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tin by skilfully working the soil which produces it: this being rocky has earthy interstices, in which working the ore and then fusing it they reduce it to a metal; and when they have formed it into cubical shapes, they convey it to certain islands lying off Britain, named Ictis, for at the low tides the intervening space being laid dry they carry the tin there in great abundance."

These operations, of course, imply, besides the courteous treatment of strangers especially attributed to them, no inconsiderable acquaintance with mechanics and with other arts.

To the weakness, if weakness it may be called, of an intense love and admiration of their own county, the Devonshire people must still plead guilty, notwithstanding their freer communication with the rest of the world, and greater opportunities of comparing it with other districts; but if any competent and impartial judge is asked which is the loveliest county in England, when he thinks of its mountains and its green valleys, its sparkling rivers and its gushing streams, its noble bays and rocky shores, its gentle climate, its fine old capital of Exeter, clustered round its grand cathedral, and its noble harbour and arsenal of Plymouth; and, more than all, when he remembers the kind friendly character and disposition of its inhabitants, he will probably sayTake it for all in all, there is no county like Devonshire.*

NOTES FROM NEW BOOKS, &c.

3.-Extracts on Architecture, from an American Work on Villas

and Cottages. By CALVERT VAUX.†

IT is interesting to observe that the political economy of Art is not without its students and teachers in America. The following extract, having reference to prevailing defects in architectural practice, contains a truth equally applicable to both sides of the Atlantic:

Page 14.-"Architecture within the last ten years has managed to get a genuine foothold in this department of building (magnificent hotels and stores); it has begun to pay, and that is an excellent sign, and one that affords food for reflection and solid encouragement; yet it is the few, and not the many, even here that speak of refinement and a love of grace, which is as averse to meretricious display as it is to ungainly awkwardness. Among the private residences a great number are excellent; but still the mass are unsatisfactory in form, proportion, colour, and light and shade. What is the reason of all this? Why is there comparatively so little beauty in American buildings? Some will say America is a dollar-loving country without taste for the arts; others that expense is the obstacle, and that the republican simplicity of America cannot afford the luxury of good architecture. The latter of these solutions is clearly incorrect, for it is knowledge, and not money, that is the chief source of every pleasurable emotion that may be caused by a building.

* Snelling's View of the Silver Coinage of England;' Marshall's 'Rural Economy of the West of England;' and Latham's "Ethnology of the British Islands, p. 43.

† Sampson Low, Son, and Co., 47, Ludgate Hill.

Indeed, a simple, well-planned structure costs less to execute, for the accommodation obtained, than an ill-planned one; and the fact of its being agreeable and effective or otherwise, does not depend on any ornament that may be superadded to the useful and necessary forms of which it is composed, but on the arrangement of those forms themselves, so that they may balance each other, and suggest the pleasant ideas of harmonious proportion, fitness, and agreeable variety to the eye, and through the eye to the mind. All this is simply a matter of study before building, not of additional cost in building."

Page 17.-" Continuous ease and leisure readily welcome art, while constant action and industry require time to become acquainted with its merits. To the former it may be a parasite, and yet be supported; to the latter it must be a friend or nothing."

The necessity of special instruction in the Arts has been very tardily admitted in England. In the following extracts a large and judicious appreciation of the good to be done to workmen through the press will be observed :

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Page 19.-" To insure workmen of ability a reasonable chance to improve is the chief thing wanted. So long as the general demand is for monotonous, common-place, stereotyped work, the average of ability will necessarily be low; but with opportunity, good, cheap, illustrated works, and spirited weekly paper devoted to the special discussion of the subjects interesting to architects, engineers, carpenters, masons, and all the other trades connected with building-a paper that would diffuse sound theoretical and practical information on the art in general and in detail throughout the whole country-the advance would be rapidly felt. Self-supporting schools of design for painters, decorators, modellers, carvers, paper-stainers, &c., must follow in due course, for the positiveness of the need would soon be evident, and the object would then be almost gained."

The following passage asserts the intimate connexion between the habits of a people and their architecture:

Page 20.-"The art of building faithfully portrays the social history of the people to whose need it ministers, but cannot get beyond those boundaries. We must remember, therefore, that principle of action, perceptions, convictions, habits of thought and customs, are the directors of all architectural design, and, that wherever and however it may exist, it is one of several national exponents, not an independent affair with a cut-and-dried theoretical existence. Good architecture of some kind must spring up in any society where there is a love of truth and nature, and a general diffused spirit of politeness in the ordinary habits of thought. Wherever, on the other hand, there is a wide-spread carelessness as to the development of the refined and perceptive faculties, there inevitably must be a monotonous standard of existence, and very paltry architecture as a necessary consequence; for the sense is being deadened by inaction or abuse, poor seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling naturally result, and are reflected in the art of building, which exists entirely by supplying the demands of the bodily organs, and always shows whether they are vulgar, uncontrolled masters, galled serfs, or gay active workmen. It is, moreover, an act so constantly before us in some form or other, that it cannot help being a friend or enemy to the improvement of civilized beings all the days of their lives."

Making allowance for the special institutions of America and the nature of the audience which the author is addressing, there is much force in the following extract :

Page 25.-" It is worth remembering, that no occupation need be undignified, no labour graceless. It is clear, that hard manual labour is in no way removed from the highest developments of social philosophy and intellectual advancement. Every artisan, cultivator, or trader, may, if he think fit, not only be an honest, industrious republican, but a thoughtful, noble, and refined worker. All is within his easy reach. He has but to put forth his hand and pluck the fruit. The tree that bears it was planted by his ancestors, and is now daily tended, though perhaps unconsciously, by himself; and this wide-spread appreciation of the possibilities that are within reach of every class, this all-enriching civilization, or an approximation to it, is absolutely necessary before art can take another healthy stride in advance."

The following extracts contain a very important principle of house arrangement, well worth considering in its application to the building of labourers' cottages :

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Page 41.-" In any design that is intended to be used by an intelligent human being, the general distribution and detailed arrangement of the accommodation to be furnished, or what is called the plan, is the first point that should occupy our attention; for the most simple idea admits of a good or bad arrangement. Let us take, for example, a house that is to consist of but one room, as in plan A. The door opens immediately opposite the fireplace; a cold draught is therefore likely to be constantly traversing the whole length of the floor of the apartment from the door to the fire; and, as the chimney is placed in the outer wall, a great deal of heat will be lost. Moreover the bed, c, and the sink, s, are entirely exposed to view; and thus privacy and cleanliness are scarcely possible. Now, a man may, with comfort and decency, make his kitchen his living room; but he will find it disagreeable if he has in addition to use it as a bed-room and sink-room. It is therefore desirable to improve on this plan.

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The diagram B shows a different and in every way a more sensible and convenient arrangement of the same space. Here the doors and chimney are so placed with reference to each other that the minimum of draught occurs in the room when the door is opened. The chimney is built in the body of the house, so that as much heat as possible is saved. A few feet of board partition set at the back of the chimney supplies a somewhat private recess for a bed, and also an entrancelobby with room for the sink; and the principal room and both recesses may communicate by means of tin pipes through the ceiling, with an air-flue carried up

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alongside the smoke-flue, thus thoroughly ventilating the whole building. The two closets are placed at the other end of the room, so that a window-seat, that may also be a locker to contain a supply of coal, can be arranged between them, thus rendering the interior appearance of the room more agreeable; and a strip of curtain, or, if thought worth while, a light door, hung on each side of the chimney-board, will give privacy and an air of snugness to the whole arrangement. Now, this plan in execution would cost perhaps 10 dollars more than the other; and, taking the interest of this 10 dollars at 10 per cent., the cash difference to the occupier would be 1 dollar a-year, while the comfort difference to any one with the slightest taste for that blessing would be incalculable."

4.-Farm and County School, at West Buckland, North Devon. A FARM and County School for the education of sons of farmers has been established at West Buckland, under the auspices of the Rev. Prebendary Brereton. From an explanation of the principles and plan of the school,* published before the school was actually established, the following extracts are made :

"In proposing to substitute farm for grammar schools, I am assuming that the practice of agriculture has become in England sufficiently scientific to form a distinctive branch of education, and is capable of being combined with other necessary parts of an Englishman's instruction. This is a point upon which much of my plan turns, and on which I must appeal with deference to the opinion of our more enlightened agriculturists. I need not enlarge on the healthfulness of body and mind which the practical cultivation of animal and vegetable life promotes, and on the constant recreation which would result from a well-combined plan of in-door and out-door pursuits. It is well known how much the success of our great public schools depends on the encouragement given to out-door sports. But it would not be consistent with the views of the middle class that so much time should be spent in mere amusement, and that the risk should be run, of boys leaving school with greater proficiency in cricket than in learning. But it would be no great injury to the prospect of lads if they were to carry away from schools a keener interest in out-door farming than the in-door clerkship.

The general plan which had suggested itself to me was this,—

(1.) The establishment, in each hundred, or in each registration division of the county, of a Public School with farm attached.

(2.) A County College, with larger farm and more complete appliances for practical and scientific instruction, for more advanced students. (3.) An Annual Examination, resulting in degrees and honors.

I propose that the school shall consist of boarders and day scholars, at the following charges :

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(A) 451. per annum for boarders who do not work on the farm, and who receive 7 hours' instruction.

(B) 351. per annum for boarders who work 3 hours on the farm, and

receive 7 hours' instruction.

(C) 20l. per annum for boarders who work 5 hours on the farm, and

receive 5 hours' instruction.

(D) 10l. per annum for boarders who work 7 hours on the farm, and receive 3 hours' instruction.†

The following is an outline of the proposed plan of instruction, and the distribution of hours :

* Principles and Plan of a Farm and County School,' by the Rev. J. L. Brereton, Rector of West Buckland. London: Ridgway, 1858.

† Pupils in A and B will sleep in the master's house; those in C and D in the bailiff's: but all will dine together.

Subjects of Study. The ordinary course of instruction in the school will comprise

I. English Language and Literature, including-(a) Writing correctly from dictation, the composition of letters, and, in general, the power of freely expressing the thoughts in writing; (b) English Grammar, and the analysis of sentences. And, for the more advanced boys, (c) the outlines of the History of the English Language and of English Literature; (d) the works of one (or more) standard English author; (e) the principles of Political Economy and of English Law.

II. Writing.

III. Reading with ease, fluency, and expression.

IV. Mathematics, including (a) a thorough knowledge of Arithmetic; (b) Book-keeping; (c) Mensuration; (d) Algebra; (e) Euclid. And, for the more advanced boys, (f) Plane Trigonometry; (g) the use of Logarithms.

V. Geography.

A general knowledge of the outlines of Geography, and the use of the Globes; with a more particular knowledge of the Geography of England and of the English Colonies. And, for the more advanced pupils, (a) Physical, (b) Political, and (d) Commercial Geography.

VI. History.-(a) The Outlines of English History; (b) a more full knowledge of some important period of English History, viz., -the Reformation-the Revolution-the last French War.

VII. Religious Instruction.*

Extra Subjects of Instruction.-I. Latin; II. Chemistry; III. Mechanics; IV. the outlines of European History, with a more detailed account of some particular period, viz. the Thirty Years' War; V. Music.

Plan of Hours. -7 to 8 A.M., Farm or School; 8 to 9, Prayers and Breakfast; 9 to 11, School; 11 to 12, Farm or School; 12 to 1 P.M., Farm or Play; 1 to 2, Dinner; 2 to 3, Farm or Play; 3 to 5, School; 5 to 6, Farm or Play; 6 to, Tea; 7 to -, School; 8 to -, Amusement; 9 to -, Prayers and Bed.

The farm will be conducted on the four-course system. A sufficient number of sheep to supply the establishment will be folded on turnips in winter; on grass, clover, and vetches in summer. Dairy cows and pigs will also be kept; so that the daily attendance upon live stock will be a principal part of the employment. And it is thought that those lads who are intended to be farmers will derive great advantage from the opportunity of regularly observing the results of converting live stock into dead meat, as regards both weight and quality. The same advantage will result from the consumption of all the grain grown on the farm, and in the shape of bread and meal, as food for men and animals.t

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How far the farm will supply all the wants of the establishment will depend, of course, upon the number and quality of the acres that will be available, and the number of boarders that will be received. My wish would be, to have a school capable of containing 50 boarders, and a farm attached to it of 100 acres. But I cannot hope, at present, to reach anything like this standard; and I should be content to make the beginning

* The character of the instruction and the text-books used will be in general accordance with the principles of the Established Church; but the wishes of parents in each case would be scrupulously consulted.

† The difference is great between a plan on paper and a plan in use. Though I have bestowed some pains on the above, I lay no stress on the details, except as illustrations of the experiment I am anxious to try.

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