1 HOUSE AND GARDEN 
170 
May, 1910 
to my mind, distinctly disingenuous. Stucco represents the idea 
of plaster on a backing of some form of masonry—stone, brick, 
terra cotta, or what not, but never a cover for a wood frame. 
Now, there is one question which has to be considered in 
building, and consequently in designing, every house; and that 
is the question of materials. “Of what shall we build our house?” 
is a question that has to be settled first of all for every case. 
Frequently there are only two or three materials that are to be 
had, without undue expense, and usually the materials of the 
locality are the ones to use. Rightly used, they will generally 
give results which seem harmonious and fitting. 
Of course, in this country the tradition is to build as much as 
possible of wood. Formerly wood was the cheapest as well as 
the quickest material to use, and the idea that wood is cheap 
is so firmly ingrained that most people are surprised to learn 
how little basis there is at the present time for this belief. 
For some years there has been a well marked and increasing 
tendency among owners and architects to try to find some sub¬ 
stitute for frame construction. This is partly to be explained by 
the constant advance in the price of lumber and the fact that the 
difference in the expense of building in wood and some incom¬ 
bustible material is rapidly reaching the vanishing point; and 
partly by the growing conviction that the risks of fire in a wooden 
house are too great. People are realizing more and more fully 
that the extra expense of building either fireproof houses, or 
houses where the walls at least will resist fire, is more than justified 
by the added security obtained. Furthermore, the reduced cost 
of maintenance in buildings that do not require frequent painting 
is a factor that appeals more and more strongly to prospective 
builders, especially if they have had experience with the constant 
drain for repairs brought about in even a well built frame house. 
Now, undoubtedly, the most economical and straightforward 
way of building in fireproof or semi-fireproof construction is to use 
straight simple wall surfaces with the minimum of breaks, and 
to stop the wall at an even height. 
If the top of the walls are protected from the action of the 
weather by a projection of the roof, you have the maximum of 
efficiency with the minimum of effort 
and expense. These conditions natu¬ 
rally suggest the sort of building so 
prevalent in central Italy and espe¬ 
cially in Florence. 
In other words, they suggest the 
Italian type of building, with its plain, 
simple wall surfaces, its long, hori- 
Mark Twain’s home, “ Stormfield,” at Redding Ridge, Conn., is an ex¬ 
cellent example of Italian motives applied to American needs. 
Howells & Stokes, architects 
A large part of the charm evident in the smaller Italian villas is due to 
a well considered lack of stiff symmetry 
An American’adaptation that shows the distinctively Italian loggia treatment for an interior 
courtyard. Charles A. Platt, architect 
In the living-room of [Casa del Ponte (see 
frontispiece). Slee & Bryson, architects 
