The household oracle : a popular referee on subjects of household enquiry : including: - house building, buying and renting; house furnishing and decoration; housekeeping and domestic cookery; plain and fancy needlework; home farming, gardening, medicine; law; an epitome of the history of the world and the growth of the human family; the formation of our mother tongue and the rules of English grammar; a dictionary of religions; stepping stones of English history and a sketch of the English constitution setting forth the rights, privileges and duties of the English householder parochial, municipal, imperial; the story of the calendar, standards of weights and measures; arithmetical tables and tables of interest and a ready reckoner; household amusements, games, chess, cards and other indoor games, dancing, swimming, etiquette, ... / edited by Alfred H. Miles ; assisted by a staff of specialists.

Date:
[1897?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The household oracle : a popular referee on subjects of household enquiry : including: - house building, buying and renting; house furnishing and decoration; housekeeping and domestic cookery; plain and fancy needlework; home farming, gardening, medicine; law; an epitome of the history of the world and the growth of the human family; the formation of our mother tongue and the rules of English grammar; a dictionary of religions; stepping stones of English history and a sketch of the English constitution setting forth the rights, privileges and duties of the English householder parochial, municipal, imperial; the story of the calendar, standards of weights and measures; arithmetical tables and tables of interest and a ready reckoner; household amusements, games, chess, cards and other indoor games, dancing, swimming, etiquette, ... / edited by Alfred H. Miles ; assisted by a staff of specialists. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    the head of locality, it will be conve- nient to treat of climate and aspect; soils on whi(_h to build, -ivater stipply, etc. Climate-—In the sense in which the word is here used, climate may be defined to mean the general tendency of a district towards mild, or severe, average, or extreme moisture or dryness, heat or cold. Climate may be consid- ered as consisting of four varieties : dry and warm, wet and warm, dry and cold, and wet and cold. In some localities there is generally a prevalence of one or more kinds; and in most places the situation of a dwelling either modifies or intensifies these climatic influences. It is advisable, whenever possible, to avoid either a damp heat or a damp cold; the former being malarious, the latter productive of rheumatism, pleurisy, colds, and other ills. The bracing influence of dry cold is generally advan- tageous, especially for those not natur- ally delicate; and its excess can frequently, if not generally, be guarded against by the protecting influences of a wood, or by artificial means. A dry heat is the most genial, as it probably is the most generally acceptable; its excess, as in the case of cold, can be modified by shade. In selecting a site whereon to build, or a house already built, these considerations must be borne in mind; and any natural features, which may ameliorate the excesses spoken of, must be noted. It should be remembered that an elevated situation, other things being equal, has the advantage over a depressed one, which is more or less damp, and consequently unhealthy. It is true that the tops of hills are more or less bleak according to their height, and on that account are undesirable as places of residence. In this, as in most cases, tife advice of Horace well applies : “It is safest to take the middle course.” Aspect in reference to an estate is its situation in regard to sunshine and weather. The more a piece of land slopes in any direction, so much the more will it be exposed to, or deprived of, the sun’s rays. This exposure to, or deprivation of, solar influence, will ob\dously affect the cultivation of the land, as it will the comfort of the house. In districts where objectionably winds prevail, their rigour is tempered by securing a site sloping away from their influence; in other words, inclining to- wards the opposite point of the compass. Soil.—On the soil depends, in great measure, the health of the in- mates and the durability of the building erected thereon. The main essentials for building purposes are: that the soil should rapidly absorb moisture, so that the house may remain dry in all weathers ; and an equality of compressibility to obviate settlement, and consequent fracture of any portion of the structure. The soils from which one has generally to select are loams, gravels, chalks, and clays. Of these a firm gravel, of good depth, is generally the best as the rain is speedily absorbed, and very little evaporation takes place, as is the case with clayey and loamy soils. The next, in order of merit, are compact, sandy soils, of a gravelly nature. Chalk requires to be protected from the weather, and necessitates great care in the foundations. Clay soils are, besides the disadvantage of retaining moisture, very treacherous to deal with. A drought after a heavy rain will cause large cracks or fissures, often of considerable depth in clayey soils, obviously to the danger of the stability of the building. Loamy or sandy sods, with the exception of those previously mentioned, are about the worst, as the soil will escape laterally when adjacent excavations or disturb- ances are made. Hence the failure of many buildings on these soils, after having stood many years. Of course a building can, with proper precautions, be erected on any soil; and even the best, from the geological formation of contiguous or underlying strata, frequently demand considerable skill and caution in dealing with them. .St. Paul’s Cathe- dral may be cited as an instance of the successful management of a very treacherous site; this magnificent edifice having been erected on a bed of clay, overlaying a mass of quicksand, 40 feet