Demoine courier., 1854-11-23
OctagOnal COuntry-Seat Of 0. s. F0w
Ter, on the Hudson.

we copy rom the Lazy BOOK an
article descriptive Of the country resi-
dencc OF .. S. Fowler, on the Hudson.
The most importan. and interesting fea-
ture about the oc.agonal dwelling. an en-
craving of which accom- panies the article.
IS the material Of which the walls are
built. nine.een.twen.ieths Of which was
dug out of the cellar, shovelled into the
mortar bed, thoroughly mixed with lime,
and then built up into walls. where il SUBJ
seluently hardened into solid mass.-
These walls. which have stood the ,es,
OF several years, are ye. as good as ever.
The cost. i, is claimed, is "four times
cheaper than wood, ard six times chea D.
er than brick" Read The article below.
It contains suggestions of grea. value:
''Devised in 1856, and commenced in
ls4s, i. is the first important application
OF the oc!agonal form to domestic archi-
lecture. On which he published work in
's4S. entitled"Home for ALL" and which
he has ust revised. On the main floor
there are tour large oc,agonal rooms,
namely. parlor. sisung, dining. ond
amusement rooms. connected together by
folding doors; and lour other side rooms,
one adjoining each for dormilory Dur
poses, with closet TO each. Each of
the large rooms incloses about 80 yards
square, the side rooms 35 piece: while
IN the upper stories, which are alike, all
the rooms. Of which there are 90 per
story, are square, The angles being cut & fl
for closets.
The appearance is noble, massive.
grand, and imposing, especially as seen
from distance. Its position, on an em-
inence in the basin of the Hudson formed
by The Highlands, renders it ",he ob-
served Of all Observers" from all the re.
gions round about. Its scenery, as view.
ed from the top Of the cupola, is surpass-
ingly grand, far reaching, and pic,u.
rescue. 1t has piazzas all around a, each
story, which make delightful prom.
enades. LIS main. or through entry, Is
in the ground or first story, devoted TO
work and storage: aud its store. way is
in the centre. which greatly facilitates
ready access from each room 10 all the
others. and saves steps, and which is
lighted from the cupola, in The centre of
which is glass dome, which also ligh:s
its stairway and the right centre rooms.
But Its greatest curiosity, and ,ha,
which most Of all distinguishes i, from all
other buildings. is the material out of
which its walls are composed. which is
simply lime, coarse sand or gravel, and
broken stones, large and small. and OF
all possible shapes and sizes. jus, as they
came from the slate stone quarry in dig
ging its foundation. Nineteen twen,ie tbs
OF all lis material were dug out of its eel
lar. shovelled or wheeled right into the
mortar bed. mixed with lime, and wheel
ed and shovelled directly into the wall,
thus costing almost nothing for material
or even carriage. Its builder claims that
its walls nre four times cheaper than
wood, aud six times cheaper than brick!
II this is really SO. this plan Of building
deserves attention; especially since its
walls are remarkably solid, have now
stood perfectly we'll four seasons. and
grow harder with age. besides being re-
markably free from moisture, and quite
warm in winter, and cool in summer
Its bond principle is The same as in all
brick and stone houses, namely. lime
and sand mixed with stone; and, what is
most remarkable, is the small quantity
OF lime required, which was only some
$50 worth Tor two upper stories, each Of
which contains wall Material enough for
a house twenty by forty, and two stories
and hall high-or only about $40
worth OF lime for such house.
These walls are formed by erecting
and braclng standards where the wall is
to run--they being placed ,0iihia the
walls. en- which boards are nailed, be-
tween which This lime, gravel. and stone
admixiure, or concrete is shovelled which
hardens in day, when these boards are
taken of and nailed on higher for the mex,
tier or working. A better plan. how.
ever, is to have two tiers of boards. SO
thai, after the second is filed, the frs. is
taken of aud nailed on to form the third.
But for details we reier our readers TO
Mr.. Fowler's work, "Home for AL"
devoted 10 the explanation of this style
of building,
Outside, it is finished with a Goa, OF
plaster. and done off to reese BILE granite.
Thus far. this finish does no, show the
first sign OF peeling, or cracking and
looks splendidlv.
II is very large, being 80 feet sides. or
256 in circumference. and 70 in dame
ter. covering 5000 fee, of ground. and
contains in all some 50 rooms aud 40
closets. Indeed, one of the greatest ex.
cellences claimed for this octagonal siy le
is its great number of closets and small
rooms. the practical value OF which every
housekeeper will doubtless appreciate.
Altogether, it is real curiosity, worth
going quite journey TO see. and as prac
tically useful as unique: and It's enter
prislng founder deserves our good wish.
ee. and even thanks, for setting an ex-
ample, on so large a scale, Of both the
gravel wall and ocia0on,l stvlo of h,ild