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222 The Real Estate Record. tbeir sejiarate exislonce sboiild be preserved on the t-ix books .•md tbeir aggregate in each ca.se sluuilil b(- Ibe extent of individual viiluation, and the Jot.il of ilu-se Aaliialioiis should constitute the a r-l "f tixalile real estate values iu the city. i!i.-.!f.ol of ilehidinguur.selvesAvith an iinaginiii-y v.-ilu.iiii.ii of sixty per cent, it Avoiild be iiun-e just, C'liiifuLic. and acieptabb! lo tax-jjayers lo buA'c the •lUire rcu! esl.ile of tbe city Aalued according lo Iiie.l;iii:riiage (d the i:iAA-, -at-^^uch A-.'iliie as uii- <1
i-e largely centered and more vital¬ ly ooiicenicil lluiii in this one. TIIK HVtJIENR'.S OF BUILDIXO. 11. LnniT. — I'lidor Ibis hi?;iding, aw propo.se to dis- cur-s th'.- .sanitai-y ciuiditioiis relating to the inte¬ rior of huildiiig.s. Many, if not all tho .specifica¬ tions l.iiil down ill tbe preceduigsection, are eipial- ly aiijili'-uble in this case. The i>articiilar u.se Avhich Ave desire lo iiuike of this hraiicli of the dis- cussi Ul, is to enter a vigorous protest against the practice of Imilding dAAelliiigs of extraordinary deptli. The oM-fa.sliioiied, and almost discarded method ot building dAvellings three rooms deep, .as it Avas termed, is occasionally-revived VA-ith no a.lvaiitage to the building or to the occupants. Tlie three-story back building, or extension, has in later times taken ils jdacc. Intlielatterca.se tli!- iiuiiii lioo.seis.-iiil to be of shailoAvdepth, while the exuiisi.ni, built as a set-oil', may- run in deji'h .-leuv lo tin- end of the lol. Our notion i.s that extensions .-ue only- suitable in iletuched lioiis.'s Avlure there isa free cii-ciilatiou of air and Hooding (if light 111 city rows, they- should be contiiK'd tl) houses of extra Avidtb, thirty feet front, being tbe least Avidtli that should receiA-e a liigli ami deei) exten.sion. The practice of adding these extensions to sixteen feet fnuit hotise.s, or to houses of .-my Avidtli betAveen this und tAventy-Iive feel is clearly- iinjiistiliable, and its folly can be easily denionst rated by an inspection of the inter¬ ior of such hou.ses. Their dark, gloomy appear¬ ance is repulsive and oppressive, Avlijle the ab¬ sence of a jH-oper flooding of sunlight is apt to render the interior atmosphere dank and noisome. For light, us avcII as for air, a liberal provision of yard room is necess.ary in dAvelling house con- >trnctioii. and tlii.s oasis of a city residence should lie uiiiforinly exacted by- house biiy-ers. With a view of securing a sufiicient flood of light it would Le \A-eIl to observe the folloAviiig proportions: A house sixteen or eighteen feet front nmy he built from lifty-fiA-e to sixty--five feet deep, the central space being usually- taken up with clo.s- cts, Avhich are or should be lighted AA-ith large Avell- boles or light shafts. The standard house of tAA-enty or iwenty-tAvo feet front should neA-&r exceed in depth lifty-six or fifty-eight feet, and the housesof these Avidtbs, tli.-it aro fifty feet deep, aie by far the most poiuilar and suiUiblefor family residence. Houses of tAveiity-live feet or more in Avidth shouM not exceed the maximum depth of sixty- five or seventy feet, aud this depth is then oniy Avarrantabio Avheii interior air and light shafts nro freely used, or when that excellent method is adopted kiioAvn as saloon cluuiibcr floors, in Avhich the front and back rooms are separated only by- douhle sliding doors, the opening of Avliich makes them, in fact, one long clmiiiliei-, e.xteiidiiig from the front to (he rear of the house, tbrough Avhich the light and air can easily penetrate and circulate. A very convenient bouse bos recently lieeii built of thediiiieiisiunsof tvveiity-.si.x feet front by-forty-- five feet ileeii. These are iiiiiisiiul proportions, but it is instructive to knoAV Iioav niucli po]mlar interest this particular lsoii.se excited. We tliroAA- out this suggestion lo aclive liuiiders, as an indi¬ cation of popular taste. VE.Nrit.vTioN.—The confused idiiio.sophy, the conflicting tiieoiies and the inexact science of ventilation are more than ciunigli to bcAvilder the aA'eragc student. We have no iiiti'iiliou of at- teiiipliiig to imraA-el the tangle. It mav Ik; a Ibemo of c<.iigi-atulatioii that iiiodern intelligence bus learned to discard the unsightly and iiieireetiial oiieiiing in the Avail coiiiiectiiig Avitli a brick Hue, Avhi(;h avus siipiuised to be open at the liii> of tiie |i.-iiupet avuII (but Avliich more fre(|iieiitly \v;»sentirely covered Avitli coping), Avbicli our grandfathei-s used to rely iijion as a proper nieuiis of ventilating dAvellings. Even Avheii these Hues bapiJeiieil to be open at the top their priiiciiial ollice was to comliu-t cold air, rain and iliist doAvinvurd to the iiitei-hn- of tho liou.se: and if tho exhausted utmos-iihere of the (hvelling ever jietietratcd to this fiue its iipAA-anl progress AA-as {luickly arrested by the solid idug of cold, heavy atmosphere which it wa.s bound to encomit<;r lialf-Avay iu its vertical motion. No Inimaii device has beon able to siti-p.ass tho principlo and practice of the -ipen grate as a means of ventilating the interior of lniildiiig.s. The tAvo most favorable conditions are here af¬ forded of a heated fiue communicating directly- Avith outside space and commencing at so Ioav u point in a room lus to insure the certaiu moAe- ment of all portions of the atiiios{ihere. AVith this provision of an open grate fire, the seams of the wiiidoAvs and doors of too many of our city dAA'elliiigs m.iy bo relied iijioii to furni.sh a copimis- supply of fresh air, although the modern Avi-afher strip is apt to put a com¬ plete check 111)1*1! Iliese inlets. Griito lires are troublesome, ex]ieiisive and dangerous, especially Aviih children in the family. Their use on an extensive scale is apt to be cultivated only in the most luxurious mansions. The hot-air fui-nace is a readier and less exiiensive means of warming a house, and plays an important part in A'entilation, provided a .sati.«factoi-y outlet can be furnished for exhausted air. Air shafts or light holes, so called, though indispensable on other accounts, are really ineflicient and miieliable as means of perfect venlilation, as the air in them is apt to become motionless in the ab.sence of any estab¬ lished current, and Avheii in motion the fetid at¬ mosphere is more than likely to be ouly conveyed from one floor to another. In houses that are furnace-heated an admira¬ ble means of ventilating the cellar is provided iu what is called the Boston damper, affixed to the smoke pipe of most modern furnaces. This per¬ forms the double ofiice of moderating the draft and perfectly ventilating the cellar. The kitchen is the next important room that needs ventilation, and the means are so ready- and inexpensive that there is really no excuse for not adopting tbem. A simple hood of galvanized iron placed on the breast of the range cliimnoy, so as to catch the vapors nnd odoi-s that arise from cooking, can be connected Avith a pipe of tAVo or four inches diameter, running up the range Iiue or adjoining it to tlie top of the house. Tliis -ivili effectually carry off all smell of cooking and thoroughly ventilate the kitchen. Tho main hallway can bo ea.sily ventilated through the dome light by raising the inside sa.sli of the dome on blocks .so as to leave un open space of an inch aroniid it, and then sur- moniitiiig tbe outside sky-light Avith an Eiiiei-.sou Exhaust A'eiitilato-.-. The .•^ikico between the domeliglit and skylight forms a capital e.xbuiist cliumbei-, in whiidi the temperature is apt to be a mean lietAvcen that of the inside and outside atmosphure. For an iiiexpeiisiA-o and ellicietit A'entilation of parlors a'nd bedrooms iiotliing c.-iii excel the opening of .small vent lades in tim pla.ster centre piece that siiri-ounils the gas pipe of the ceiilr.-s! chandelier. ()ver these openings a tin box can be enclosed connected by u one or two-im-h ir'u pipe Avbicli can be carried up the nearest li..| fine to the top of the cliimiieA-, and liy this iiieuiis an upAv.-ird draft Avill be eslablislied. If the Hue through Aviiich the pipe |>as.s(ts baiuieiis to be .-i cold one, the beat geiieruled by She ccmluistiou ,,i the illuminating gas in the room Avill sufiirienllr Avariii tlu- pipe to estulilisb un iipwunl ciirniil. .-\11 inleiior Avell boles ami shafts should, us f.ir us possible, lie built solid to the roof, uml ibere sui-iiiouiiled Avitli a veiililuting skylight AVhere these can he a^ssocialed Aviib wuriii Hues iu the Avail tlieir eniciency Avill be gn^atly (Uiluiiici.d. It is iieccs.sary to beir in mind Ihut circulalioii isuii iiidispeii.sjible jiait of veiilihil ion. In a Avor.l, that it is imi«ossible to veiilil.ite a ho.v. 'i'here must be an inlet and an outlet and a circiii.iiiiii; current of air thnuigh a given shaft to all'ord ventilation. Tightly built houses .should have provided a special cold air duct for each room.not large enougli, hoAA-cver, to occn.sioii cold (Irau.ulits. There are many- elalxn-ate and exjiensive schemes of house ventilation Avhicli are onlv suit¬ able for adoption in the dAvellings of the Avealthy The suggestions Avhicli aa-o have prescnied Avould involve but u tiifliug cost if fitteiided to during the original coiistniction of a buikiiiig. A CARD FROM THE CHAMBERLAIN. To THE EniTOll OK TIIK Ri:At E.ST.ATE Reouui: My attention has but ju.st iioav heeii called to a paragraph in your is.siie of Feb. 2:'„\, in which you exju-ess a doubt Avliether some recent iiivesi- nients of tbe (Jourt Fiimls by this oflice liaAo been juilicious, and yon exju-ess surpri.se lliat l...iiis slKUilil lie made on pi-(n.erly in the uuLskii Is of {he city. 'io correct any- niisunderslaiuling mi voiir jiart or that of y-our readers, it a\ ill bo uiih- "nece.ssurv for me to say that, of the nine' nioriguges mentioned by^ y-ou, five of them were takeir'al the jiarticular instance and Avritteii icciuest of the parties interested in the trust moiievs louned. thev having the right, by many years" usage (.'f the office, to select the securitA- for their money. I should add, lunvever, that the valuations of iliese mortgaged premises fully Avan-aiited the loans made. The remaining four mortgages Avill, I ihink, commend themselves to anv iierson avIio is familiar with the property covered. In conclusion let me say the Cliamberhiin Avill be glad to find iiroperty " ceiilrally located'' or otlierAvise, for the investments he lias to make in discharging this very diflicult and responsible oflicial duty. Y'oius, very truly. J. Jaelso^- Tait'aa-. New Y'ork, March '.I, IS7S. THE QUEEN INSURANCE (^0.-\lPAXY BUILDING. The Queen Insurance Company building, Avhich has recently- been erected ou tbe site known as part of ihe old Jauncey Court in Wall street, is well deservinfr of special notice. It has a frontajre on Wall street of 30 feet B inches, i* six stories high, and has a ba.sement and subcellar. The from is composed of Baltimore brick, trimmed Aviih Wyoming blue stone and NeAV Jersey broAvu stone. All the granite Avork Avas furnished by the Hinsdale Boyle Granite Company Avliose NeAV York office is at No O.-..'^ jlioadway. The basement and fir.st story .are eonstnutini of llaUoweli granite; the capping over the second slory Avindows of BayoE Fuady granite and'the blaek grauito col¬ umns of black diamond granite, and the carving'
