HOUSE AND GARDEN 
June, 
1912 
surrounding country should be rocky or wooded; 
and the house, unless of the bungalow order, should 
never be too close. In its proper setting the rustic 
summer-house can be decidedly picturesc|ue. 
Here the architect's services are not necessary. Rus¬ 
tic summer-houses of excellent design ,are manufac¬ 
tured by several reliable companies, or any person of 
taste can design one (if only he will remember to keep 
it simple) and have a carpenter put it up or even do 
the entire thing himself. The cedar posts should be 
gathered in the autumn when the sap is going down, 
otherwise the bark is sure to peel. Plenty of insects will 
be found lodged under the bark, so the posts should be 
carefully spr,ayed with some transparent insecticide. 
Creosote and kerosene are both highlv efficacious, but 
are too inflammable to be recommended, especially 
where logs are to remain stored in the cellar all winter. 
In designs these cedar retreats are usually square, 
hexagonal, or octagonal, with the roof pitching up¬ 
wards from the corners, its rafters terminating in a 
king post which may project down below or up above. 
If above, a bird roost may be built around it and add 
to the interest. _ The design decided on, and the 
site selected (preferably 
in the roughest part of 
the grounds), the first 
move to make is to clear 
the ground, remove .all 
roots, and throw in stones 
to prevent further 
growth. Next comes the 
question of foundations, to 
which great care must be 
given, for no matter how 
crude the intended struc¬ 
ture it must not look out 
of plumb. Either the 
corners may be supported 
by sturdy cedar posts set 
at least four feet in the 
ground; or if built on a 
rocky ledge the supports 
for the sill can be well se¬ 
lected flat stones that will 
not slide under the 
weight of the whole; in 
case the rock is a slant¬ 
ing one a few iron anch- 
When the vines grew on this house it appeared much more attractivi 
than in its bare state shown opposite 
Do not use shingles for rustic 
work; bark is better 
ors should be driven into it. 
Unless the sill is made per¬ 
fectly level no end of difficul¬ 
ties will be encountered, and 
one of the surest ways of 
having it so is to use di¬ 
mension timber, which 
will surely give a true 
bearing for the floor 
boards. In constructing 
the rustic pavilion, ordi¬ 
nary methods of framing 
are not followed. Instead 
all intersecting pieces 
must be carefully coped 
with each other; that is, 
what ever irregularities 
exist in the surface of a 
vertical piece must be cut 
correspondingly in the 
end of the horizontal piece 
abutting it and the whole 
toe-nailed together (bor¬ 
ing first for the holes to 
avoid splitting). 
As a rustic pavilion is 
a very distinctive feature, 
quite in a class by itself, 
it is advisable to use but 
one material throughout 
—bark-covered wood ; the 
only exception might be a board floor, though even here pine- 
needles or rushes are more in character. Stone or concrete for the 
floor would be unsympathetic and suggest the more formal styles. 
Equally out of place would be a ceiling of matched boarding; in¬ 
stead, the roof supports should show and the roof itself should be 
—not shingles, for their cut surface does not harmonize with the 
rest of the work—but cedar, bark slabs, or tbatch. To roof with 
cedar, round sticks are cut in between the corner rafters and set 
at right angles to the sides. Such a roof is not watertight, al¬ 
though it may be rendered nearly so by filling up the interstices 
with moss and clay. However, absolute waterproofness is hardly 
a necessity. Bark slabs are more impermeable, and thatch abso¬ 
lutely so. As this last is in addition eminently picturesque, and as 
the summer-house is one of the few buildings which permit of its 
practical use in America, it is to be regretted that it is not more 
often seen. But this applies to real thatch, not simulated shingle 
{Continued on page 48) 
1 he iernpietlo may be properly built of 
wood. It adds to the formal garden 
Colonial workers made an inviting and cosy garden shelter of a brick paved 
latticed arbor thick with vines 
