THE PORTABLE HOUSE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 328, 15 October 1908, Page 3

THE PORTABLE HOUSE.

An invention' that has recently come to light is that' of the portable houso. Few'' people ever' build a house nowadays with the intention of keeping it in the family for generations to come—which perhaps is really just aa well when one views some of the architecture at last the portable house, has been evolved. : It is perhaps of great advantage to be able to take our.honse about with us liko a portmanteau, and to have the opportunity or " reducing or enlarging its size at will, say, a six-roomed house to-day and to-morrow nine or three as the. fancy _ takes us. These advantages, says an English paper, belong' to that particular type of fireproof, wooden portable, house which is erected without nail or screw, consisting . of interchangeable, interlockingsections secured with iron plates and screw bolts. This invention makes tho building of i sound fireproof house practically as easy as the erection of a shed. .Hotel dependen-cies,-exhibitions, studios,, hospitals, theatres, and any other form of dwelling may be put up at a moment's notice,- taken down again, stored - away, or ■ removed like a tent. One can almost foresee a not far distant period when people, instead of hiring houses, will hiro ground and bring • their house .' with them, while the' invention should be . of value to .tourist agents, who could, with tho aid of these houses "resorts" in less than no time. , They should prove invaluable to people contemplating residence in tropical countries, and as to their service in time of war and earthquakes for hospitals and other forms of shelter they would appear to' be of inestimable, utility. . The idea is so simple and . the utility so obvious that one must wonder that it had not been thought of before. One of its great advantages is that after you have made' your plans you know exactly to a penny what your house' is going to cost you, while under ordinary circumstances it is only possible to estimate approximately." One disadvantage n6t' foreseen by the writer is the probability that people possessing portable houses'would bo liable to invasion' by a host of acquaintances, at any moment. The-cousin would only have to write' to say, "I .am,; coming down to .stay with.-you for a month or'two'.: I-know you won't mind, as you have that extra room' you, put Up when Johnny-had tho' measles., I.Will bring my own bedding.' ,By th'o way, the, Ficldings tell me they want to spend the -Christmas holidays in town, and they feel, suio you won't mind putting up. three or four, rooms for them. Your house is in' such a convenient situation.; And, oil,' do put my room away from the tenniß court.' They' mako such a row there in the afternoons that I cannot sleep. I know Mrs. Budges will want bc'r rooms put up somewhere near the conservatory, but can't you say you promised that place to me? Goodbye. Aren't these portable houses .delightful?"