sometimes termed, being therefore the strongest, we would recommend adoption in all cases. Brick walls are apt, if carelessly constructed, to give" in two ways-splitting across the breadth, or transversely: this e stretchers are calculated to prevent. Secondly, splitting laterally, or ong the length of the wall: this the headers are used to prevent. Of the vo evils the latter is the worst, and should if possible be avoided. As a eans of securing this, English bond is to be recommended from frequency the headers. Where walls are built of a single brick, bond is obtained 7 making the bricks break joint.

The method of building brick walls hollow, now demanding such wideread attention, is possessed of many advantages, two of these being more cominently noticeable—the saving of material, and the prevention of mp. The last is even of more importance than the first. Two other aportant advantages obtainable by the use of hollow walls are the ving of lathing and preparation for plaster, the plaster being at once laid amediately on the inner face of the wall. We purpose to illustrate one : two plans of building hollow brick-walls. The first we shall notice that known as Dearn's, which forms a 9-inch hollow wall. The lower urses up to floor-level are laid in ordinary English bond. The next course amediately above is formed by laying a series of stretchers on edge, thus aving a space of 3 inches, as in fig. 111, which extends throughout the ngth of the wall. The next course is a row of headers laid flat, and so on.

The sketch in fig. 111 shows elevation and section.

The 11-inch hollow brick-wall introduced by Mr Loudon, and shown in fig. 112, is well adapted for cottage work the projections left in the inside serve admirably to receive and retain the plaster. These 11inch walls are formed by placing the headers 2 incheswithin the line of the stretchers, thus If one or two

eaving a hollow space of 2 inches in the centre of the wall. f the interstices at the top and bottom of the wall be here and there filled p with cement, so as to afford a hold for nails by which to secure vertical utts, by fastening paper or canvass immediately upon these, it is obvious hat spaces will be formed in the inside of the wall as well as in the centrehus adding another means for the prevention of damp. A 14-inch hollow vall may be constructed by placing two stretchers and a header on both ides of the wall, as in fig. 113, each row breaking joint with the other. By using Dearn's 9-inch hollow wall, shown in fig. 111, a saving of onehird in bricks is effected. But the saving in mortar is also considerable, is may be seen by inspection of fig. 114, which is a plan of the sectional levation of fig. 111. The mortar is only laid beneath the ends of the headers

in the course above the stretchers on edge. Although the principal hollow is only in every second course, still this form may be said to be hollo

Fig. 113.

throughout, inasmuch as in the row d headers, a small space is left between each brick, at which no mortar is placed: their hollow spaces are indicated by the dark lines in fig. 114. There

are numerous patent hol low bricks, which are fast coming into use. The nature of the present treatise precludes us from noticing any of these; we have only noticed the me thods of obtaining the advantages of hollow walls by the use of the ordi

nary-shaped bricks-the bricks which are hollow in themselves requiring

Fig. 114.

a

for their making, machines more or less complicated, not easily obtainable by the majority of farmers even in this country but totally beyond the reach of the emigrant settler in a new country. We now come to the consideration of

STONE WALLS.

Stone for building is used in three ways-"rubble,” in which the blocks or pieces are used of all sizes, without being squared; "coursed work,” in which the pieces are in some measure sorted into sizes of a uniform bulk and these built in courses; "ashlar," in which the stones are squared off to certain required dimensions. The "bond" in stone-work is obtained by laying each course in such a way that its joints lie opposite the solid parts of the course below.

In building stone walls, the footings forming the foundations should con sist of the largest stones which can be procured—that is, consistent with the proportion due to the intended thickness of wall. The best form to have them in is rectangular; if not square, the largest surface should be laid horizontally. Stones tapering downwards should not be used as footings without hammer-dressing; if tapering, or resting upon angular or irregular ridges, they are apt to sink and yield by the superincumbent pressure of the walls. If possible, the stones for the footings should be obtained of the full breadth. If a sufficient number of these cannot be obtained, the space between two of these may be filled up by stones of less dimensions, disposed like the stretchers in a brick wall. If stones suffi ciently large, as above noted, cannot be obtained, then care must be taken to arrange the various pieces with relation to each other, that they may break joints. In well and strongly built walls, bond timbers will not be required in fact, where they can at all be dispensed with, it is better to do so. Stone walls may be made hollow, by using two planks of any

:

ired length, these being kept separate, and parallel to each other, by ans of screws-the distance between the planks corresponding to the Ith of hollow required. The planks being set in the centre of the wall, courses of ashlar or rubble are built up on each side to the upper side the planks; the screws are then slackened, and the boards, being is released, can be placed so as to form another course. The planks uld not be longer than 3 feet; and at each end bond pieces or headers uld be laid across, thus binding the two sides together. The advantages a hollow stone-wall may also be easily obtained by building a single ckness of brick, built up and connected with the stone wall while conacting the latter. In all cases where the soil is damp, the foundation uld not only be well drained, but the hydraulic mortar should be used lay the foundation courses. We may here append a few general notes Construction, which may be useful to the reader.

In all cases, whatever material be used for the construction of walls, it is ential that the excavated areas beneath flooring, &c., should be well vented: this may be effected by leaving apertures in the wall, just above ground-line. On all sides of the house this allows a current of air to culate beneath the joints, and removes all rising moisture.

In carrying up brickwork, the walls should be kept of as uniform a height possible, no particular part being carried up more than 4 feet at a time: s is necessary, in order to prevent cracks in the structure, since all walls, mediately after building, shrink: the part which is first carried up will nain stationary, while the adjoining part, being brought up to the same ght, will settle or shrink, and thus leave the other part, forming a crack; ace the necessity, where good work is required, of carrying up the courses uniformly as possible. In carrying up any part, the beds should be ped off, so as to bond well with the adjoining portions. To prevent still ther all irregular settlement in brick walls, "bond timbers" are somenes used; these are pieces of timber of the thickness of a brick, and are ilt into the wall. A practice among builders too generally adopted must noticed here for condemnation-this is, building the ends of joints into e walls, as in fig. 115, where a a is the wall, b b the joists. This is apt to ase the walls to settle, in consequence of the shrinking of the timber. is is more especially to be avoided in placing the ground-floor joists, as, e nearer to the foundation, the greater liability to damp, and consequently eedy decay of the timbers. The joists of basements should be supported small piers a, carried up from the foundation b b, as in fig. 116; and in Fig. 115.

Fig. 116.

cases of upper-floor joists, they should be placed in recesses purposely built for their reception in the thickness of the wall, so that the strength of the wall may be quite independent of them, or notched on to the wall-plates

Fig. 116 (a).

In the majority of cases, however, it may be presumed that the requisite degree of soundness in construction may be obtained by the use of strong and sound timber lintels, care being taken that they have a good bearing at each end-in no case less than 12 inches The size for openings of doors and windows of ordinary dimensions is 5 by 4 inches, with a bearing of at least 14 inches on wall at each end beyond width of same To insure sound construction and prevent settling, a flat arch, as in fig. 116 (a), may be turned over the lintel: in this form the bricks should be wedge-shaped, and all converge to the same point a. In this form of arch, built with parallel sided bricks, its whole strength is dependent on the mortar. A segmental Fig. 117.

arch is shown in fig. 117—(For simple forms of centering for arches, see CAR PENTRY). In building a brick house of more than one storey, we would recom mend the walls, up to level of bedroom floor, to be made at least 14 inches thick and a set off," from the inside at level of bedroom floor, of 5 inches, thus mak ing the thickness of upper wall 9 inches: this set off will make sufficient space to

lay the "wall-plates" on which to notch the flooring-joists. Brickwork is built up with the aid of scaffolding. This consists of stout high poles, fastened firmly into the ground, about five feet from the face; horizontal pieces are lashed a each end to the upright standards, parallel to the wall: on these one end of the "putlogs" rests, the other is built into the wall. The putlogs are about feet long. On the putlogs, the boards forming the scaffold, on which the men work, are placed. After the putlogs are withdrawn, the holes left by them should be filled up. The tools used for simple brick-constructions are the "trowel," with which to spread the mortar and make the joints; the "brick-axe," by which the bricks are broken or cut into any desired angle the parts broken being smoothed by rubbing them on a stone before placing and a flat square-edged "rule" is used for pointing and running the joints —that is, making them fair and parallel on the outside face of work. The square," "plumb-line" (hereafter illustrated), and "spirit-level" are used to keep the walls vertical and level.

Where lintels are formed of stone, the bearing should not exceed 6 feet In making window-sills of stone, their upper surface should be bevelled off towards the front, as at a b, fig. 118. This allows the rain to run easily off; but as it would be apt to pass under the lower edge, and thus reach the wall, it should be "throated as at c—that is, a part hollowed out; this prevents

* The fractional figures below the diagrams, in some instances, denote the scale to which they are drawn. Thus means scale" of an inch to the foot," and so on.

he "drip" from reaching the wall. This precaution should be adopted in Il instances where a projection is made from a wall, on the upper side of

Fig. 118.

α.

which rain is suffered to fall. We do not think it necessary to give directions as to the dressing of stone, as, for the purposes of the emigrant, rubble or hammerdressed stone will answer all purposes. When he can afford to have an ashlar-fronted house, he may then be presumed to have the best assistance in all departments. few notes as to the more simple operations may, however, be useful. The ools used are chisels, with the cutting edges of various sizes, the smallest eing about inch broad up to 2 inches. A "mallet" is used for triking the chisels, shaped something as in fig. 119, with a short handle. Fig. 119. In bringing a stone, say for a fire hearthstone, or the tread of a step, to a flat surface, two chisel-draughts are made at one side and the end of the stone, somewhat like what is termed in joinery a rebate. These rebates are made perfectly flat, which is tested by placing a straight edge. Every part of the stone should coincide with the under side of straight edge. A diagonal chisel-draught is then made, connecting he ends of the side and end draughts previously made; another iagonal draught is made, crossing the first diagonal, and meeting the angle f the end and side draughts. All these being made as near as possible of he same depth, on the spaces between the draughts being blocked out, a omparatively flat surface is obtained. This is brought as flat as required y the use of the square; or the level of the surface may be tested by using wo straight-edges of equal depth, thus: place one along an edge or arris f the stone, and on the opposite one the other straight-edge; by looking ver the upper edge of the one straight-edge, if the upper edge of the other oincides, the surface is level.

Fig. 120.

Masonry is built with the aid of scaffolding, supported by two sets of tandards, the system of putlogs not being admissible as in brickwork. A few notes on the method of laying rubblework will be useful. In uncoursed rubblethat is, where the stones are of all sizes→→→ some of the more prominent angles may be taken off with the hammer. The great art

a

n this species of masonry is to dispose of the stones in such a manner

Fig. 121.

e

b

that they will interweave, as it were, with each other, the mortar being well filled in between the interstices. In coursed rubble-that is, where the stones are roughly dressed to somewhat like a regular shape the stones should be laid on their broadest surfaces, the interstices being well filled with mortar, and the larger spaces between the stones being filled in with stones of

a smaller size. In fig. 120