the attention of the proprietors 
of lands in this kingdom, as the means of railing com¬ 
fortable houfes for their labourers and cottagers, which, 
from the increafed prices of the ufual forts of building- 
materials, are now become ferioufly expenfive in provi¬ 
ding. Some different kinds of buildings of thefe earthy 
materials may be feen at Woburn Abbey, the feat of the 
duke of Ledford, and in a few other places. TranJ. of the 
Sue. of Arts, vol. for 1809. 
6 R 
As 
