The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1855-01-20

VALUABLE HINrs.-Hon. Luther Severance
furnishes to the Kennebec (Me.) Journal very
excellent "Brief Remarks" upon variety OF
topics. From recent number we extract the
following:
We hear nothing lately about the plan Of
making bricks hollow, or with one of the fiat
sides open like dish Made in this way, thew
might be twice as large, of the same weight,
could be laid faster, and take less mortar. The
dishing side should be underneath, so that a
considerable space of confined air should be
under each brick. The wall could be made
thicker and stronger with the same quantity of
clay, and in cold climate a. house so built
would be far warmer than with solid stone or
brick wall.
One objection to a stone dwelling in our eli
mate is, that the stone is too rapid conductor
fheat that the cold comes much quicker
through solid stone wall ola well-built wood
en- house, clapboarded outside the frame, and
lathed and plastered inside, leaving a space of
air between. There is no better non-conduc-
tor of heat than atmospheric air confined from
circulation. So we find by double cellar walls
and double windows
The reason why the sea is so much slower in
changing its temperature than the atmosphere
is because the latter is so elastic and changes
it's place so rapidly. The cold air from noun
tains or on the upper or polar regions, is bro't
to us in high winds in few hours, and the hot
air from sandy deserts as quickly. Water is a
much more rapid conductor of heat than air, If
both are equally still. A wet skin will carry
off the animal heat more rapidly than a dry
one. A man can stand the cold better i'm dry
atmosphere, with the thermometer at 20 de-
grees, than he can wet weather with the Their
mometer at 40 degrees, and always better in a
q n nnn fhnc ,o4o.
indicating the same heat because when the
wind blows upon it brings new particals ofcold
air, in rapid succession, to be warmed by his
skin. The wall built of hollow bricks will keen
out both cold and dampness far better than a
solid brick wall will Is it not so? The inside
Of such wall can be plastered perfectly
smooth aud papered or, what is better, it may
be painted so as to bear washing. I have
specimen Of the inside wall of a house in Her
culaneum. 1t is lime mortar painted red
dish color, and smooth as glass bottle on the
interior surface.
Seeing the effects ofdouble walls and double
windows for our cellars, it is remarkable, that
the use of double windows for our occupied
rooms has not become more general. The pop.
ular idea seems to be that if a glass window is
tight so that no air blows through the crevic-
es. it keeps out the cold. This is great err
ror single tight window keeps the outside
4'i - o'A' cOuiiHS ShiouSu, auu 81 IL OF no use
for ventilation, but it is very far from keeping
the cold from coming throug h; or what is more
correct,perhaps, keep the heat from passing out.
Heat passing as rapidly through glass as thro'
sheet-iron, and we all know how that is. Just
imagine house built OF sheet-iron, of single
thickness. Not particle of air could come
through it. But would it be easily kept warm
by fire inside? 1t would be the coolest kind |
OF room. The heat would be passing out |
rapidly from every square inch of the WALL
from the top to the bottom, just as it comes
through the sides of hot stove. And it pas
ses out the same way through the glass win
dow. a -,
Again, room with sheet-lron walls could be
made very warm one having two thicknesses
Of sheet-iron, two or three inches apart, with
confined air between them.
The use of double windows for dwellings, it
will be seen, is not so much to keep the wind
rom coming in, as to keep the cold from COM
ng through the glass.