Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/279

 COTTAGE DWELLINGS IN VARIOUS STYLES. 255 having strings on the under side, is made tight by them to the rafters, while it is kept close down at the eaves by lines which are sewed along the margin of the canvass, and tied tight at the angles. All that is now wanting to complete the cottage are eight short posts, on which to place the sleepers, so as to raise the floor above the surface, in order 455 WJ to keep it dry. These, however, may be generally dispensed with ; for on very dry soils, or where the ground falls from the site on every side, the sleepers may be laid on the ground ; and even in situations flat, and not very dry, a ditch may be dug round the