Chapter 1

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Spons' Household Manual This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: Spons' Household Manual Publisher: E. & F. N. Spon Release date: August 3, 2018 [eBook #57630] Language: English Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57630 Credits: Produced by Chris Curnow, John Campbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPONS' HOUSEHOLD MANUAL *** Produced by Chris Curnow, John Campbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. Bold text is denoted by =equal signs=. Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes have been placed at the end of the book. There are only 3 in this book. A superscript is denoted by ^x or ^{xx}, for example S^T. A subscript is denoted by _{x}, for example H_{2}O_{2}. Basic fractions are displayed as ½ ⅓ ¼ etc; other fractions are shown in the form a-b/c, for example 9/10 or 1-5/16. Quantities are separated from the unit by a space, for example ‘3 ft.’ or ‘12½ lb.’ Some quantities had a linking - such as ‘12½-lb.’ For consistency this - has been removed in the etext. Numerous minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book. SPONS’ HOUSEHOLD MANUAL: A TREASURY OF DOMESTIC RECEIPTS And Guide for HOME MANAGEMENT. [Illustration: (Publisher colophon)] London: E. & F. N. SPON, 125 STRAND. New York: SPON & CHAMBERLAIN, 12 CORTLANDT STREET. 1894 PREFACE. Time was when the foremost aim and ambition of the English housewife was to gain a full knowledge of her own duties and of the duties of her servants. In those days, bread was home-baked, butter home-made, beer home-brewed, gowns home-sewn, to a far greater extent than now. With the advance of education, there is much reason to fear that the essentially domestic part of the training of our daughters is being more and more neglected. Yet what can be more important for the comfort and welfare of the household than an appreciation of their needs and an ability to furnish them. Accomplishments, all very good in their way, must, to the true housewife, be secondary to all that concerns the health, the feeding, the clothing, the housing of those under her care. And what a range of knowledge this implies,--from sanitary engineering to patching a garment, from bandaging a wound to keeping the frost out of water pipes. It may safely be said that the mistress of a family is called upon to exercise an amount of skill and learning in her daily routine such as is demanded of few men, and this too without the benefit of any special education or preparation; for where is the school or college which includes among its “subjects” the study of such every-day matters as bad drains, or the gapes in chickens, or the removal of stains from clothes, or the bandaging of wounds, or the management of a kitchen range? Indeed, it is worthy of consideration whether our schools of cookery might not with very great advantage be supplemented by schools of general household instruction. Till this suggestion is carried out, the housewife can only refer to books and papers for information and advice. The editors of the present volume have been guided by a determination to make it a _book of reference_ such as no housewife can afford to be without. Much of the matter is, of course, not altogether new, but it has been arranged with great care in a systematic manner, and while the use of obscure scientific terms has been avoided, the teachings of modern science have been made the basis of those sections in which science plays a part. Much of the information herein contained has appeared before in lectures, pamphlets, and newspapers, foremost among these last being the _Queen_, _Field_, _Lancet_, _Scientific American_, _Pharmaceutical Journal_, _Gardener’s Chronicle_, and the _Bazaar_; but it has lost nothing by repetition, and has this advantage in being embodied in a substantial volume that it can always be readily found when wanted, while every one knows the fate of leaflets and journals. The sources whence information has been drawn have, it is believed, in every case been acknowledged, and the editors take this opportunity of again proclaiming their indebtedness to the very large number of lecturers and writers whose communications have found a place within these covers. THE EDITORS. CONTENTS. =Hints for selecting a good House=, pointing out the essential requirements for a good house as to the Site, Soil, Trees, Aspect, Construction, and General Arrangement; with instructions for Reducing Echoes, Water-proofing Damp Walls, Curing Damp Cellars Page 1 =Water Supply.=--Care of Cisterns; Sources of Supply; Pipes; Pumps; Purification and Filtration of Water 12 =Sanitation.=--What should constitute a good Sanitary Arrangement; Examples (with illustrations) of Well- and Ill-drained Houses; How to Test Drains; Ventilating Pipes, &c. 35 =Ventilation and Warming.=--Methods of Ventilating without causing cold draughts, by various means; Principles of Warming; Health Questions; Combustion; Open Grates; Open Stoves; Fuel Economisers; Varieties of Grates; Close-Fire Stoves; Hot-air Furnaces; Gas Heating; Oil Stoves; Steam Heating; Chemical Heaters; Management of Flues; and Cure of Smoky Chimneys 55 =Lighting.=--The best methods of Lighting; Candles, Oil Lamps, Gas, Incandescent Gas, Electric Light; How to Test Gas Pipes; Management of Gas 82 =Furniture and Decoration.=--Hints on the Selection of Furniture; on the most approved methods of Modern Decoration; on the best methods of arranging Bells and Calls; How to Construct an Electric Bell 95 =Thieves and Fire.=--Precautions against Thieves and Fire; Methods of Detection; Domestic Fire Escapes; Fireproofing Clothes, &c. 108 =The Larder.=--Keeping Food fresh for a limited time; Storing Food without change, such as Fruits, Vegetables, Eggs, Honey, &c. 112 =Curing Foods for lengthened Preservation=, as Smoking, Salting, Canning, Potting, Pickling, Bottling Fruits, &c.; Jams, Jellies, Marmalade, &c. 123 =The Dairy.=--The Building and Fitting of Dairies in the most approved modern style; Butter-making; Cheese-making and Curing 154 =The Cellar.=--Building and Fitting; Cleaning Casks and Bottles; Corks and Corking; Aërated Drinks; Syrups for Drinks; Beers; Bitters; Cordials and Liqueurs; Wines; Miscellaneous Drinks 168 =The Pantry.=--Bread-making; Ovens and Pyrometers; Yeast; German Yeast; Biscuits; Cakes; Fancy Breads; Buns 207 =The Kitchen.=--On Fitting Kitchens; a description of the best Cooking Ranges, close and open; the Management and Care of Hot Plates, Baking Ovens, Dampers, Flues, and Chimneys; Cooking by Gas; Cooking by Oil; the Arts of Roasting, Grilling, Boiling, Stewing, Braising, Frying 221 =Receipts for Dishes.=--Soups, Fish, Meat, Game, Poultry, Vegetables, Salads, Puddings, Pastry, Confectionery, Ices, &c., &c.; Foreign Dishes 244 =The Housewife’s Room.=--Testing Air, Water, and Foods; Cleaning and Renovating; Destroying Vermin 518 =Housekeeping, Marketing= 563 =The Dining-Room.=--Dietetics; Laying and Waiting at Table; Carving; Dinners, Breakfasts, Luncheons, Teas, Suppers, &c. 583 =The Drawing-Room.=--Etiquette; Dancing; Amateur Theatricals; Tricks and Illusions; Games (indoor) 648 =The Bedroom and Dressing-Room.=--Sleep; the Toilet; Dress; Buying Clothes; Outfits; Fancy Dress 699 =The Nursery.=--The Room; Clothing; Washing; Exercise; Sleep; Feeding; Teething; Illness; Home Training 746 =The Sickroom.=--The Room; the Nurse; the Bed; Sickroom Accessories; Feeding Patients; Invalid Dishes and Drinks; Administering Physic; Domestic Remedies; Accidents and Emergencies; Bandaging; Burns; Carrying Injured Persons; Wounds; Drowning; Fits; Frostbites; Poisons and Antidotes; Sunstroke; Common Complaints; Disinfection, &c. 755 =The Bathroom.=--Bathing in General; Management of Hot-Water System. 828 =The Laundry.=--Small Domestic Washing Machines, and methods of getting up linen; Fitting up and Working a Steam Laundry 848 =The Schoolroom.=--The Room and its Fittings; Teaching, &c. 862 =The Playground.=--Air and Exercise; Training; Outdoor Games and Sports 870 =The Workroom.=--Darning, Patching, and Mending Garments 890 =The Library.=--Care of Books 903 =The Farmyard.=--Management of the Horse, Cow, Pig, Poultry, Bees, &c. 907 =The Garden.=--Calendar of Operations for Lawn, Flower Garden, and Kitchen Garden 930 =Domestic Motors=--A description of the various small Engines useful for domestic purposes, from 1 man to 1 horse power, worked by various methods, such as Electric Engines, Gas Engines, Petroleum Engines, Steam Engines, Condensing Engines, Water Power, Wind Power, and the various methods of working and managing them 936 =Household Law.=--The Law relating to Landlords and Tenants, Lodgers, Servants, Parochial Authorities, Juries, Insurance, Nuisance, &c. 955 SPONS’ HOUSEHOLD MANUAL. _THE DWELLING._ It is both convenient and rational to commence this volume with a chapter on the conditions which should guide a man in the choice of his dwelling. Unfortunately there is scarcely any subject upon which ordinary people display more ignorance, or to which they pay so little regard. In the majority of instances a dwelling is chosen mainly with regard to its cost, accommodation, locality, and appearance. As to its being healthy or otherwise, no _evidence_ is volunteered by the owner, and none is demanded by the intending resident. The consequences of this indifference are a vast amount of preventible sickness and a corresponding loss of money. The following remarks are intended to educate the house-seeker in the necessary subjects, being subdivided under distinct headings for facility of reference. =Site.=--Of modern scientists who have studied the great health question, none has more ably treated the essentials of the dwelling than Dr. Simpson in his lecture for the Manchester and Salford Sanitary Association. This Association has done wonders in improving sanitation in the Midlands, and we cannot do better than follow Dr. Simpson’s teaching. _Soil._--He insists, first of all, on the great importance of the soil being _dry_--either dry before artificial means are used to make it so, or dry from drainage. To this end some elevation above the surrounding land conduces. A hollow below the general level should, as a matter of course, be avoided; for to this hollow the water from all the adjacent higher land will drain, and if the soil be impervious the water will lodge there. It will thus be damp, and, as is well known, it will be a colder situation than neighbouring ones which are a little raised above the general level. Those who live where they can have gardens will find the advantage of the higher situation in its being much less subject to spring and early autumn frosts than the hollow just below. This is due not only to the former being damper, but to the fact that the heat of the ground on still nights passes off into space (is “radiated”) more rapidly than from the higher situation, where there is more movement in the air. The soil should not be retentive of moisture, as clay is when undrained; nor should it be damp and moist from the ground water (concerning which a few words will be said farther on), as is much alluvial soil, i.e. soil which has been at some former time carried down and deposited by rivers or floods. On the whole, sand or gravel, if the site be sufficiently elevated, is probably the best, as it allows all water to get away rapidly. Then come various rocks, as granite, limestone, sandstone, and chalk. Towns often present one specially dangerous, and therefore specially objectionable soil--that where hollows have been filled up with refuse of all kinds. This refuse is made up of all kinds of vegetable, and, more or less, animal matter, often of the most noxious character, together with cinders, old mortar, and no one knows what besides. This becomes a foul fermenting mass, which is often built upon and the houses inhabited before the process of decomposition is completed, and the noxious gases cease to be given off. Many outbreaks of disease have been traced most unmistakably to this criminal act of putting up jerry buildings on pestilential sites. It is easy for any one to understand how this may be when he thinks of the way the house acts on the soil it is built upon, or rather on the moisture and gases contained in the soil. The house is warmed by the fires and by the people living in it, and the heated air has a tendency to rise. The pressure on the gases in the soil is lessened, and they are drawn up into the house, which acts as a suction pump. This could not happen if the foundation were air-tight; but this is rarely the case, and too often indeed “cottage property” is built without any foundation at all. Drs. Parkes and Sanderson recommended that such soil should not be built upon “for at least two years,” but it would be well to give it another year. Attention must also be paid to the “ground water”--the great underground sea of which we find evidences almost anywhere that we seek for them. Sometimes it is found even a foot or two only from the surface, in other places at 15, 20, or 40 ft. This water rises and falls in some places rapidly, rising after heavy rains, and falling in dry weather. If it is always near the surface, the place must be damp and unhealthy; and we should try to find out something about the ground water before fixing on the site of our house. If possible, do not live where it is less than 5 or 6 ft. from the surface. _Trees._--Vegetation assists in rendering the soil healthy. Trees absorb large quantities of moisture from the soil, and sometimes, as in the case of the blue gum-tree of Australia, they seem even to do something more than this. It is said that the common sunflower of our gardens has a considerable influence in this way. Trees should not be crowded close to a house, as they keep off much sun, and so neutralise some of their good effects, but at a reasonable distance they are beneficial. _Aspect._--The aspect of a dwelling will necessarily be made to vary with the climatic conditions of the locality in which it is situated. In northern latitudes, such as Great Britain occupies, we are rarely oppressed by sunshine, and need not seek special protection from it. We should rather be anxious not to be deprived too much of its genial and life-giving rays. On the other hand, we are often visited by bleak and bitter winds, and though a free circulation of air is desirable round a dwelling, there should be some shelter to break the violence of a cold prevailing wind. In the country, where in all probability there is no system of drainage for the district, we should be careful not to place the house so as to receive our neighbour’s drainage, nor that from our own outbuildings. In a town the situation should be as open as can be obtained. The wider the street and the greater the open space at the back the better, and the back-to-back houses should be avoided altogether. (Simpson.) As Eassie remarks, in one of the Health Exhibition Handbooks, aspect and prospect have very much to do with comfort in housebuilding, since a dwelling may be designed so as to fully command the scenery while its plan might be very ill-adapted to the prevalent weather, and the sun’s daily course. A house having a pleasant prospect may be a decidedly unpleasant dwelling if the rooms have been arranged without regard to the points of the compass. This will become quite evident from a careful study of the annexed representation of Prof. Kerr’s “aspect compass” (Fig. 1), which illustrates most clearly the direction and character of the prevailing winds of this country, and the sunny and shady quarters, the imaginary window of the dwelling occupying the centre of the circle. Obviously, as Eassie points out, the effects of aspect will not be the same on the inside and outside of the room. Looking from a window in the north, the prospect or landscape will be lighted from behind; to the spectator looking from the south, it will never be go lighted; looking from the east, the landscape will be so lighted at sunset; and looking from the west, it will be well lighted throughout the day. The great thing is to reconcile aspect and prospect in the choice of a house; but this can seldom be done, and where it cannot, the question of aspect must be first attended to, as being of importance to the rooms, and the question of prospect made secondary. The north is not suitable for a drawing-room, because the aspect is cold; it is more suitable for a dining-room, as during the winter the prospect is not seen so much. When the room used for morning meals looks to the north, a bay window erected to the east will catch the early sunbeams, and render it pleasant. The northern aspect is too cold as a rule for bedrooms; but it is quite suitable for the servants’ day apartments, and admirably adapted to the larder and dairy. It is especially suited for staircases, as no blinds are requisite, and the passages can be maintained in a cool state. [Illustration: 1. Aspect Compass for Great Britain.] The north-east aspect--next to the north--is best for a dining-room; it is better for the servants’ offices than even the north; and when an end window is wanted for a drawing-room, this forms no unpleasant aspect. Bedrooms which face north-east enjoy the morning sun, and during the summer range are agreeably cool at night. With regard to the east, this is also a good aspect for the dining-room, especially when no distinction is made between the dining-room and the breakfast-room; and with regard to a sitting-room the more eastward tendency it has the better. It is not adapted for a drawing-room, because in the afternoon there is an entire want of sunshine, and on account of the unhealthy east winds. This point of the compass is suitable, however, for a library or business-room, because by the time breakfast is over the sun will fairly have warmed the interior of the room. It is also a good aspect for the porch, and one side of a conservatory should always face the east. The south-east aspect is most suitable for the best rooms of a house, because it escapes some of the east wind, and part of the scorching heat and beating rain of the south. It is admirably adapted, therefore, for a drawing-room or day-room, is the most pleasant aspect for bedrooms, and is best suited for the nursery or for the rooms of an invalid. The south-west aspect is the least congenial of all, because it is so open to a sultry sun and blustering winds. This aspect should never be chosen for a dining-room; in summer it is unpleasantly hot for bedrooms; and it is not suitable for a porch or entrance, on account of the driving rains which prevail during a portion of the year. The south aspect is not very desirable for the windows of a dining-room, and is unpleasant for a morning-room, unless a verandah has been provided. The larder and dairy should never face the south. The west aspect is not quite agreeable for a dining-room, on account of the excessive heat prevailing in the summer afternoons; neither is it desirable for the drawing-room; and it should never preferably be chosen for bedrooms, although it is very agreeable for a smoking-room. One side of a conservatory should always face to the west. The north-west aspect is very good for a billiard-room, also for a dining-room, if the windows are fitted up with blinds to shade the sun. =Construction.= _Foundation._--Bearing in mind what Dr. Simpson has said as to the house acting as a suction pump, drawing up moisture and gases, often most noxious, from the soil on which it is built, it is clear that the foundation ought to be air-tight and water-tight; for besides the emanations due to the soil, we must remember that escape from the gas-pipes laid in the street is a very common occurrence, that sewers are apt to leak, and so the soil in the neighbourhood of houses may become saturated with filth. Fatal instances are known where coal gas and other foul vapours have been drawn, as it were, long distances and poisoned the air of a house or houses. The only way of guarding against this is to have the foundations, and some distance outside the foundations, laid in concrete. There should also be a space between the basement wall and the surrounding earth. No one, in Eassie’s opinion, would think of building a dwelling on a patch of ground without first removing the vegetable mould to some depth below the level of the floor; and however good the soil, it is very desirable to cover the site with a layer of concrete to keep out damp and bad exhalations. Rawlinson even advises a bed of charcoal below the concrete. Simpson insists that if a cottage floor has to be laid on the bare ground, there ought at least to be a bed of good concrete below the tiles. Cellars add to the dryness and healthiness of a house if the walls and floors are made impervious to air and water, and are properly ventilated. The walls of the house ought to have a damp-proof course to prevent the moisture rising in them. To show the importance of this, Simpson quotes a well-known fact, but one seldom thought of when we look at the brick walls of our houses. An ordinary well-baked brick, which is 9 in. long, 4½ in. broad, and 2½ in. deep, though apparently solid, is not really so. It contains innumerable minute spaces through which air may pass, and into which water may enter; and when it is soaked in the latter, and all the air is driven out, it will contain nearly 16 oz. (the old pint) of water. If one brick will retain in its pores so large a quantity, it is easy to see that a large wall may hold what most people would at first think an incredible amount. As Dr. de Chaumont says, “A cottage wall only 16 ft. long by 8 ft. high, and only one brick thick, might hold 46 gallons of water!” Walls may be made damp not only by water rising in them, but by rain driving against them, and by water running down from the roof in consequence of the stoppage of a rain-water pipe. The latter cause is simple and easily remedied, but the former is far too frequent in cheaply-built houses. It may be prevented by having cavity walls, as they are called--that is, a double wall with a space between. There are several advantages from this. The air space, besides helping to keep the inner wall dry, is a good non-conductor, and so the house is all the warmer. There are other methods which may be used in addition to this, as cementing, plastering, or covering with slates or boards. There is some difference of opinion as to the advantage or disadvantage of the walls of a house being porous, as bricks are when dry; and Prof. de Chaumont seems to think that in our climate the porosity of the walls is not a point we need trouble ourselves about maintaining. Still, in Simpson’s opinion, with the ordinary arrangements of houses as regards supply of air and ventilation, some porosity of the walls is desirable. Without the freest and most perfect ventilation, walls absolutely impervious to air, and therefore to water in a gaseous form, will almost always be more or less damp on the inside. [Illustration: 2. Damp Course and Area Wall.] Another source of dampness in dwellings, as pointed out by Eassie, is to be found in the practice of building the house walls close against the earth, without taking the precaution to erect a blind area-wall between the house wall and the earth excavation. Fig. 2 exhibits both these important improvements--the damp-course and the area-wall--applied to the same dwelling: _a_ represents the main wall of the house, and _b_ the area-wall, which is built against the excavated subsoil, leaving the space _c_ between the two walls; the thick black line underneath the floor-joist represents the damp-proof course, which interposes between the subsoil _d_, with the foundations built upon it, and the main wall of the house. This damp-proof course usually consists of a layer of pitch or asphalte, or slates bedded in cement, or specially glazed tiles, known as Taylor’s or Doulton’s manufactures. By the use of this impervious course, the upward passage of the ground water is effectually arrested. The intervening area _c_ it is also well to drain, but this water should never drain into the soil drain, if avoidable, and certainly not until it has been thoroughly disconnected. There should always, also, be a current of air introduced from the outer air, by way of ventilators put at the top of the blind area _c_, and an air brick placed above or below the damp-proof course--preferably above--in order that the space between the ground and the joists or stone flooring of the basement may be thoroughly ventilated. This ventilation is shown by the arrows between _e_ and _e_. Such air currents should always be provided under floors, whether there be a basement or not, and also always between the joists of the upper floors, and in the roof, in order to ward off dry-rot and ensure a constant circulation of air. (Eassie.) _Roof._--The first detail to be decided on is the “pitch” or slope to be given to the roof, and this will depend both on the nature of the covering material and the character of the climate. In the tropics, where rain falls in torrents, a flat pitch helps to counteract the rush of water; in colder regions the pitch must be such as to readily admit of snow sliding off as it accumulates, to prevent injury to the framework by the increased weight. The pitches ordinarily observed, stated in “height of roof in parts of the span,” are as follows:--Lead, 1/40; galvanized iron or zinc, ⅕; slates, ¼; stone, slate, and plain tiles, 2/7; pantiles, 2/9; thatch, felt, and wooden shingles, ⅓ to ½. In country districts the roofs of cottages and outbuildings are frequently covered with thatch. This consists of layers of straw--wheaten lasts twice as long as oaten--about 15 in. in thickness, tied down to laths with withes of straw or with string. Thatch is an excellent non-conductor of heat, and consequently buildings thus roofed are both cooler in summer and warmer in winter than others, and no better roof covering for a dairy can be found. Thatch is, however, highly combustible, and as it harbours vermin and is soon damaged, it is not really an economical material, though the first cost is small. A load of straw will do 1½ “squares” of roofing, or 150 superficial feet. First class thatching is an art not readily acquired. While really good thatching will stand for 20 years, average work will not endure 10. A convenient roofing material when wood is cheap and abundant consists of a kind of “wooden slates,” split pieces of wood measuring about 9 in. long, 5 in. wide, and 1 in. thick at one end but tapering to a sharp edge at the other. Shingles, or wooden slates, are made from hard wood, either of oak, larch, or cedar, or any material that will split easily. Their dimensions are usually 6 in. wide by 12 or 18 in. long, and about ¼ in. thick. Roofing felt is a substance composed largely of hair saturated with an asphalte composition, and should be chosen more for closeness of texture than excessive thickness. It is sold in rolls 2 ft. 8 in. wide and 25 yd. long, thus containing 200 ft. super in a roll. Before the felt is laid on the boards (¾ in. close boarding), a coating composed of 5 lb. ground whiting and 1 gal. coal tar, boiled to expel the water, is applied, while still slightly warm, on the boards themselves; the felt is then laid on, taking care to stretch it smooth and tight, and the outside edge is nailed closely with ⅞ in. zinc or tinned tacks. The most common application to a felt roof is simple coal tar brushed on hot and sprinkled with sharp sand. It is not well adapted to dwellings. Dachpappe is a kind of asphalte pasteboard much employed in Denmark; it is laid on close boarding at a very low pitch, and forms a light, durable covering, having the non-conducting properties of thatch. It is sold in rolls 2 ft. 9 in. wide and 25 ft. long, having a superficial content of 7½ sq. yd., at the rate of 1_d._ per sq. ft. When laid, it requires dressing with an asphalte composition called “Erichsen’s mastic,” sold at 9_s._ 9_d._ per cwt., 1 cwt. of the varnish sufficing to cover a surface of 65 sq. yd. Willesden paper is another extremely light, durable, and waterproof roofing material, which differs essentially from the 2 preceding substances in needing to be fixed to rafters or scantling, and requiring no boarding on the roof. It is a kind of cardboard treated with cuprammonium solution, and has become a recognized commercial article. It is made in rolls of continuous length, 54 in. wide, consequently, when fixing the full width of the card (to avoid cutting to waste), the rafters should be spaced out 2 ft. 1 in. apart from centre to centre, so that the edge of one sheet of card laid vertically from eaves to ridge will overlap the edge of the adjoining sheet 4 in. on every alternate rafter. By far the most important and generally used roofing material in this country is slate. Its splitting or fissile property makes it eminently useful as a roofing material, as, notwithstanding the fact that it is one of the hardest and densest of rocks, it can be obtained in such thin sheets that the weight of a superficial foot is very small indeed, and consequently, when used for covering roofs, a heavy supporting framework is not required. Slate absorbs a scarcely perceptible quantity of water, and it is very hard and close-grained and smooth on the surface; it can be laid safely at as low a pitch as 22½°. In consequence of this, the general introduction of slate as a roofing material has had a prejudicial effect upon the architectural character of buildings. The bold, high-pitched, lichen-covered roofs of the middle ages--which, with their warm tints, form so picturesque a feature of many an old-fashioned English country town--have given place to the flat, dull, slated roofs. The best roofing slate is obtained from North Wales, chiefly in the neighbourhood of Llanberis. Non-absorption of water is, of course, the most valuable characteristic; an easy test of this can be applied by carefully weighing one or two specimens when dry, and then steeping them in water for a few hours and weighing them again, when the difference in weight will of course represent the quantity of water absorbed. The light-blue coloured slates are generally superior to the blue-black varieties. (J. Slater.) Some architects bed the roofing slates in hydraulic cement, instead of having them nailed on dry in the usual way, which leaves them subject to be rattled by the wind, and to be broken by any accidental pressure. The cement soon sets and hardens, so that the roof becomes like a solid wall. The extra cost is 10 or 15 per cent., and it is good economy, considering only its permanency, and the saving in repairs; but, besides this, it affords great safety against fire, for slate laid in the usual way will not protect the wood underneath from the heat of a fire at a short distance. Tiles are much used in some districts, and are often made of a pleasant tint; but a great objection to all tiles is their porosity, which causes them to absorb much water, rotting the woodwork and adding to their own already considerable weight. Metallic roofing embraces sheet copper, sheet zinc, sheet lead, “galvanised” iron, and thin plates of “rustless” (Bower-Barff) iron. These materials are only used on flat or nearly flat spaces. _Floors._--Tiles or flags are most frequently used for the floors of kitchens, sculleries, and lobbies. They serve this purpose very well, as they are easily washed and not likely to be injured, but the joints should be made impervious to moisture. In some parts of the country, concrete is used; this answers very well for the same purpose, but it is not good for bedrooms, as it is so cold to the feet. Wood makes the most comfortable floor for sitting or bed rooms, and the best is hard wood capable of bearing a polish. From its convenience and cheapness, common deal is used very generally, and too often in a damp and unsound state, so that the boards shrink and wide gaps are left between. This allows all the foul air from any space--as a cellar or a cavity between the floor and the soil--to ascend into the room. The boards ought to be as close together as possible, and any spaces left between them should be packed tightly with oakum. If this is done, the floors may be stained and varnished, when they can be swept and rubbed clean, and do not require such frequent washing as the ordinary unvarnished floors. This is an important gain, for there is no doubt that emanations rising with the damp from newly-washed floors are often most injurious. If a varnished floor is washed, it dries almost at once. Spaces must be left under the floors, on the ground level, if they are of wood, or they will soon decay; and they ought to be well ventilated. Ceilings, leaving a space between them and the boards of the room above, have come into use, most likely to deaden sound. They often fail of this, while affording fine playgrounds to mice, and even rats. Well-laid boards, of sufficient thickness, and plugged with oakum, would, as regards health, be preferable. (Dr. Simpson.) _General Arrangement._--The chief points to be insisted on in a dwelling are enumerated by Simpson as follows:--Every room should obtain light and air from the outside, and there should be free communication from front to back, so that a current of air may pass through the house. What are called back-to-back houses are very objectionable, and to be carefully avoided. If there is a closet attached to the house, it should, as a matter of course, be ventilated by a window opening both above and below, and, if possible, should be built in a projecting wing or tower, and have double doors, with space between them for a window on each side, so as to have cross ventilation. When there is no closet in the house, it should be completely detached from it, and all piggeries, middens, &c., should be as far removed as possible. Speaking even of large houses, Eassie remarks that they are often very faultily planned in respect to the position in that portion of the interior which is usually appropriated to sinks and water-closets. In the basement, for instance, closets are often placed almost in the middle of the house, and the same mistake is committed on the floors above, a worse error by far; because then the closet would be placed on the landing of the stair opposite the best ground-floor, and chamber-floor rooms--the only ventilation from the closet-rooms being into the staircase, and consequently into the house. Precaution against Snakes entering Dwellings.--There is no regular system adopted to prevent snakes entering dwelling-houses in Ceylon, as it is of rare occurrence to find any but rat snakes in European dwellings, and these are not venomous; but it is usual to clear away a portion of space about each bungalow and put on sharp gravel, and also to have coir matting laid down upon the verandahs, as snakes dislike crossing over rough surfaces such as gravel and coir. Trees should be at such a distance from the house (or bungalow) as to prevent the possibility of snakes dropping from the branches on to the roof. Reducing Echoes and Reverberations.--The report of a committee of a Würtemberg association of architects upon the deadening of ceilings, walls, &c., to sound, gave rise to considerable debate, after which the following conclusions were reached. The propagation of sound through the ceiling may be most effectually prevented by insulating the floor from the beams by means of some porous light substance, as a layer of felt, a filling of sand, or of stone coal dust, the latter being particularly effective. It is difficult to prevent the propagation of sound through thin partitions, but double unconnected walls filled in with some porous material have been found to answer the purpose best. Covering the walls and doors with hangings, as of jute, is also quite serviceable. To those who carry on any operations requiring much hammering or pounding, a simple means of deadening the noise of their work is a great relief. Several methods have been suggested, but the best are probably these: