The building of houses has in all ages formed part of the employment of man as he advanced from a state of mere barbarism to one of comparative civilization. In devoting this little volume, therefore, to the subject of the Application of the Useful Arts to the construction of Dwellings, it is necessary to set a limit to so large a subject. A wigwam is a house,--so is a palace, and examples of every possible gradation between the two might be given. In order, then, to avoid the seeming ambition of grasping the whole of this extensive subject we shall not travel out of our own country; nor shall we ascend to the very highest, or descend to the very lowest class of dwellings; but shall describe the principal arts concerned in building a modern English house of moderate rank. In so doing, we shall treat the subject under a few simple heads, classified mainly according to the materials employed. [Illustration] CONTENTS. PREFACE p. iii CHAPTER I. THE WALLS--STONE AND STONE-WORK. Introduction, 9--Principal varieties of building stone, 10--On quarrying stone, 13--The application of electricity to the blasting of rocks, 17--Sawing the stones for the mason, 22--The processes of stone-masonry, 22. CHAPTER II. ON THE DURABILITY OF STONE BUILDINGS. On the choice of a stone for building purposes, 27--Examination of a variety of buildings as to the durability of the stone employed therein, 28--The stone for the new Houses of Parliament--how chosen, 32--An easy method of determining whether a stone will resist the action of frost, 33--Directions for practising this method, 38. CHAPTER III. THE WALLS--BRICKS AND BRICK-WORK. Early use of bricks, 40--Floating bricks, 41--Making bricks by hand, 42--Varieties of bricks, 44--Tiles, 45--Making bricks and tiles by machinery, 46--The Marquis of Tweeddale’s method, 46--Another method, 47--The processes of bricklaying, 48--Mortar, 48--Defects of modern brick houses, 52. CHAPTER IV. THE ROOF--SLATES AND OTHER ROOF COVERINGS. Slate quarries, 54--The process of slating, 57--Paper roofs, 58--Their advantages, 60--Terrace roofs, 61--Asphalte roofs, 61--Scotch fir roofs, 61--Iron roofs, 62--Zinc and other metallic roofs, 63--Thatch roofs, 63. CHAPTER V. THE WOOD-WORK--GROWTH AND TRANSPORT OF TIMBER. The oak as a timber tree, 66--The two chief varieties of oak, 67--Teak, 69--The fir and pine as timber trees, 69--The Norway spruce fir, 70--The Scotch fir, 73--Transport of timber from the forests, 77--Historical notices, 78--Rafts on the Rhine, 80--The slide of Alpnach, 81--Cutting the Norway deals, 83--The cutting and transport of Canadian timber, 83--Lumberers, 83--Saw-mills, 84--Rafts on the American rivers, 85--Miscellaneous kinds of timber, 86--Fancy woods, 87. CHAPTER VI. THE WOOD-WORK--CARPENTRY.