plastering, door and window casings, wainscoting, base-boards, and plinth blocks, surely the difference in cost cannot be so great.

MISCELLANEOUS.

It would be well to make the floors of all rooms, except the school, teacher's, and class rooms, of encaustic tile, firmly bedded in cement. The entire basement should be treated with a heavy coat of concrete; the play-room and adjacent hall may have an additional covering of asphaltum, such as is used for sidewalks.

The windows of the school and class-rooms should have two thicknesses of glass, set in the same sash, about one half inch apart (see plate VII); this will answer all purposes of outside sashes, is always in place, and between the sessions the room can be flooded with pure external air, which is prevented by the use of the outer sash. Four lights per window are best adapted for school use; a greater number of sash-bars only cast disagreeable shadows and obstruct the light. Sash should be carefully adjusted and balanced, and metal sash-chain used instead of cord; fixtures should be so arranged that they may be easily worked by the teacher at all times.

Outside blinds are not wanted on a school-house, inside blinds are noisy and in the way, and the ordinary Venetian blinds and the common shade are invariably out of order when most needed, and are objectionable on account of flapping and blowing in the wind. The best shade that I have yet seen is what is known as the Wilson Rolling Venetian Blind. It is made of any wood desired, and is light, strong, and durable, noiseless in operation, and cannot blow or flap. While completely screening the room from the sun's rays, it still admits of a free circulation of air. Special provision has to be made for it in the construction of the building, as it coils up neatly either above or below the window opening. (See plate IX.)

Doors should always have a transom over them as large as is practicable, operated by cords or rods; the latter is the better method, as the transom can be made stationary at any desired point. Doors should always swing out, so that in case of a panic there may be no obstruction to the effort to leave the building.

It is better to have the teacher's platform movable, so that the

floor can be thoroughly cleaned under it: by the use of hooks or bolts, it can be firmly fixed in position.

Slate blackboards, although expensive, are by far the best, and cost nothing for repairs.

In seating, I believe in the single desk. While it takes up more room, it is much better for the child in many ways, and the teacher has better control over the school. Each child should be given all the floor space possible, and there should be a free circulation of air all around him.

I would say a word just here concerning the modern schooldesk. While there is an unlimited number of patent desks before the public, neat and even elegant in style and finish, I do not know of one in which the seats are even comfortable; the backs are concave where they ought to be convex, and vice versa; the seats are usually too high, and their shape is such that only monstrosity would fit them; and it is a shame to force any child to occupy, day after day, chairs so ill adapted to the requirements of health and comfort. I am glad to be able to say, that under the direction of the energetic Board of Education of the city in which I write, a large New York firm have undertaken to manufacture desks and chairs for their new school-building, designed upon a common-sense principle, combining simplicity, utility, comfort, and elegance.

WATER-CLOSETS, ETC.

Whatever care may be taken in the construction of other parts of the building, if the sanitary arrangements are neglected, the structure, so far as its healthful usefulness is concerned, will be a failure.

I am aware that it is an uncommon occurrence to find waterclosets in any school building outside of a city. Privies situated in the yard are considered sufficient. They are usually poorly built, and are only accessible by exposure to the weather, and are anything but elevating to the morals of the children. In some instances, you will find privy-vaults under the same roof that covers the school-room-this, too, without any attempt at ventilation. The evils arising from a vault so situated cannot be estimated. In some cases earth-closets have been introduced with

success, and if properly built and systematically looked after, they work well, and can be placed in such a position that a child need not be exposed to the cold or wet in passing to and from them.

I think there is nothing better than a good water-closet properly set, and can see no reason why they should not be generally used in suburban school-houses. From the roofs of ordinary structures large quantities of rain-water may be collected and stored in cisterns conveniently located. These, with a good well, should furnish an ample supply of water, that can be pumped by an ordinary force-pump, supplied with a two-way cock, from the well or cistern into a tank in the attic. A few minutes' work daily will keep the tank properly filled. As the school is closed during the hot, dry months, when sometimes we have a drought, there can be little danger of the water failing, provided a reasonable amount of care is exercised in its use. With a good circulation of water assured, there can be no objection to the use of closets. A simple hopper of porcelain is the best, arranged with iron service and feed-boxes overhead, the valves in the boxes to be connected with the wooden seat over hoppers in such a manner that the weight of the occupant will cause a flow of water, flushing the closet thoroughly each time it is used.

The floors of the closets, except under hoppers, should be of tiles, and the side walls of enamelled brick, as before described. That portion of the floor upon which the hoppers stand should be of dark-blue slate, about 2 feet wide and 2 inches thick. The hopper should be firmly bolted to the slate with brass bolts, an outlet being cut through the slate for the mouth of the hopper. There should be a slate partition between each hopper about 6 feet high, 2 feet broad, and 14 inches thick. A light iron frame and capping (see details on plate VIII) should hold this in position. The seats should be of wood, resting on cleats that should be bolted through the slate partitions.

The urinals may be simply slate troughs with backs of the same material, or the individual porcelain urinals that are in

common use.

A marble wash-bowl should be provided in each dressing-room, and drinking water pumped directly from the well. The hoppers should be of white porcelain exposed to view. The soil pipes and