Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/122

 98 COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE. Design XXVI. — A Cottage Dwelling in tJie German Swiss Style fur a Man and his Family, uiih accovimodation for two Horses and a Cow. 203. Accommodation. This description of dwelling is common in the northern parts of the continent of Europe, and also in Switzerland. To economize heat, no less than to save expense in the first erection, the apartments for the domestic animals, and the places for carts, ploughs, and other country machines and implements, are all contained under the same roof. The occupier of such a dwelling is commonly a very small farmer, who joins to this occupation some description of trade or commerce ; such as a carrier, coach-driver, jobber in cattle, fisherman, hunter, &c. ' There is a great objection to having cattle and horses under the same roof with living rooms for human beings, on account of the smells and insects generated by the former ; but it must be recollected that in the warm season, the cattle are seldom in the house, and that during winter in the North of Europe, the great difficulty in human dwellings is to maintain heat. We have lodged in various dwellings of this descrip- tion, from Stockholm to Naples, both in summer and winter, and cannot recollect that we ever felt much inconvenience from smells, but certainly some from insects. We do not, however, recommend this Design, where the expense of erecting the offices apart from the dwellings is not an object. — In the ground plan of this building, we have a place for a cart, waggon, or other carriage, and for ploughs and other implements of agriculture or trade, a ; a three-stalled stable for two horses and a cow, 6; aback kitchen, c; a privy, d; and a pigsty, e. On the principal floor, we have an entrance under a porch, ascended to by an exterior stair, /; a sitting-room, g' ; pantry, h; light closet, i; kitchen, A' ; closet under the stairs, I; bed-room stairs, m; and three balconies, n, w, n. The chamber floor consists of two bed-rooms, and two bed-closets. 204. Construction. The foundations, and the first story, as high as the floor of the living-rooms, are supposed to be built of stone, or brick with rusticated stone corners; the upper part of the building is en- tirely of timber. The roof is shown as covered with thatch, and without gutters. In Switzerland, where timber is abundant, and labour not high, the railing for the stairs and balconies of such a building is commonly massive, and very curiously carved. We have given a specimen, fig. 184, on a scale of half an inch to a foot, of a suitable railing to such a balcony. 205. Situation. Were such a building to be erected in England, it could only be for the sake of its character, and therefore the proper situation for it would be in a romantic, woody vale, glen, or dingle, like those of the Soufli of Germany, and especially the valley of Kinzigthal, from a cottage in which, engraved and published, the idea of the present Design is taken. There are many situations in Wales, and in the West of England, and some in Scotland, where the appearance of such a cottage would raise up interesting associations in the mind of a continental traveller, and would fill the stationary inhabitants with surprise, and by exciting inquiry, might lead| to the improvement of their taste. We are naturally indifferent" about what we do not understand ; but the moment we begin to have a knowledge of any subject, we take an interest in it, which incites us to further inquiry, and ultimately brings us to an acquaintance with what is right or wrong, beautiful or deformed. To teach men to think is the grand object of every effiart for promoting human improvement. 206. General Estimate. Cubic contents, 16,980 feet, at Gd. per foot, £424 : IO5. ; at d., £283; andat 3d., £212:5s. 207. Criticism. The effect of the walls of the ground story being of stone is good, by giving the idea of great solidity in itself, and of stability and security in the superstructure. The three balconies are calculated to be very useful, and are not liable to the same objection as those exhibited in Design IX. ; because they are not connected with any of the bed- room windows (see § 106). The outside stair, by artificially increasing the distance between the living-rooms and the stable, must in some measure diminish the quantity of effluvia from the cattle, conveyed thither by the clothes of those who attend on them. The eaves ought to have the addition of an ample gutter ; and for our own taste, we should have pre- ferred having two windows in each gable end, and none in the roof; dividing the garrets lengthways. We should not have truncated the gable, and we should have made a better preparation for the chimney stack, raising it higher, and in a bolder style.