BASEMENT, the lowest story of a building, on which an order is placed, consisting of a base, die, and cornice. The choragic monument of Lysicrates is a beautiful example of an antique basement. In modern buildings, the height of the basement will vary according to the character of the edifice : it is proper, however, to make the basement no higher than the order of the next story, for this would be making the base of more importance in the composition than the body to be supported. It' the cellar story is the base ment, and if the height does not exceed five or six feet at the most, it may be plain, or with rustics, or formed into a continued pedestal ; but it' the basement is on the ground story, the usual manner of decorating it is with rustics, sup ported on a base and surmounted with a. crowning string course : the base may be either a plain or moulded plinth; and the cornice may either have a plat-band or mouldings under it, or may form a cornice of small projection. The rustics are either of a rectangular or triangular section, supposing one of the sides of these sections to be a line extending across the front of the joints. The joints of the rustics may be from one-eighth to a tenth part of their height ; the depth of the triangular joints may be half their breadth ; that is, making the two planes by which they are formed a right angle; and the depth of the rectangular frotn one-fiuirth to one-third of their breadth.
The ancients always marked both directions of the joints of the rustles. whereas the moderns employ not only the ancient manner, but sometimes make them with horizontal joints alone : the latter, however, represent rather a boarded surfitee than that of a stone wall, which must have two direc tions of joints.
The height of the string course should not exceed the height of a rustic with its joints ; nor the plinth. or zo•holo, be less than the height of the string course. When the basement is perflu.ated with arcades, the imposts of the arches may be a plat-band, which may be equal to the height of a rustic, exclusive of the joint. \nen the string course is a cornice, the base may be moulded, the projection of the cornice being two-thirds of its height, so as to be less prominent than that which finishes the building. The height of the cornice may be about one eighteenth part of the height of the basement, and that of the base, about twice as much. divided into six parts, of which the lower tire-sixths form the plinths, and the upper sixth the mouldings.