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The upper
horizontal line of the span roof, with its handsome gables, will
generally afford the beholder most pleasure, and appears to
harmonize best with country scenery. There is also a practical
reason for it worth considering. The good housewife prizes a
fine, open garret for many purposes. Not the least of these is
having a place for drying clothes in cold or stormy weather,
where they can hang regardless of thieves or sudden rain, until
she is ready to iron them. This is a principal reason why at
least one wing of some of the other designs is carried up two
stories when good proportion in so narrow a building seems to
require less height. The roofs also are pretty steep, allowing
snow and rain to slip off easily, making the roof more durable,
beside giving better head room.
This also is rather in violation
of what is usually taught in architectural works, for there we
are apt to find the flattest roofs on two-story houses. The idea
appears to be that the house with steep roof, being actually
higher, must necessarily appear so. This I believe to be a
mistake, at least on rather narrow buildings. Having given
particular attention to the subject for some time past, and made
many comparisons, it is found that houses with flattish roofs
invariably look higher than their steeper roofed neighbors. It
would appear that we judge mainly by apparent height of the
sides, or distance from side eaves to the ground.
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