Part 7

Mountain Cabin Pictures

A mountain cabin scarcely requires the conventional kind of pictures on the walls. However, here are two kinds that fit the cabin picture. Have some extra large enlargements made of photographs of your choicest scenic spots. Mount these and frame them with strips of cedar bark. Geological survey maps or the forest service maps of your vicinity, similarly framed, are an appropriate cabin decoration.

Metal Lined Closets

It is a good idea in every mountain cabin to provide one metal lined closet with floor space the size of a single bed mattress and high enough to store your entire supply of mattresses and bedding, as well as other things you do not wish to go into chipmunks’ and packrats’ warehouses. Tin or zinc is a satisfactory lining. One or two metal lined food storage compartments should also be provided in the cabin kitchen.

Starting the Fireplace Fire

A cupful (not more) of Diesel oil over the laid hearth fire just before lighting is a safe starter with no flare such as kerosene gives. It allows a successful immediate fire with no paper, less kindling, and greater warmth. Diesel oil is efficient and cheap, and the small quantity used for this purpose seems to make no obvious increase of soot. Its safety and cheapness can lead to many adaptations of it as a fire starter in camp or lodge.

If members of your family are not familiar with lighting such fires, warn them against tossing gasoline or kerosene on the flames. It is positively dangerous.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ever since the first man came down out of a tree and set up housekeeping in a cave, he has been interested in making his dwelling more comfortable and more beautiful. Naturally, the amount of material that has been written on the subject has been enormous, because man is also interested in telling his neighbors all about it. As a prospective cabin builder, undoubtedly you will want to read more fully on the subject of houses and methods of construction. The various books listed below should prove helpful. They are among the most recent works published, and should be readily obtainable from any good book dealer. If you are building a vacation home, you will find them a source of knowledge as well as inspiration.

_The Real Log Cabin_, by Chilson D. Aldrich. (Macmillan.) _How to Build Log Cabins, Lodges & Bungalows_, Popular Science Publishing Co. _More House for Your Money_, by Elizabeth Gordon and Dorothy Ducas. (Morrow.) _Home Owner’s Handbook_, by C. B. Smith. (Housing Publications, Inc., N. Y.) _The Householder’s Complete Handbook_, by Hawthorne Daniel. (Little, Brown & Co.) _First Aid to the Ailing House_, by Roger B. Whitman. (McGraw-Hill, N. Y.)

The editor wishes to acknowledge the co-operation extended by the West Coast Lumbermen’s Association, Seattle; the Red River Lumber Co., Westwood, Calif.; and the California Redwood Association, San Francisco. Readers desiring additional data on cabin building may secure it by writing these organizations.

Government Bulletins

For the amateur builder, one of the best sources of concise, authoritative information is the series of bulletins issued by the Government Printing Office at Washington for the Department of Agriculture. They are called “Farmers’ Bulletins” because they are intended for use on farms, but the material they contain is applicable to the cabin builder’s needs, since conditions on a farm and out in the woods, as regards plumbing, sanitation, water supply, etc., are identical. If you want copies of these pamphlets, write to the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., enclosing 5c for each one.

Sewage and Sewerage of Farm Homes Farmer’s Bulletin No. 1227 Farm Plumbing “ “ No. 1426 Farmstead Water Supply “ “ No. 1448 Painting on the Farm “ “ No. 1452 Protection of Log Cabins, etc., from “ “ No. 1582 Injurious Insects Construction of Chimneys and Fireplaces “ “ No. 1649 The Use of Logs and Poles in Farm “ “ No. 1660 Construction

Transcriber’s Notes

—Silently corrected a few typos.

—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.