Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 68.djvu/377

Rh in which cottages in certain situations are to be permitted of wood or other material.

A powerful impulse has been given to improvement in country housing by the articles on the subject which have appeared in the Country Gentleman and Spectator, which have, as by natural magic, invoked the enchanting village at Letchworth, which is now on exhibition, and which I would recommend every sanitary inspector concerned in rural affairs to visit and study diligently. He will there, while enjoying a pleasant picnic, have an instructive lesson, and be able to satisfy himself that a serviceable and comely cottage, in all respects suitable for a laborer or working man and his family, can be built for £150, including builder's profit. He will there see cottages of many different patterns, and built of many different materials, of stone, wood, brick, iron, concrete, cement, steel and plaster in various combinations, and will obtain from the catalogue full information about the price and specifications of each. He will see a marvelous display of ingenuity and contrivance in the fitting in, of domestic requirements and of making the most of next to nothing. No doubt his critical eye will detect flaws here and there, but everywhere he will perceive an intelligent deference to the claims of modern sanitation. The cottages vary greatly; each has an individuality of its own, but sunniness, airiness and coziness characterize almost all of them. They appeal to many tastes, but to no tastes that are vulgar or debased. They are pretty, but their prettiness is subordinate to their utility; they are picturesque, but not pretentious. Simplicity and cleanliness are the dominant ideas, and they are cheap with a cheapness that is unbelievable until they have been actually seen and examined, and compared with the estimates. Think of a detached cottage, well proportioned and artistic in design, with a living room with range 15 ft. 6 in. x 11 ft. 4 in., scullery with bath, hot and cold water, 9 ft. 4 in. x 7 ft. 6 in., three bedrooms 9 ft. high. 13 ft. 4 in. x 9 ft., 13 ft. 4 in. x 9 ft. and 8 ft. 6 in.; with pantry, two cupboards, coal hole, shed for wood, water closet, water laid on, drains connected, rain water butt, floor of scullery and pantry tiled, and say whether it is dear at £150.

There are cottages at Letchworth adapted to different climates, and suitable to different districts according to the different material of which they are constructed. I saw some that I thought would scarcely survive a bias! of Boreas on a Scotch hillside, others that could withstand a hurricane; some that would be in place where timber is abundant, others where brick or iron are in the ascendant.

The village at Letchworth, unique in its diversity of cottage contours, planted on a bare common, hut in sight of stately elm trees circling a venerable church, and gaudy with many floral dyes and green embroideries, recalls, of course, Mrs. Heman's verse: