Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905 edition. Excerpt: ... in course of erection. ROOFS 277 warm we don a thick overcoat; to keep our houses warm we use a thin material, and this of the most friable and breakable nature. If we have to carefully protect and keep dry merchandise--as, for example, in a railway waggon--we furnish the latter with a cover made in one piece, and we, moreover, take great precautions that such piece of covering has in it no cracks nor crevices or other small openings. To keep our houses dry, we put over them a covering containing thousands of cracks, crevices, and small openings, and these cracks and crevices are arranged at an angle so that their sharp edges are offered to the strong pressure of tempestuous winds, whereby the rain is easily and speedily driven through them to stain and sully the erstwhile spotless ceilings, and to carry colds and rheumatism within our dwellings. It may truly be urged that we have a counterpart of slate and tile roof construction in the feathers of birds and in the scales of fishes; but this is untenable, for the analogy is an imperfect one by reason of the fact that these numerous lamince were there provided in order to compensate for motion of the surfaces upon which the feathers or scales are mounted. Now, in regard to the roof, motion is the thing we desire most strongly to prevent. Here, then, again I would ask whether the time has not arrived for the introduction of a better system of roof construction; put in other words, whether the earthy material which is fixed to our roofs in such circuitous fashion--viz., by being first dug from the earth, moulded into small pieces, dried, baked, carried to the top of the building, and then nailed upon it--could not be got there in a manner much more expeditious, and emplaced in such wise as...
