HOW CAN BRICK WALLS BE KEPT DRY?

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 217, 30 September 1873, Page 2

HOW CAN BRICK WALLS BE KEPT DRY?

The editor of the Town and Country Journal replies as under to the following questions : 1. Are the steam pressed bricks •uperior to the hand-made, ™ ,y, y p out the wet *•»!*« if minted or not? • ' 2. Will cement keep oijt the wet if not painted ? 3. Which would be the best job, steam prated brlckt painted, or hand-made, cemented and painted ? 4. Do you know of any plan by whioh the plaster could bo kept, say 3 or 4 inches from the bricks, so that a free current of air would be between, similar to a weatherboard house,' but not JiaTing wooden uprights to fill up the space P 5. What is the best plan for Tentilating a dwelling ?' r : '

1. Steun pressed bricks (by which we understand bricks" made by machine, from comparatively dry clay, by means of great pressure) are in our opinion, better than band made for keeping out wet ; bat ibr tome reason or others, architect* prefer the hand-made article. Either ono or the other will keep out wet if welt painted. But the tureit mean! that we know of keeping brick or any other walls perfect!* dry, is (o give them when they are dry a good coating of animal oil— the refuse or « foots " of black oil is best, but any fatty substance will serve the purpose. When tl.e first coat » dry or absorbed, give another of the same kind of oil, mixed with lime ,• and when this is drj, if you care about the look of the wall, finish with a coat or two of paint of nny colour jou prefer. A wall served in this way, will, with a fresh coat of paint occasional ly, be perfectly impervious to any quantity of ram. i j 2. Cement, if of good quality, and properly put on, will keep out wet without being painted, but, practically, cement, whether from its defective quality, or improper application, i» generally disappointing in iti results. V, 3. We should say that hand-made bricks, well cemented and Painted, would be better, that is, a more durable result would be obtained, than by steam pressed bricks painted 4. There is no plan that we know of for keeping plaster at a distance from the bricks. The method adopted for securing the end aimed at is to keep the outside bricks of the wall from contact with the inside courses, by a hollow spaco of an inch or two in width— connecting the two by means of hoop-iron, place d on edge, at frequent intervals, llus plan is found to answer admirably. There should be a channel in the base-course, with sufficient drip to carry off the water which comes through the outside course, 5. This depends a good deal on the nature of the building, and the materials of which it is constructed. As a general rule, the ventilating apertures should be in the ceilings, connecting with the external air by means of ornamental gratings* communicating with the spaco between the ceilings and floor* above. In the case of upper rooms, the external grating* might be just below the caves. The subject is so wide tJiaC it is impossible to do justice to it in a brief reply of this kind: Should any of our subscribers or correspondents have any hints to offer ou the above matters we will gladly publish uDQltt* '

There lived m Brooklyn, not long ago, a man possessed of a devil. He bad inherited the devil from bit father, in the first place, and had nursed it until it grew to ttrone that it took entire possession of him. The devil was * very familiar one, and it* name was rum. The man bad many noble instincts, and, bettor than all these, he had a loving, faithful, brave wife, whe made skilful war on the demon, her husband's master. Recognising the fact that her husband was under an overpowering impulse, that he longed and struggled manfully to .free himself from the passion for drink, she' bent all the energies of her woman-nature to the task of helping him. She loved, and suffered, and toiled, until at last the loving, and suffering, and toiling accomplished their purpose. She took her husband by the hand and shaved with him his struggle, until after yeare of labor the overcame his devil, and saw him a free man again. Her battle with Rum had been a fierce one, taxing and wasling her ttrength sorely, but she was conqueror at last. Her husbnnd stood upon manly feet, and' showed no signs of falling again Several 3 eai t pussed away and 1 his reformed mnn fell ill of consumption. The distinguished pliTsician from whose lips we have the etory, prescribed alcoholic stimulants as the only means possible" of prolonging his life. The poor vife was in terror, and begged the physician to recall the prescription. She told him of hft lotfg ftrngglo and her victory, and said that she preferred that her husband should die then, » sober man, than that he should fill a drunkard's grave a year later. But the freed opirit of the man was strong, and he undertook to take alcoholic liquort as a medicine, and to confine himself absolutely to such times and measures in the matter as the phyticinn should prescribe. Ihis lie did, and during the months thus added to his life he never once drank a drop more than the prcicriptioncalltcL for, and ho died at last a sober maw, as the wife had to earnestly pwod that be might. But the end was not vet. When the loving and patient woraon laid him in his grave, and saw her long labour thus ended in the victory for which she hud toiled so hard and suffered so bitterly, the turned, in grief, to the brandy which had been left in the house, and drinking it she fell herself into the power of the devil which she had fought so heroically. And that woman died, not many months later, a hopeless, helpless, drunkard. 1 he duel between M. Eenc and M. Cotsagnac took place on the 7th July last, at Essanges, on the Luxemburg frontier, lhe GauUns givet the following details of the epcounter. The preliminaries having been arranged :— " The combatanti I having removed their coats, stood swqrd in hand, being' placed at fifteen metret distance from each other, with liberty to advance at they pleased. M. de Cotsagnac rapidly traversed two-thirds of the intervening tpace, and then, obeying a sign from his adversary's weapon, M. ftano resolutely advanced. Immediately that the combatants had placed them- ' selvet en garde, their swords were brought into, play. Thit duel hnd been expected for six or seven years, and it it certain Shit eaoh of the actort in it was thoroughly acquainted with the style of his antagonist* attack and 'defence. M. B«nc is an admirable fencer 5 he has coolness, free play of wr jit,/ and great agility. M. de Cossagnao has the, advantage in height and in vivacity of attack. In the first, astault, after a Teint, M. deCossagnac received a wound, which beginning above his glove, ran up the forearm nearly to the elbow. The •econds came up, but almost immediately the combatant* resumed their respeerive positions in front of ea<>h other. Both maintained the most courteous demeanour, and during the whole of tlio duel a tunic played upon the lips of each. Four timet, without interval or respite, did their, weapons, meet, and eaoh time there was a succession of thrust*, par* riet, and feints, performed with almost magical celerity. The swords gleamed in the sunlight, cut from right to left, occasionally cutting off morsels of linen. Twice (he advertariet came into bodily contact, aud then it was 'that M. de Cotsagnac took an opportunity of pouring off the blood which filled his shirt sleeve. The duel lasted fourteen minutes, and the leconds proposed a suspension, whioh M. de Oossagnao retused, a* he feared lest his forearm might become weakened by the lo^9 of blood. In the fifth bout M. de Cosstgnac , made a rapid movement, and M. Rai>o jumping aside, received a cut on the upper partof the arm. A stream of blood began to flow, and the arm fell powerless. His adver- ' sary'a weapon had penetrated deeply. Further combat jyeas impossible, as the seconds agreed. Without uttering a wferd, the two adversaries saluted each other and withdrew with their friends." Dr William H. Hammond, in discussing the sanitary influence of light, observe! (ears the British Medical Jov'maT) * that the effects of deficient light upon the inmates of hospital wards and sick chambers have frequently come under his personal observation. Most physioians know bqw carefully the attendants upon the sick endeavor to esoliide every ray of light from the apartment; and it must be admitted* that the membert of the profession art often fully as astiduout in this respect. That the practice, except in some cases of '. actual disorder of the brain and other parts of the nervous tystem, in pernicious, he i»"welJ satisfied. During tbe early " yeurs of the late war, he visited tlie camp and hospitals oosf s the regiment stationed in West Virginia. Reports bad/ reached General Koseiyjranz's head-quarters that the sickliest* and mortality were something frightful, and be was ordered to examine minutely into all the circumstnncrs connected with the situation of tlie camp, the food of the men, &c. Among other things' he found the side, crowded into a nmoli room, from which the light was excluded by blinds of indiarubber cloth. They were as effectually bleached ha ia celery by the earth being heaped up oround it. Pale, bloodiest, ghoit-like looking forint, they teemed to be scovcely mortal! Convalescence under such circumstances was almost impossible, and doubtless many had died who, had they been subjected to the operation of the simplest laws of nature, vouldi have recovered. - 1 • ? It is stated in tbe Alexandra Times that " a few dnys tco, when the Higinbotliatn Company's machinery was first < started, on hoarfo; the engine.* whistle, two favourite theop- * dap* brionptng to Mr Bhutan, iho manager of the' drum wont W into the bush at « groat pace, and in a shortltimo rounc jr' ap a flock of shtvji f 0 the machine. The sngnc-iout .niinmlbno doubt thought tjiej wore obeying order*."

Tin* Pall Mall Gazette say« . — A new nensation in Etui opian entertainments ii now given in London. The burnt L • cork and horse-hair wig m discarded and a troup of real \^biffgers and half-castes are introduced This Iroupo of Tenv^\«eim MmstwJs who lat-elj arrived in London, under the •uspio** of the American Missionary Society , give concerts in aid of the Fiek University, Nashville County, and hare •fcetfl well received in England. There are only ti few of Jihoae Jubilee Minstrel? who aro bs blaok as the Mooro and JJuagesi, md one or (wo of the ludieu appronn't very nearly the Spanish complexion. I'hmr voices tire extremely tnellow and full, and thotr singing quite irfie&hing m its frecdon. If, has a certain culture, and a culture quite unobtrusive in its unstudied grace Tlie melodies roemble all early popular tunes, being constructed on an imperiect scale, •ml they leave an impression on tho par like tho wilder Scotch tune, with an undertone of pathos " You'll hear the Trumpet sound " v»as sung at Hanover Square rooms by one of th« ladies with great oifect : nothing could exceed the wildnes9 of " Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel ? " shouted A> out with extraordinary vehemence A* in all sudden find * rugged effects, tho sublnno and tlie giotesque seemed to be close together The sudionce, wlio did not seem to enter into the spirit of rude dauntless faith expressed by lh l chorus, " Yet ITo delivored Daniel from the Lions' Den, Why not Every Mnn 9 " adopted the notion that tho wholo thing, instead of being intensely solemn and pathetic, was serio-comic, and whenever tie passionate refrain came in the public laughed and applauded. What tho Jubilee* niak* of it wo caunot tell. These men and women, who once were slaves, have no doubt long since found out that, in religion i at least, thu white man's ways are not as the ways of the L Wkiei. The white man paints the devil black, mid tho ■^>ck man paint* bi-n whit* "Five of them were wise B^toen the bridegroom came, Oh Zion, when the bride-gtoom ciime," shouted funny to th« white mm, although our Jubilee friends sang it with all the fervour and reverence due to tin greut Chrihtian parable. Altogether, the singing is strange, pathetic, and impressive. The action of light on the human skin is manifest. It browns and tans tho tegunrnts, by calling out the productions of the coloring matters they contain. The parts of tho body usually bare, ss the slan of the face and hands are darker than others. In the same region country people are * more tanned than town residents In latitudes not far apart, the inhabitants of the same country vary in complexion in a measure perceptibly related to the intensity of solar light. In Europe three varieties of color in the skill are (li - ) tinctly m.irked ; olive-brown, with black hair, beard, and ryes; chestnut, with tawny beard and bluish eyes; blonde, with fan, light beard, and sky-blue eyes. White skins show more readily nltenitions occasioned by light and heat ; but, though less striking, facts of variation in color are observable jn others The Scytho-Arabic race has but half its representatives in Europe nnd Central A«ia, while the remainder passes dountothe Indian Ocean, continuing to «how the gradual raising of climate by deepening brown complexions The Himalayan Hindoos are almost white ; those ot the Deccan, or Corouiandel, Malabar, and Ceylon nre darker than some nigiiec tribes The Arab?, olive and almost fair in Armenia and Syria, are deep brown in Yeman nnd Unseat The Egyptians, as we go from the mouth of the Nile up stream towards its source, present an ascending chromatic I scale, from white to black ; and the same is true of the ' Tuarikson, on tl'e southern bide of Africa, who are only light olive, while the brethren <n tho interior of Africa aro black The ancient monuments of E»vpt show us a fact equally significant The men are always depicted of a reddish brown, they live m the open air, while the women, kept shut up, have a pale yellow complexion. Barrow asserts that the Montchoo Tartars have grown w'liter during their abode in j China. Remusat, Polla-, and Ghitzluff speak of the Chinese women as remarkable for a European fairness. The Jewess of Cairo or Syria, always hidden under veils or in their house, have a pallid color. In the yellow races of the Sumatra Sound and the Maldives the women, always covered up, are pale like wax. We know, too, that the Esquimaux bleach during their long winter. These phenomena, no doubt, aro the results of several influences arising at once, nnd light does not play the sole part in them. Heat and j other conditions of the medium probably hove a share in these operations of color. Still, the peculiar nnd powerful effect of luminous radiation as a part of them is beyond a dispute — Popular Science Monthly, The Albion Steel and Wire Company, Limited, Hhcffieltl, have issued the following ciicular with the desire to obtain the establishment, for commercial purposes, ot a sntisfactoiv definition of the difiuience between steel, cast iron, and wrought iron What is steel ? The question is frequently asked ; and, as we fail to find a clear, full, and couoct definition in any book, we will give one— hoping that any one who thin l s it erroneous will make publi: the reason therefore. Steel - A combination or alloy of iron, that will forge, harden, and temper. There are vauous kinds of steel, such as carbon cast steel, tungsten cast steel, chrome cast steel, cyanogen cist steel, and titanium ca*t. steel, and several other meals have been al'oyed with lion to make steel There is also blistered steel, which ia made frjm malleab'o bar it on, by a process called cementation ; Germin ste 1, which ia made direct! v from the ore, an<l some times from pig iron, in the Catalan forge } and steel which is made l>y other processes. The line between cast iron and steel is : when it is capable of being forged it ig steel, and when it will not forge it is cast iron And the line between malleable iron and steel is : when it will hai den and temper it ia steel, and when it will not harden and temper it is malleable iron Cast steel will harden slightly when it contains from 0 25 to 0 30 per cent of carbon, and ceases to be capable of forging if it contains much mote than 1.73 per cent of c'b >n. ifelvina and John Bushel], aged fourteen and ten years respectively, residing with their parent at the estate of William Bonnilly, Esq , Forest Hall, Dunorlan, Tasmania, left their home on Friday night , the lotli August, to proceed to Mr Webber's, near the Avenue, a distance of about ten miles, arriving thera about half-past 3p vi Having fulfilled their errand, Mr Webber accompanied them for about half a mile of the way on their homeward march, and they missed the track and wandered into the bush almost as soon as he had loft them. They were exposed air night to a pittiless and pelting storm of wind and ram. Drenched with wet and shivering with cold, nays a correspondent of the Launceston Examiner, they wanderod about on Satuiday in the wet low scrub, sometimes ankle deep in water — the land being low and marshy — in search of a habitation or road ; but another sun set, and they began to look for shelter for the night. Half frozen, supperless, and hungry, — for they had nothing to eat since they left home except two or thrqe apples which they had in their pocket3 — they crept, into n hollow log to await the return of day Sunday morning's sun rose bright and clear, and after offering up prayer for divine guidance, the children commenced m to cheerfully than could have been expected their march for home Meantime a searching party had been formed, and a few of the party plunged in the bush, taking a southerly direction, and keeping within hearing of each other's cioee. After having proceeded about two miles a faint cooec wis heard, and hastening to tho spit from whence it came the lost ones were found m a most pitiable condition, but a little spirits and foud soon revived and strengthened them. The glad news echoed from one to another, and the joy and gratitude of the parents may be better imagined than descr bed. A very mysterious murder or suicide is just now the subject of talk in Paris. A lady belonging to a good Parisian family, had disappeared from her home. It was known that n Itason existed between her and a Mr T , and she was supposed to bo concealed in Ins lodgings, Kuo Grange Betoliere, close to the Boulevard dcs Italicns Recently one of her relatives, accompanied by a comm ssa I*}'1 *}' of police, proceeded to the apartment and demanded an admittance, and, after knocking and rinsing for a lons tim*, forced the door open The odor cadavri~ics dnnoted the presence of a corpse; but there was nothing; to be seen, and it was only after long investigation that the bolv of the missing lndv was found concealed in a large trunk She had evidently died from strangulation. ITer lover, Mr T , was arrested, and hero is the story he told He had had a quarrel with his mistress, and left the house in a pet. On his return n few hours later, he found to his dismay, that she had hanged herself in his bed-room He cut, do« n the bod v, placed it in the t runk where it was found, and then left the house. On being asked why he had not communicated to the authorities, he said he d,d not like to " compromise a married woman " This explanation not being deemed ioit isfiiclory, this •crapulous gentleman wa-> sent to Mezas — Pans Correspondent Ladies who wear chignons (observes the Pall Mall Gazette) a* well as the bald of the other Bex will be clad to hear that there is every prospect b< fore long of hair being grown in the garden, and transferred by an easy and pleasing process to the head It nrem» that cutting* of hair, properly treated, ■will strike hko geranium*, ami n hirnut in Kentucky has, accord ins; to the Nnu Yuri Tribune, discovered that by inHertmg the cut end of a lock of hair into a kind of paste made of two vegetables an 1 a simple ohemuul, it can bo made to grow, and be thence transplanted Baccessfiilly to a scarified skin. In fact, ull (.hat is necessary h a small head rake sufficiently sharp in the tooth to «crape the skin off the scalp in little furrows ; the hair should then he at once inserted in the wounds and personal beauty is thus reduced to a mere question of agony Wigni-ikors will not like this, but it is impo üblc to deuv that it will bo a vast improvement on present arrangements ; moreover, lovers nny not onl\ exchange, lix ks of hair, but, actually engruft these souvenns on each other's heads, and for this rcison ulono the diseo\ery will be hailed with rapture by the romantic and affectionato in every quarter of the globe. A full-length portrait of the Right lion Sir Jamo3 Fergusson, lit- Governor of South Australia, hasjust been painted by slr Sydney Hodges. It will be exhibited in tho Australian Court of tho Internationnl Exhibition, previous to being gent out to Adelaide, whore it is to bo placed in tho New University Buildings Young wifo: "George, de.ir, I've had a talk wi h the servants this morning, and I've u greed to rune their \\a,:e-> T'ley s.iid everj thing «»«, (,-> d,. n •"" doa— meat was so high, and everything I thought. tln« wn« reasonable, beennso I've often heuul y >u complaining of tho s.i-ne tliiu r"~r "~ J '„,„-!,

Tl.e lato Counteaa of Waldegnve lit! fceqnettheA to the South Kensington Museum three lilvor gilt belt*, all of different deaigns and of historicnl interest They were appended to the canopies used *t tho coronitions of George IT, Geonje 111 , and George IT. Tlim* ciinopica were borne bj the Barons of the Cinquo Ports, in woorclaucv with mi immemorifil custom The flrtt hnsband of tho late Ln<ly Waldegrave (Mr if ill ward/ *»» one of tho biuon*, and it »m through him that the bells omo into the possession of the tesl«tm. Professor Ag*ssit ha« baen 1( ctunng on e?g«, tivd lie awrta that " all living bpinpn, whtttever thpir diversity of form, hare grown up from eggs which ura at first all precisely similar Deviations take place littlo undemtood th«t eventually change thew beings into widely differing tnimala" Tim explains where everything cornea from except eggs. In now of bigjimy, perjury, and early marriages, without mean*, the Melbourne Age holds that — Unlese under gpooml circumstances to bo provided for by law. no id irmgo ought to be celebrated until it, lent a fortnight's notice haa been given and the intention publicly notified in tho districts in which tie pnr let live The delay, if it had no other effect, w.mld tumble tho parlies to look before they leap, and would permit the interposition of friends. Enforced deity and pnblicty flro the two beat snfpgu&rdf that the low, a* at present cointitutcd, enn interpose to pro\ent imprudent and unlawful mari'ioges Sir George Grey was certainly no favourite among the Cnpe Colonists, if'tho following linea which v» ere pnb'nlied in a Ci|u> Town paper during his governorship, and which obtained a very wide circulation nt tho tnno, are to be t.iken ns a iflir i-nmplo of tho estec.ni in which he was held — Mankind hiivc long duputed nt the Capo About the Devil's colour and his sh.ipe. Tho HottentjM di'clureil that Uo was winte, The Dut lunan thut he was as blai-k as night .J But now, nil sinL their diHt'ience, and say, The\ fepl cirtni i thai the Devil's Grey.