In observing some of these dishonest methods of construction it is well to keep in mind that they will appear on the exterior well done, but that their faults are hidden, and intentionally planned to reduce the cost for the builder. In order to systematize our observations along these lines let us imagine a house which we will inspect in an orderly fashion. We will begin with the cellar and proceed upward to the roof. This house is an ordinary frame dwelling upon a stone foundation. [Illustration: The Fake Leader The Poorly Made Floor] Entering the cellar-door, the first thing we notice is that at the base of the stairs leading to this door is a puddle of water left from the last rain-storm. Upon inquiring concerning it we learn that in every rain-storm, and especially during the winter when the ground is frozen, the surface water flows down the steps, collects in the areaway in front of the cellar-door, and overflows the sill into the cellar itself—all because the builder had omitted a drain-pipe in the centre of this area to save money. Becoming interested in this matter of drainage, we look around at the areas under each of the cellar-windows and find that the drains have been omitted from these, and that a few broken pebbles were thrown into the bottom to give the impression that the water could drain off into the soil, and all this to save money and deceive the buyer. Inspecting the ground around the foundation-wall we notice that about each leader the earth has been worn down by dripping water, as though the leader had backed up and the gutter had overflowed. Inquiry shows that such is the case in every rain-storm. Apparently the outlet for the leader has been stopped up, so, in order to find out whether this is true, we need to remove the lower section of the leader from the terra-cotta pipe to look into it, for often it becomes clogged at this point with leaves and dirt. Breaking away the cement joint and pulling gently upon the sheet-metal leader, we suddenly find that it crumbles in our hands, and that the leader consists of a coat of paint holding a few particles of rust together. Yes, cheap, thin, so-called galvanized-iron leaders to save money and deceive the buyer! But continuing our search for the stoppage we poke our cane into the section of terra-cotta pipe projecting above the ground which received the leader, and find that it stops short. Twisting it around to remove the material which seems to block the pipe we find, much to our surprise, that the entire section of terra-cotta pipe breaks off, and then, looking closer, we find that this pipe does not connect with a cast-iron drainage-pipe leading to the plumbing system or to a dry well, but had merely been stuck into the ground to give this appearance and to save money and deceive the buyer. No wonder the leader backed up and the gutters overflowed in a rain-storm!