Studio: international art (35.1905)

Studio- Talk

upkeep. If he should erect a pair of cottages for
the low price of ^300, and find after the first year
or two of their existence that they cost him ^12
or ^15 per annum to maintain in good repair—a
very moderate estimate for many of the projects
now before the public—he would have every cause
to repent his original parsimony.

In the old days when
agriculture was the main-
stay of the country, la-
bourers’ dwellings were
often erected strongly
and firmly with the best
materials at hand, and in
such a manner that they
would be little likely to
require repairs for many
years. Oak was used for
framing, for beams, raft-
ers, flooring, doors, and
shutters. Windows were
leaded, requiring no
paint; roofs were of
thick, well-made straw-thatch, or of substantial
stone slabs or heavy pantiles. There is no doubt
that, being made from the materials most ready
to hand, they cost in hard cash but a compara-
tively small sum, and a mere trifle annually for
upkeep. To-day this cost would be much more than
quadrupled. But even at the greatly enhanced

“across the river

BY w. ELMER SCHOFIELD

331