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DESIGN FOR AN ITALIAN COTTAGE. 
We have always admired the Gothic style of cottage 
architecture for its beautiful picturesque effects; but 
for practical convenience in interior arrangement of 
rooms, as well as great economy, we have yet found 
nothing more efficient than the Italian style. It ad¬ 
mits of architectural embellishments quite as much as 
the Gothic, but is free from the cramped ceiling and 
waste nooks so common with the latter. Being also 
more regular in form and easier of construction, there 
is less waste of timber, and they can be built in much 
less time. The design we introduce 
here is a fair specimen of this Italian 
style, but so reduced and modified 
as to meet the wants of our country 
and climate, and to be suitable to 
the tastes of most village residents. 
The reader will also notice the low 
pitch of the roof, the broad, open 
character of the*trimmings, and the 
introduction of the round arch for 
the heads of the windows. 
The plan is arranged as follows: 
From the portico, No. 1, by means 
of double glazed doors, -we enter the 
vestibule, Xo. 2. This opens on the 
left into the dining-room, Xo. 4, and 
on the right into the parlor, Xo. 3. 
Directly in front a sliding glass door 
opens into the hall, containing stairs 
to the chambers and cellar. The 
living, or dining-room, has a good- 
sized china closet, and connects by 
means of a small passage on the 
left of the chimney-breast, with the 
kitchen, Xo. <i. This-room is 14 feet square, is con¬ 
veniently placed and well lighted, and opens directly 
into the staircase hall, Xo. 5. Xo. 7 is a pantry, fur¬ 
nished with a pump, sink and shelves, and No. 8 is a 
good-sized store closet, with shelves. The vestibule 
measures (1 feet by 7% feet; parlor, 15 by 17 feet; 
living room, 14 feet by 15 feet. The second floor fur¬ 
nishes three large chambers, a bathing room, and 
several closets.. 
For the interior finish of the rooms the architect 
recommends something like the following : The wood¬ 
work of the vestibule and dining-room to be a wains¬ 
coting 2}.< feet high, with standing finish to correspond; 
this, together with the wood-work of the kitchon, to 
be oiled and varnished, showing the natural color and 
grain of the wood. The walls may be papered with 
some neat, modest pattern of panel paper, and the 
floor covered with painted oil carpeting of colors to 
correspond. 
The parlor should have a lighter, more cheerful 
tone than the other apartments. The wood-work 
painted some pleasing tint; the paper a small, lively 
figure on a light ground; and the carpet a small mo¬ 
saic figure on a darker ground; all with the window 
and table drapery to harmonize in color, and as far as 
possible in the style of the figures. 
Cost .—Built of wood, and covered with clapboards 
or sheathing, the cost of this cottage in the neighbor¬ 
hood of New York would be nearly $3,000. In the 
interior of the country, where good mechanical labor 
can be hired for less than $3 per day, and the timber 
is less than $30 per M., it can be built for $2,000 or 
$2,500. 
POT CULTURE OF ROSES. 
Many persons who have no gardens wish to have a 
collection of window-plants, and among these they 
desire, by all means, to have a few roses. Others who 
have gardens wish also to decorate their living-rooms 
in winter with some of these floral charms. To such 
we offer a few words, on the cultivation of roses in 
pots. 
Small plants may be bought at the nurseries for a 
trifle; but where one wishes to avoid even this ex¬ 
pense, they may be got in the following manner : ask 
some generous florist, or some rose-growing friend for 
a few cuttings of several desirable sorts, and “ strike ” 
them yourself. Get the cuttings in September, three 
or four inches long, insert them two inches or more in 
Design for an Italian Cottage. 
sandy soil, shade them from the mid-day- sun, and 
give them gentle.sprinklings every evening. In about 
three weeks they will be rooted, and may lie trans¬ 
planted into separate' pots. If extra care is given 
them they will flower the first winter. 
The soil for potting roses is of great importance. A 
good mixture is, a compost of sand, turfy loam, and 
Plan of Rooms. 
well-rotted manure, in equal proportion. If leaf-mold 
can be got, a little may well be added, but not very 
much, or it will make it too dry. Small pieces of 
charcoal should also be put in near the bottom of the 
pot; the roots delight to ramble among them. Every 
pot should be supplied with an inch and a half of 
drainage, made of small stones, or pieces of broken 
crockery. Plants intended for house culture should be 
kept in pots during the summer. They would grow 
more luxuriantly if set out in the open ground, but in 
taking them up in the fall, their roots would be so 
much injured that the plants would not bloom till 
about the following March. Keep them in pots the 
year round, sinking them in the ground during sum¬ 
mer, in some rather shaded situation so as to check 
their growth; re-pot them carefully in September, or 
add some fresh soil to the same pots; give them a 
good pruning, cutting out the Weak shoots and short¬ 
ening the strong, and set them for a few days in a 
cool place. Afterwards they may have a sunny spot, 
until frosty nights come on, when they should be 
taken under shelter. They will soon make a new 
growth and exhibit flower-buds; these should be 
pinched back, so as to give the plants a vigorous, 
bushy habit, and a profusion of 
flowers during mid-winter. 
We now suppose our plants to be 
in their winter quarters, on a table 
or plant stand near the window. 
The pots are washed clean, the 
bushes are neatly tied up to stakes, 
and every decayed leaf removed. 
They occupy one side of our living- 
room, the air of which we know is 
too dry for their well-being; but we 
sprinkle their leaves every morning, 
and keep pans of wet sand covered 
with moss, standing among them, 
hoping that the constant evaporation 
will keep them tolerably moist. 
Whenever the weather permits we 
open the window and give them a 
taste of fresh air, which they un¬ 
doubtedly relish. Insects infest 
them at times, but a little persever¬ 
ance subdues them. We first tried 
the fumes of burning tobacco upon 
them, but this killed only a part, 
while it filled the house with offensive odors. Then 
we invited them to “ take tea ” with us, the tea being 
tobacco-juice, and they left in disgust. And this is the 
entertainment we always give them when they come 
to our house. Or, to drop all figure, we make a 
rather strong decoction of tobacco leaves, take the 
plant infested, and holding a cloth firmly over the top 
of the pot to keep the dirt from falling out, we plunge 
the foliage in the decoction, and keep it there for a 
minute or two. This kills all the vermin. In the 
course of ten or fifteen minutes we sprinkle the foliage 
with clean water. It is well to loosen up the soil in the 
pots with a small stick, or stout hair-pin. Water should 
be given, just enough to keep the plants'from wilting, 
increasing the quantity while they are growing vigor¬ 
ously and blooming freely. Pansie Flowers. 
Coleus. — Would like to ask if it is natural for the 
Coleus to drop its leaves at all times of the year ? 
Fannie C. Woods. 
Answer .—The Coleus should not lose its leaves to 
any extent. If it does so in summer, it is from starva¬ 
tion or too much water. 
Cactus —Please tell me the name of my Cactus. It 
is round like a tea-cup, but not quite so large, and has 
beautiful purple and yellow flowers. E. E. Ii. Ii. 
Answer .—Your Cactus is not known to us by name 
from your description. 
Artillery Plant —How shall I treat the Artillery 
plant? We had a very nice one, but it began to 
wither and soon died. S. U. Warren. 
Ansicer . — It is very easily cultivated. It thrives in 
common potting soil, if kept moderately moist. 
