The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-03-10

Il
pedient, but we may be permitted to
doubt the wisdom of their policy, if they
are IN fact. what they profess 10 Be, the
friends of the slave.
Material for Houses.
From the very great difficulty of pro-
curing lumber for the erection of wood
houses, it is evident that other material
must be employed for this purpose, else
the settlement of Kansas must be delayed
for long time, until saw-mills can be in
troduced into the Territory. From the
abundance of stone, adapted to building
purposes, as well as for conversion into
lime, also sand and clay for making brick,
we see no necessity of our complaining
ola scarcity of building material There
is no section of the Territory, so far as we
are informed, which is destitute of these
elements of prosperity. The stone is
usually near the surface, and can be quar-
ried at small expense; and there is wood
enough to convert it into lime; these,
with sand and water, is all that is needed
for the construction of houses, save lum-
Der for floors, and for finishing purposes.
The latter can be transported from st.
Louis at reasonable price. 1t is said
that good floor boards, dressed, and
matched foruse, can be delivered here, as
soon as the river is nayigable, for FIVE
dollars hundred feet. Panel doors can
be bought for three dollars apiece, also
delivered. Such being the case, we see
no necessity of delaying in the erection of
houses.
Avery superior style of roofing can be
bought in st. Louis, cost not to exceed
five dollars per hundred feet. It is known
as the &c Composition Roofing and lis
represented as a good protection against
fire. This requires declivity of only
one inch to the foot, and viii be an ex-
cellent article for use in localities much
exposed to the wind. 1t is durable, and
must come into general use in Kansas.
| We shall receive specimen in few
days, with an advertisements for publica-
ton in the HERALD.
In New Mexico and Salt Lake City
"ddo5es," made of well-tempered clay,
eight inches square, and sixteen inches
in length, dried in the sun, are used for
building purposes. With the Italian roof,
which projects far over the sides, they are
said to make durable wall. The adobes
are laid up in clay mortar, and may be
plastered and finished in good style, only
requiring firm stone foundation, below
the ground far enough to resist the action
Of frost, and high enough to prevent the
absorption of moisture. The clay here,
mixed with sand, viii furnish as good
walls as those of Mexico or Utah.
FowLERs & WELLS, in their excellent
treatise entitled GA Home for AL" )" sug-
gests that houses may be built of clay, in
the place of lime, after the manner of the
concrete houses which they advocate with
so much ability in the publication alluded
to. We are confident that every claimant
of land in Kansas has, with the excep-
ton, perhaps, of sand and water. all the
material, not over three or four feet below
the surface, which he needs in the con-
struction of the entire walls of his dwell
ling. The addition of a quantity of small
stone from the nearest ravine will add to
the strength and permanency ofthe strue-
ture. These walls may be built whole,
and the expense of casting adobes, and
afterwards laying them up in mortar, may
be saved; besides, the solid wall will be
stronger and better.
Of the concrete walls, and the plan of
their construction, we propose speaking
more fully in subsequent number. Eli
ther the mud or clay wall is destined to be
generally adopted in probably
both, according to the means of the
builder-the lime and gravel wall no
doubt being the most durable.