An inducement to make the Windows narrow, was the length of the stones, which would not have been easily obtained otherwise. In order to procure the greatest quantity of light, the sashes were glazed with planes ofglass comparatively much larger than those used in English cottages, and the sides of the windows were splayed from the glass-f•ame, so as to fibrin very obtuse angles with the interior surface of the wall. The windows of the Scottish cottage are thus not only very ferent from those of the English, in bein,7 dressings, and of a different proportion, but also in their manner of glazing and shutting tlegn. The chininev:l are either carried tip in one or both gables. or in a partition-wall, which sepa rates the two apartments in the length; w hen carried up in the ends, as the walls are always made sufficiently thick to receive the dues, the walls are not recessed upon the flanks of the stalk of chimneys. in order to save materials. Those, con sisting of crude stone cemented with mortar, lid ng of little value. The chimney shafts, or the turrets surmounting the roof are generally plain, finished on the top with a coping of hewn-stone.
In many old constructions of Scottish cottages. the chimney is placed in the front-wall, with a large recess all round the fire, which gave great advantage, in admitting more than double the number which the modern construction admits of and was therefore useful in times when the master and his servants sat in common with each other. In the old construc tions, the roof was covered with thatch, turf, or heath. as being the niost ready materials; but these. as in England, have generally given place to the more durable coverings of slate and tile, for similar reasons.
Few appendages are used in Scottish cottages; and in days of old, so little attention was paid to cleanliness. that the cot tager who was blessed with a cow. admitted the beast to lodge at night in the same house with Iiiniselt, without any other partition than the back of a lied or press, to separate his apartment from that of the animal. We are. however, happy to find, that among many other improvements in the north. comfort and cleanliness are now as much objects of the w ishes of the inhabitants. as in other Harts of the I 'tilted Kingdom ; but even in the present time. from the impression of ancient forms, though the eow-house be separat, d limn the cottage, they are still in one continued formal line. and want that picturesque beauty which an appendage would give. as in the English cottage.
The common kind of the present cottages in the north, are made very wide, either to receive a framed bedstead and press, or to tlu•m rt: by means of a partition. for alt • reception of the bed and cupboard. on the si le of the apal t »tent opposed to the window.
The gables on some of I cottages in North Britain. are sur in„ont,, I steps, sides Of the roof. instead ef pldu which formed the thatch-way.
:see ettish arc frequently decorated by training lioneysucklf s or ivy 111)141 the Malls, and a row of house•leek is disposed along tile ridge. and not outitqie'ntly upon the s,oping sides. in case of a thatched roof.
l'he materials to be used in the erection of cottages will necessarily depend in ti groat measure on the locality in ‘‘hich they are to he (•otta7es are built of day, or turf bricks with wood. crude stone. fl ut. large pebbles, rah.
used tor the are turf, straw. tiles, slate, tarred paper. tessera. &e. \\rho) lir abounds, as in the north Soot land. tilt,: timber may lie used both for boarding 811(1 scant ling; in plaeesy ichling stone—that material with flag-stones- refuting.
In sonic parts of Lancashire, houses are !milt with a frame work of wood. tilled up with wattled shed-work, and afier eoN with a of and wit straw. locally tCrlin•I clot and this4, plastered and lime hited, has it neat appeal-an'. In Devonshire, walls of a similar el1%104T are (failed "cob-walls ;" in France, pise. in the departeneent of the 14re,, Rhone, and Din. the of \\idyll are formed with this material, have existed tin• upwards of a century. and etrectually resist the inclemency of the weather.
Clay may be used with advantage in a similar manner in this country if properly prepared. and applied with judgment. It should by well tompcIvii, :lint mixed with a portion el fine gravel. or sand ; this !meditat•s the drying. emnisfsition from •rackintr. In forming the walls, fix 1en puralily in the ground two parallel rows of poles. planked on the inner sides—a space of :20 inches between being left for the tIckness ()I• the wall: ram the prepared clay well into this space, raising the planks as the work proceeds, care being taken that the walls are carried up perpendicular. Iron should be laid diagonally in the substance of the wall. as bond. Over all the openings. stout lintel should he laid ; and the door and window-fratnes fixed as the worn: pro gresses. When the walls have set. remove the planks and poles. which may serve as timber for joists and rafters. After the walls VI m1pleted and thoreeughly dry, the exterior may be rough-cast, an a coating of plaster laid on the interior, A good method of keeping such walls dry, is to build in, at intervals. small pertbrated drainpipes. These should be hid in the substance of the walls. the bottom resting upon a framed opening defended by a east-iron air-brick ; the top having a small orifice under the eaves leading outward. The current of air passing through these pipes will carry off all i1ii&4111'0 (Alining the walls. The improvement, of the dwelling, of the industrial classes is now occupying, in a con siderable degree, the attention of philanthropists, Several sl•icties have been formed expressly to carry out so bene •o:ent an object. and their attention has been especially directed to the erection of a better description of elettage fie• the agricultural labourer. The y oung architect. in the outset of his professional career, may possibly be called upon to fo•nish designs for such buildings, 31141 with a view to assist hint, we have subjoined the tiello•ing specification principally taken from a work we have before quoted, :11 T. .1r. Dean is a practical architect. and is thoroughly master of the subject on which he has written ; and his "Essays" may be consulted with advantage by those who a-c about to erect agricultural buildings.