HOUSE. The hoiisds of this country have undergone Many changes' of form and con struction. Three ago they were constructed in a very different manner from the houses of the present century. The chief materials were wood and plaster; and a com mon but peculiar feature was the projecting lupper floors. The internal arrangement was adapted to the wants of that day, and the ex , ternal architecture had often a picturesque ' appearance. After the • great fire of London the advantage of building in cities with brick or stone beeanie so •pparent, as well as the adoption' of regularity;. that great change place in house-building in the extended by degrees to the houses:Which were from time to time rebuilt threugliont the country. In this gradual change have almost • eiltirelY disappeared the with large bow windows, the wooden gallerieS round the cjnadrangular courts; the. boldly prOjecting dripping eaves, and; the roofs with their' large In London and othei large towns, Story is for the most part built helow the level of the ground, the earth being excavated for purpose; ibis floor usually contains' the kitchen and the rooms for the Use of the domestics: English houses are in general well provided with means for carrying off water and all impurities which require to be removed from the premises ; that is, the better houses in ,the large towns are so pro vided; but many improvements must be yet introduced before the'same can be said of the mass of dwellings: The houses of the poorer Classes are too often, negligently constructed. In their construction;' convenience, and a wholesome ventilation, should be mainly tiew; and these may be united with as much picturesque beauty as the nature of the materials will admit of without increasing the expense.
The English and Scotch cottages differ in their appearance and arrangement. The best Erig,lish cottages of recent construc tion are built of brick and covered with slate.
The use of these materials has changed the character of this class of dwellings. In.many cottages the chimney-stack forms the prifici• pal bearing of the floors and' roof. The Scotch cottage. has not only a different t appearance when compared with the English, but; from its being so much wider, it admits Of two apartments being formed on the ground floor; this is also a matter of necessity; as they are seldom raised more than one story. The ma• terial for the•walls is most commonly stone ; thc: roof is large arid heavy in appearance, and has but a. small projection beyond the walls ; the gable walls also run up frequently above the roof; forming a parapet, which is sometimes notched so as to resemble steps; or has a battlement appearance. As the French
and Italians of the Middle classes do not generally live in separate houses like the Eng lish, hut on floors containing a series of rooms, it follows that 'the arrangeffient of their houses differs from that of the English. The stair case, as in publie chambers, is • common to each floor. The roan* communicate, with each other, and generelly with a passage or balcony on one side; chimneys ere rare, stoves being most commonly used to heat the rooms. French and Italian houses are mostly built of rough stone and stuccoed ; the floors are sel dom boarded, being.pavedeith glazed tiles or unglazed bricks, ..The Spanish., houses are very spacious ;. they have large, courts in the interior, and are formed with .galleries round the inside of the_ quadrangular courts : fami lies occupy the separate floors. The houses in many parts pf Germany approach nearer to the English m their arrangement than the French and Italian houses. In many places the houses are .a, framework of wood, and the interstices. are, filled.with unbaked bricks, and arc plastered with,clay. The ,pity architecture of Russian, ho,uscs, both in_ its. effect and ar rangement, resembles the architecture of Ita lian and Freah houses; wept that the roofs are covered. with painted. with vivid colours, mostly green and red. The windows are double., Many details connected with the building of houses will be found scattered under,vari ous headings in this work. With regard ,to the present state of,things in this of the most interesting social features is the attention now being made to the construction of healthy dwellings (at a moderate rent) for the working classes.:. j•!.; - ' • .HOWITZER,Is a short but broad-mouthed. cannon.. it is employed. to project solid. and hollow shot, loadekshells, carcasses, and case shot, either in thp point-blank direction or at angles of elevation, which hitherto have not exceeded: fifteen 'degrees. It is used against troops in the field, in the attack of redoubts or villages, and both in the attack and defence of regular fortresses. About the -year-1820, Colonel Paixhans,in France; constructed what were denominated ° canons obiisiers, for the purpose of projecting solid or hollow shot of great diameter : and in 1824 arid 1836 the late General Millar, in this cbuntrjr, executed for the like. purpose iron shell-'&ms, or •naval howitzers as they are called; whose-, calibres ate • 10 inches and 8 inchesrespectively. Besides these, 21-pounder and. 12-Pounder howitzerd are employed in the; British scr vicell '--.