Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/782

 7<58 COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE. l:>99 Sect. III. Of the FinisJdng, Fittings-up, Fixtures, and Ftirniture of Parochial Schools. 1607. The Finishing of both the Exterior and the Interior of Schoolrooms ought to be simple and substantial, iis being less liable to be injured by the childi-en ; and because, when children are brought up in the midst of simplicity and plainness, they are rendered more independent in after-life. The interior surface of the walls sh(5uld be built so smooth as not to require plastering ; or, if plastering becomes requisite, the plastered surface ought to be lined out so as to indicate brick or stone ; in other words, so as to give the expression of the simplest description of wall. Instead of lime-whiting such walls once a year, we would wash them over with alkali (pot or pearl ashes) or lime water ; which, while it did not obliterate the forms of the stones or bricks, would, equally with lime-whiting, contribute to the purification of the air. The lower parts of the v/alls all round the schoolroom should be wainscoted, or lined with boards, to the lieight of six feet ; not only for warmth to the backs of the children when seated against them, but to preserve their clothes, and the hats of the boys, from the lime of the wall. Instead of a plastered or bordered ceiling, it is preferable to leave the space from the floor to the roof perfectly open, because ceilings are found to reverberate the soimd. The timbers of the roof may be occasionally oiled ; but, as a matter of taste, we certainly should neither whitewash them nor paint them, because we would not destroy the genuine expression of strength produced by the real veins of wood. Where iron is substituted for wood, painting, of course, is unavoidable. 1608. The Fittings-up and Fixtures of schools depend on the age of the children, and on the systeni of instruction according to which they are to be taught. The fittings-up of an infant school differ from those of a scliool for children of a greatei age, in having the seats from nine inches to a foot high, instead of sixteen or eighteen inches high. The hat pins are also jiroportionately lower, and are generally about three feet from the ground ; while those in other schools arc five feet. A form or seat for an infant school, when fixed, and with a back, should not be more than nine inches wide, in order to keep the children upright ; and, tor the same reason, there ought to be a bead along the floor, about six inches from the front liueof the seat, for the infants to place their heels against, to aid them in keeping themselves up. Fig. 1400 is a section of the wall seats in the infani. school in Baldwin's Gardens, in which a is the bead ; b, the seat ; and c, a row of pins for hanging the lessons on, and also their hats. The stage or gallery peculiar to infant schools and its proportions have been already mentioned, § 15^2. Fig. 1401 is a section of the gallery in the infant school in Baldwin's Gardens, and fig. 1402 is a front