Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/697

 INTERIOR FINISHING OF FARMERIES. 1292 G73 or barrow to be introduced under them, to receive the contents. For boiling grain, the cask for holding it differs from those used in steaming potatoes only by not having a hatch in the bottom, as the hatch could not be easily made tight, which is necessary in boiling barley, as water must be mixed with it in the same quantity, or nearly, as if it were to be boiled in a boiler the common way. It may be added, that the hatch not being tight, in boiling potatoes, is an advantage, and even necessary for allowing the con- densed steam to run out, and also all the earthy matter from the skins of the potatoes. In the figure, one of the casks is represented with the lid pressed down, by means of the vertical bar, which is employed for this purpose during the operation of steaming or boiling. In the other cask, the lid is represented as opened, with the vertical bar moved to one side. {Highland Soc Trans., vol. viii. p. 322.) 1 406. The Fixtures and Fumittire of Farm Labourers' Cottages differ in nothing from those already given for cottages generally. The grates ought always to be landlord's fixtures, and so ought the presses, cupboards, and dressers. It would add greatly to the comfort of the occupant if the bedsteads were also the property of the landlord ; because he would be saved the trouble of carrying them with liim on removal. This is some- times the case in gardeners' houses, where even the chairs, tables, and carpets are land- lord's property, and taken by one occupant after another at a valuation. All the fixtures and furniture of the boothy, or single men's room, ought to belong to the landlord ; and the valuable hint of Mr. Gorrie, that the bed-room ought never to be on the same floor with the sitting-room, in order to avoid the temptation of lying down on the beds at unseasonable times, ought not to be forgotten. Wrought-iron bedsteads are well suited for the married cottager ; and, where great strength and durability are the objects, there is a cast-iron bedstead, which may either be a fixture, as in fig. 1293, or made with four feet and portable, which is well adapted for the ploughman's room. These beds are the invention of Mr. Mallet of Dublin, and have been extensively used in Ireland. Most of the vessels for the boothy may be of cast iron tinned, such as are manufactured by Cottam in London, and Baird near Glasgow. The latter lias lately invented excellent cast-iron tea or coflfee pots, at 2«. 6d. each ; and he sells tinned tumblers at d. each, tea-kettles at 2s. 6rf. each, together with a number of other articles particularly suitable for the boothy, because they are little liable to be injured or broken. These articles, which might be purchased by the landlord, would last for many years, and contribute materially to the comfort of the inhabitants of the boothy. We have already shown how, in the case of all farmeries where there is a steaming apparatus for cooking food for cattle, the floors, both of the boothy and the adjoining married meji's cottages, might be heated by steam, which to them would be a great source both of economy and comfort. 1407. As Fiit^tres belonging to the Farmery in general, rather than to any one part in particular, we include a pump ; of which the most suitable kind for farmeries is that of cast iron, fig. 1294 ; which, according to the bore, or diameter, may be had at various prices from £2 upwards; the total price depending on the length of tube required to reach the bottom of the well. With the pump is necessarily connected a cistern, or 4 G