Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/38

 14 COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE. 6 shine on all the exterior walls of the cottasre, and also in at all the windows, every fine day in the year, for the sake of keeping the walls dry, and the interior warm and cheerful. This object may be accomplished by placing any building, which is, or can be, resolved into a square, or parallelogram, on the ground plan, so as that a north and south line will form the diagonal figure. This being done, the out-offices should be placed on the north-west side of the square, or parallelogram, as in Design L The dairy and the pantry should always, if possible, be placed on the same side, or with a north-east aspect, for the sake of coolness. Tanks for water should also be on the same side, and under ground, for the same reason. 25. Construction. The walls of this cottage may be built of stone, or brick, or earth ; but either of the two former are, undoubtedly, preferable to the latter, both in point of strength and durability. In situations, however, where these materials are too expensive, or cannot be obtained, every part of the walls here shown above the platform, may be formed of earth, either in ihe pise manner, by compressed blocks, or by lumps of loam or mud mixed with straw. Each of these modes will be described hereafter. In Design I. we have shown the walls as if built of brick, eleven inches wide, with a vacuity in the centre. This we propose to be done by keeping the width of the wall at eleven inches, working the out- side fair (even) ; and, on the inside, keeping the headers or cross bricks, fig. 7, a, one inch within the line of the stretch- ^ iiig or lengthway bricks, b, and keeping these length- way bricks two inches apart along the centre of the wall, c. Walls built in this way are much handsomer on the fair side; at least equally strong with solid walls ; always dry, and less easily penetrated by the cold in winter, or the heat in summer. The inner surface, being uneven, is peculiarly favourable for receiving and retaining the plaster. Hollow cottage walls may also be built by placing the bricks, both headers and stretchers, on edge, as first practised by Mr. Silverlock, of Chichester. They may be also built with bricks halved lengthways, by cutting with a knife or wire before burning, as recommended by Mr. Dearne. {Hints on an improved Method of Building, SfC. London, 8vo. 1821.) Both these modes will be afterwards described. The roof may be covered with tiles, slates, thatch, &c., at pleasure or convenience. Other ordinary particulars of construction and arrange- ment have been incidentally mentioned in describing the ground plan, § 16, and in figs. 1 to 5, § 17 to 22. Some which are less common follow. 26. Platform, or Terrace. The principal use of this part of our plan, is to keep the living floor of the cottage dry, and to prevent the necessity, in moist situations, of much ex- cavation for the sunk apartments. Secondary advantages are, that it furnishes a neat and comfortable walk round the house, and adds to the dignity and stability of its appearance. To have the walls of so artificial and importatit an object as a house, rising abruptly from a plain flat surface, whether that surface be dug or covered with turf,— in short, whether it be a garden or a field, cannot be considered as either in harmony with nature or reason. Every work of art is recognised as such by the appearance which it displays of design ; and the