that the English country house, both early and modern, attains much of that quality of the picturesque which we sometimes seek (in vain) to emulate.

The design of shutters is of special importance in modern adaptations of any of the "American Colonial" types of dwelling. The earliest American houses had solid shutters for all their windows, for actual protection against the Indians, and later, as a sort of surviving custom or habit, only the first floor windows had solid shutters, while the upper windows had none, or lighter ones. Certain designs were used as patterns for the apertures cut in the solid shutters, and these varied according to locality and period. Notably there were half-moons, hearts, acorns, trees, shields, diamonds, spades and clubs. In the simple house of local stone, or of white-painted clapboards, there is little opportunity for interesting detail, and charming effects have been obtained by the application of a little ingenuity and resource in the revival of these old shutters, with their quaint hinges, stops and latches.

Of window design there is much to be said—indeed the question is too important, as a whole, to class as a "detail." Bay-windows, however, may properly be regarded as details, as well as casement and French windows. In general, the grouping or massing of windows is to be recommended, on grounds of more pleasing appearance, exterior as well as interior. Three windows together, furthermore, seem to admit more light, and to create an impression of greater space in a room than the same three windows separated by wall-space.

The story of the casement window has been written in many magazine articles, and has become, after years of misunderstanding, a reasonably familiar one to the

Such details as the above are the result of imaginative design rather than extra expenditure

TWO TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF THE MODERN ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSE No architects have excelled the English in the contrivance of dwellings designed in the vein of the picturesque. Irregular plans, correspondingly irregular roof-lines, and the prevalent use of casement windows are important contributory factors

prospective builder. No one can deny that the casement window, whether of wood or metal, is by far the most picturesque of all windows. It is, in fact, one of the most important single details contributory to the charm of the English country house. Casement windows, perhaps, are a little more difficult to clean than double hung windows, but even this comparatively slight objection is overcome if each unit is kept within an eighteen-inch width limit. Not only for practical reasons, but in point of design it is far more desirable to mass a number of small casement units to fill a large window opening, than to attempt to make each casement awkwardly large and wide.

The use and popularity of casement windows has been largely increased by the yearly improvement of casement hardware, and by the manufacture in America of metal casements. Suffice it to say that no one of the objections commonly put forward against casement windows should be regarded as valid by anyone who really wishes to install them in a house.

The introduction of French windows, which are, in fact, glass doors, will be found to add a noticeable degree of light and a sense of spaciousness to any room, besides affording convenient access to porches and terraces. French windows may be made perfectly secure by equipment with "Cremorne bolts," which operate from a knob or handle (placed as a door-knob) metal rods which lock into pockets in the sill and head of the window-opening.

The porch, of course, should be very carefully considered in detail, and the prospective builder cannot direct too much study or observation upon various kinds of porches and front doors in order to determine. exactly what type he wishes. Certain styles of house

naturally dictate, to some extent, the design of the porch, though even if this be the case, there is likely to be a certain amount of detail to determine.

A Dutch door, cut horizontally in the centre, is more expensive to build than a solid door, and should be decided upon at once, if the house is of a style to render it suitable. Hardware is an important detail in connection with the front door, and should be given a careful study. Nor should the door-light be forgotten, whether it be some quaint wrought-iron lantern, or a simple electric bowl or globe to guide the visitor's steps at night. Few simple accessory details can contribute more to the effectiveness of an entrance than a pair of formal baytrees, planted either in boxes or large terra-cotta jardinières, while an alternative, especially appropriate to the entrance of any house of Latin derivation, is the placement of a pair of large Spanish or Italian waterjars, now reproduced in glazed terra-cotta.

If a pergola is to be regarded as a part of the house, rather than of the garden, its detail should be taken up with the architect, because such items make expensive "extras," and might, with but little thought, be included in the first estimate.

Exterior ornament plays no very great part in American domestic architecture, and certainly is not used in the manner of the English architects. Ornament merely for the sake of ornament, of course, is never desirable, and in any case it should be applied both sparingly and intelligently. Ornament for the sake of decoration may often add distinct interest to an exterior. A beam or bracket may be carved, or incident may be affected by the English device of ornamental exterior plaster work. Surface ornament is