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prcttinesses should be avoided ; but there should he a large gai-den, and a few acres of
grass land, to afford support for a horse or two and two or three cows.
1580. The parochial schoolmaster’s house maybe furnished with a sufficient quantity of
ground to instmct the boys in the simple processes of gardening and agriculture. There
should be a large play-ground attached, round which may be a belt containing trees and
shrubs of a few of the kinds commonest in Great Britain, so as to serve as specimens for
the schoolmaster to impai-t to the boys some botanical knowledge.
1581. A cottage ornée is a villa on a small scale, which may be characterised by the
gai-deii-front opening into a picturesque lawn varied by groups of trees. The cottage is
geuerally low in proportion to its extent, and the roof, which is frequently thatched, has
projecting eaves. The walls should be covered with climbing plants, and there is
generally a veranda round the house.
1582. The suburban villa seldom stands singly, and even when it docs, it is still iu a
line with other houses, so as to form a portion of a road or kind of street. I t has a
gai-don and plant-houses, which may vary in extent according to cii-cumstances. When
two or more of such villas can be formed together, the happiest effects may be produced
if their owners act in ooncert at thcir first planting ; and a sort of community of scenery
may be enjoyed, without lessening individual privacy and comfort. On the contraiy,
a gain might result to each proprietor rather than otherwise ; for if two villas, adjoining
each other, ai-e laid out in tlic modern style, then, by placing the masses of wood of the
one against the masses of the other, less ground would require to be occupied in plantation
by each. Officc-buildings might be placed against, or near, ofiice-buildings, so
as to be shut out, or partiMy concealed, with less than the usual quantity of trees ; and
so on. In the ancient style, avenues and vistas might be contrived to pass througli each
other’s grounds, and the ornamental objects which formed thcir termination, seiwing both
parties, only half the usual numher would require to be erected by each.
1583. The suburban
271 Aowse(/^.271.)isala rgc
commodious dwehing, in
a viUage-like collection of
houses, or streets, on the
outskii-ts of the metropolis,
or of large toivns ;
and occupied as the constant
residence of wealthy
professional men or merchants.
I t has a can-iage-
entrance to the house and
stables in front, and a
small Idtchcn-garden behind.
1584. The labourer’s
cottage and garden. This
may he reckoned too
humble a country residence
for the consideration
of the landscape-gardener ; but we conceive it to be of very great importance to tho
general good, that these should be improved, and the condition of their inhabitants
ameliorated. What we shall advance is founded on the principle, that whatever renders
the cottager more comfortable and happy at home, will render him a better servant ancl
subject, and in every respect a more valuable member of society. Besides, one of the
most constantly occurring objects in the country is the labourer’s cottage, whether detached
by the roadside, or grouped in hamlets and villages ; and, therefore, to render
such buildmgs and their scenery more ornamental, must, independently of every other
consideration, be æveiy laudable object.
1585. The accommodation contained in the cottage, and the size of the garden, should,
no doubt, be regulated by the family of the cottager, and the facilities afforded him by
his line of employment to live well, or bring up a large familj’’, &c. But we shall take
the lowest case that can occur, and state what we consider to be the minimum of accommodation,
which a humane employer in England would wish to he enjoyed by his
serving labourer, even if he had no other family than his wife.
1586. The whole space to he enclosed, including the garden and the site of the house,
cannot be less than one eighth part of a statute acre. The cottage should, if possible,
be placed in the centre, fronting the south-east, by which means, if it be a square or a
parallelogram, the sun wiU shine on each of the four sides a part of evei-y day in the
year. Its floor should be raised two steps above the level of the garden ; its principal
•\vindows to the south-east. A gutter should be placed under the eaves, to prevent the
ground, at the base of the walls, from receiving extreme moisture, and thus rendering
the interior damp and unwholesome. The cottage should consist of the folloiving
p a rts ; —
A porch to throw off the ruin from the steps of the door, and prevent it from being blown in by the
■wind. On the smallest scale, two broad boards, or two slates or flag-stones, placed pediment-wise over
th e door, will suffice.
A lobby, broad passage, or other space inside the door, to contain lumber, fuel, garden tools, and to
serve as a place for washing, or working at coarse work, &c. , ,,
A cooking and living-room entered by the lobby or outer room ; the fireplace witli an oven and small
boiler, both included in a cast-iron grate.
A sleeping-room over the living-room, and entered by a stair from the lobby or outer room.
A garret, or children’s or lodger’s sleeping-room, or small room for any purpose, over the lobby or
outer room.
A pantry, taken off the lobby, with a smal! window to the north-west.
A closet, for utensils and articles used in the living-room, taken off that room, with a window to the
north-west or south-east. , . , , , , , • .
A hen-roost, forming part of the garret over the lobby, and entered by a poultry-ladder, placed against
a small opening near the bottom of the outer wall.
I n tke jarden should be a well, with a pump, if deep ; unless some other source of good water is near.
A water-closet placed in a hidden p art of the garden, behind the house, so contrived th a t the visiter
may neither be seen from the windows of the cottage nor the public road, with a going and re tu rn ing,
or an incidental approach, instead of th e direct cul de sac paths which commonly lead to such
places.
A pigsty, attached to the north-east or south-west front.
A dunghill, or a small spot adjoining the pigsty, surrounded by a dwarf Wall.
A niche in the u-all of the south-east front of the house, to hold two or more beehives. With two iron
bars, joined and hinged a t one end, and with a staple at the other, to lock them up to prevent stealing.
1587. The surrounding fence may be a ivall, close pales, a lioUy, thorn, sloe-thorn, or
damson-plmii hedge, accordmg to circmnstanccs ; if a hedge of any kind, then standard
plum, pear, apple, or chcny trees, may he planted in i t ; if a tvall, the same sorts may
be trained against it. Next to the fence, a border shotild be can-ied round the -vrhole ;
a similar border may bo formed round the house, and the area for culture will then be
thrown into two compartments, one behind the house, and one in front of it. The compartments
may he snrronndcd with a line of gooseben-ies and cun-ants, and a few standard
apples or plmns (as being- the rtvo most useful cottage fruits) scattered over the
whole. Against the house may be planted currants, pears, or a rino, accordmg to the
situation and climate. Honeysuckles and monthly roses may be planted next the porch ;
E y against the water-closet; and tho scented clematis against tho pigsty. The border
ronnd the house should be devoted to savoury pot-herhs, as parsley, thyme, mint, chives,
&c., and to flowers and low flowering shrubs. The sun-oniiding hordcr, nndcr tlie wall
01- hedge, should be devoted to early and late oulinary crops, as early potatoes, peas,
turnips, kidneybeans, &c. No forest trees, espcciaUy the ash and tho elm, should be
planted in, or if possililo, even ncav, the cottager’s garden, as these are ruinous to crops ;
the first, both by its shade and roots, and the latter by its roots, which spread rapidly to a
great extent, close under the surface. The oak is the tree least injurious to a garden.
1588. Variation may he made in this extent of accommodation, hy adopting a dificrent
form for the g-i-ound-plan of the p lo t; by different inclinations of surfaces, kinds of fence,
sort of materials used for the roof and walls of the house, colouring of the walls, and,
above all, by adopting different styles of ai-chltcctnrc. Bnt whatever is done in this
respect, no attempt at ornament or picturesque effect should bo made -which is at variance
with comfort: latticed windows are cold and comfortless; and chimney-flues tortured m
thcir direction, with a view to fixing the stack of cltimney-tops in some particular point
of view, occasion smoky rooms. A variety of other deviations from common practice,
made to gratify the eye of the beholder, without any reference to the inhabitant, might
he mentioned ; but wc shall only add, that whatever is most comfortable and durable will
please the best in the long run. That every reasonable comfort within is compatible
witli an architectural or picturesque exterior, wc have rendered obvious in our Encyclopatdia
o f Cottage,
2"2 SBl 1' Farm, and Villa A r chitecture
: and we here
give four designs ; one
(fig. 273.) a bailiff’s
cottage, sen-ing also as
a porter’s lodge, erected
in the north of frelau d ;
another (fig. 272.) a
gardener’s house, designed
hy Mr. Lamb
for a gentleman in the
soutli of England ; the
third a gardener’s house, erected at Ecdlcnf, near Tunhridge Wells, the seat o fth e late
Willianf Wells, Esq.; a residence which, in point of scenery, of a choice collection ot
plants in tlie grotinds, of pictures in the house, and o fth e very highest keeping through-
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