Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-05-17

There i . growing tendency in the rural
population OF this country to gravitste towards
his strength and energies in tilline the soil ac.
curing competency for his family, feeling the
inhrmities resulting from over-labor stealing
upon him. and the wife who has shared with
him his tolls, wishes to give mp to one of his
sons, perhaps, the care Of the homestead. He
feels that the task of riding several miles to
church, in all weathers, has become trying
upon his powers of endurance, and he finally
includes to buy q house and lot in town.
Children Of farmers we know are continually
pressing townwards, seeking employment less
h.s tnan farm labor: These have All
means viii not permit OF their buying large
lots at city or village prices, and il conse-
quently becomes a matter of Importance to
space.
Old city residents are realizing a growing
rural taste; yearning for fruits and flowers,
and trees, and shrubs,-hving and growing
around their own dwellings. Their business
does not admit of their living IN the country,
and they do not know how to live there if il did.
20 they desire to have as much OF the a. rus ia
Grbe" as is compatible with their limited space.
We feel that We shall do all our readers OF
moderate means, who live, or wish to live in
town, favor by publishing the following IL
number of Vick's Floral Gu,de,-now in press
1t strikes us that they are singularly we'll
adapted to narrow village or city lots. We
particularly fancy the one represented in
"In Europe, double, or what are called semi
detached cottages are quite popular In
America they are seldom seen, and vet they
possess advantages over the single house for
certain lots and circumstances which may make
their consideration profitable. While they
possess these advantages, such as the exposure
ofthree sides only to the cold instead OF four,
the saving OF heat, especially If the chimneys
are placed in the center wall, &c, design only
TO refer TO what Is considered the main advan-
tage-their adoption to small, and particularly
narrow lots.
City and village lots. we believe, are not
usually more than from thirty to thirty-fye feet
front. We will make an estimate from the first
figures. Suppose We build single house on a
lot thirty feet in width, and make the house
twenty feet front, which is narrow enough tor
front room and hall. Ten feet OF lot remains
unoccupied. For the drippings of the caves,
&c, it is usual to locate the house about three
feet from one line of the lot. Perhaps the per-
feet from the same line. The result is six feet
of gloomy, damp, shaded space, with a fence
in the center, entirely unsightly and worth
less; IN fact, worse than worthless nuisance
On the other side Of each house there is a piece
Of ground only seven feet in width, which will
be almost entirely taken up with u walk, leav-
ing little or nothing for grass or flowers.
We will suppose that two persons owning ad
joining lots, agree to build a double house; or
that one person, owning both lots, concludes TO
build double and rent half, or that some one
has married son or daughter he would like to
have live very near, SO that he could play with
the children on the grass i'm summer, and tell
them stories by the fire in the winter. In the
first case, they might build a house something
like that shown in the first figure, with light
fence between the two lots. The houses are
just as much separate as though they were six
feet apart, and with windows facing each
other, as is often seen when houses are built
separate, and occasionally with an ugly board
screen between. The result is that all the
ground not covered by the house is together,
leaving full ten feet, enough for walk and
grass.
Now take the other suppostion, that the two
houses are occupied by those who have no de-
sire to be fenced away from each other, then the
ground can be laid out somewhat as shown i'm the
second engraving, leaving ten feet on each side
OF the house, and an almost unbroken lawn OF
sixty feet in the front. making really pretty
place. far better than could possibly be made
with two detached houses on the same ground.
There is also some saving in the cost of build
ing."-Rural Home.