Secondary Schools may be placed across the back part of the building over the Primaries, each being of suffi ient size to seat about sixty pupils; the partition between them should also be of glass, to correspond with the first story.

The remaining portion of the second story, next the stairs, will then become applicable to the lecture hall and class rooms; two class rooms of about twelve by fifteen feet each being taken off one end of this space.

The lecture hall will be about thirty by forty feet, and as it will never be occupied when the Schools are in session, the doors to the secondary and class rooms may open into it. By this arrangement, also, the class rooms will be readily accessible both to the Superior and Secondary Schools, in connection with which they will be chiefly used. Thus the same space will be made to accommodate a larger number of pupils and in better proportion to the numbers and wants of each grade, than as set forth in the plans above given. The cost of the third stairway will also be saved, and will defray the expense of the alterations just specified.

If, however, the plans as given are preferred, the following are the specifications prepared to accompany them, without embracing any of the changes above recommended.

SPECIFICATION.

The building will be fifty five by seventy-six feet, with two towers projecting slightly from the line of the building. The first and second stories will be each fifteen feet in the clear; pitch of roof nine feet; and elevation of first floor two feet six inches. The walls will be of

PLAN No. 3. The building next represented is 70 feet long by 40 feet wide; with a front projection, 28 feet long by 14 feet wide. The lot on which it is proposed to erect the building, should be from 150 to 200 feet long, and from 150 to 200 feet wide. They should be corner lots, if possible, and have large open spaces around them. The schoolhouses should be protected by small lightning-rods (as seen in the engraving, and each building furnished with a school-bell, which could be heard in the remotest part of the town, village, or section. As seen in the engraving, the building should be surrounded by umbrageous elm, maple, and lime trees-thus giving an air of shade and coolness to the otherwise exposed situation of the building in summer, and relieving the bleakness of the general aspect of the com

E. Girls' Secondary School.

F. Boys' Secondary School.

G. Lecture Room.

a.

b.

Lobby and entrance to lecture room:

Clothes room for boys.

c d. Class rooms.

ee. Passages.

Teachers' Desks.

f.

Flues.

h

Seats for two pupils each.

Closets for books, &c.

mm. Water Closets.

nn. Wash basins.

vv. Ventilating flues.

w. Girls' clothes room.

Closet for library and apparatus.

stone, stuccoed on the exterior and laid off in blocks in imitation of cut stone. The cave and cornice and cupola, from the level of the eave, will be of wood, and painted and sanded in imitation of cut stone. The covering of the roof will be of tin, as also the base of the cupola and roof of the same, and of the porches. The exterior walls in the cellar will be twenty-four inches, the first story twenty-two, and the remainder twenty inches thick; the walls forming the front stairways will be of brick, thirteen inches first story, nine inches second. Piers will be built in the cellar of stone or hard brick, for the support of the iron pillars, 27 inches at the base, and tapering upwards to 18 inches at the top, for the support of the glass partition which runs longitudinally through the building, and for the support of the floors of joists. The flooring joists of the first and second stories will be three by fourteen inches; and in addition, a camberrod will be run through them. The roof will be constructed as in the plan aforesaid. The window frames the same, excepting that all the shutters will be hung inside.

This building will require three flights of stairs, with wall rail, &c. The glass partition in the first story will also require iron posts. The partition separating the girls' and boys' superior School room in the second story, will also be of sash, without the iron posts. The partition forming the lecture rooms, and all others, will be three by six inch scantling. A water closet and wash basin for the accommodation of the girls of the superior School, and also one of each for the teachers will be constructed where shown in the plan, and connected with sufficient and properly constructed sinks or wells.

(See next page.)

paratively isolated school-house lot in winter. It is greatly to be regretted that, in little matters of this kind, involving so much the comfort, cheerfulness, and happiness of both pupils and teacher, in the naturally heated atmosphere of a school-room, more attention is not paid to the interests of health. We would earnestly coinmend the matter to the attention of School Trustees and Building Committees.

Before proceeding to an explanation of the interior arrangements of the building, we present a general view, on a reduced scale, of the ground plan of a Grammar School-house, already built, including the cellar, yards, fences, gates, side-walks, &c. This will be seen in the annexed figure.

feet wide, with the lines of a stave painted on one end, to aid in giving instruction in vocal music.

These rooms are well warmed by heated air, admitted through registers r, r, (Figs. 3 and 4,) 18 inches in diameter, from the furnace below, F, (Fig. 2, from which the tin pipes p, p, (Figs. 2 and 3,) 14 inches in diameter, convey the air to the School-room in the second story. Each room is provided with two ventilators, each 3 feet long by 15 inches wide, opening into flues of the same dimensions, which open on a level with the floor, and leading into the attic, from which the impure air escapes at circular windows in the gables. These flues thus remove the foul air from the lower parts of the room

and cause fresh, warm air to slowly settle down upon the scholars-a very pleasant and healthful mode of ventilation.

The School room in the second story is large, and with an arched ceiling (see Section, Fig. 5) measuring 12 feet to the foot of the arch and 17 feet to its crown. It is provided with two ventilators 3 feet in diameter, placed in the crown of the arch, about 20 feet apart.

The entrances to the second story School room are by two short flights of stairs on a side; from the lower entries to s, s, (Fig. 4,) spaces about 3 ft. square, and thence to A, A, spaces 3 x 5 ft., extending from the top of the stairs to the doors opening into the School room. The Master's table c, as well as the tables d, d, for the Assistants, are moveable. The large area B, B, being 14 inches above the floor of the room, is 8 feet by 64 feet long, with large closets u, u, at the ends, filled up with shelves, &c., for the use of the Teachers.

The School room and the recitation rooms R, R, are warmed by heated air, admitted at the registers r, r, r, r, r, all of which are connected with the furnace in the cellar, by large tin pipes or conductors. The black-boards, 4 feet wide, painted upon the hard finished walls, are indicated by the lines b, b, b, b, b, in the recitation rooms, and along the walls behind the Master's table, extending on each side to the windows beyond, e, e, making in the School about 300 feet of black-board. The long benches e, e, are used for seating temporarily new pupilt on their entering School, until the Master can assign them regular seats; also for seating Visitors at the Quarterly Examinations. The space P, P, a broad step, 18 feet by 2 feet wide, is used for some class exercise on the black-boards. The passage t, t, about 18 inches wide, running the whole length of the room, affords great facility in the movements of pupils to and from the recitations and other class exercises. The Master's class generally recite in the space o, o, at the back of the room, which is 4 feet wide by 64 feet long.

The windows W, W, which are hung with weights, and furnished with inside blinds, contain 12 lights each of 10 by 16 in. giass. The quantity of air furnished for each scholar is a matter of no small importance. Each room in a Grammar School, intended to accommodate 200 pupils, should contain over 35,000 cubic feet, deducting the space occupied by the furniture. This estimate allows every child about 150 cubic feet of air for every hour and a half, on the supposition that no change takes place, except at the time of recess. But the rate at which warm air is constantly coming into the rooms from the furnace, increases the allowance for every child to about 300 cubic feet for every hour and a half.

FIG. IV.-PLAN OF THE SECOND STORY OF A GRAMMAR OR UNION SCHOOL, ETC.

We give above the front view of a High School house, which may serve as an exemplar of a Central Town School house. The building is intended to accommodate 600 pupils.

In such a Central School bouse, there may be a primary department in the basement story for small children, both male and female, taught by one or more female teachers. The first floor may be appropriated to an intermediate School, or second department, with separate apartments for boys and girls, and taught by a male and female teacher respectively, or by male teachers, as may be preferred. The second floor may be appropriated to the High School, or highest department of the Common School-taught by the Head Master of the whole establishment. As the pupils advance through the prescribed courses in the lower departments, they should be advanced to the next higher department, until they complete the course of instruction in the senior department, or High School. The same system of teaching should be observed throughout; and the pupils will not be impeded, and the parents will not be put to needless expense, by various modes of teaching and the use of unsuitable and improper books.

This School house occupies an elevated and beautiful situation. It is a specimen of plain but tasteful architecture; and every School house should be attractive in its very appearance-emblematical of what is taught within. The fence, the grounds, the trees, should be such as to please the eye, improve the taste, and excite cheerful feelings. The yards around this building are enclosed by a handsome baluster fence, resting in front on heavy blocks of rough granite. The steps are of hewn granite, twelve feet long, making a very convenient entrance. The grounds are planted with trees.

The size of the building is fifty feet by seventy-six, with a projection of seven feet. The walls of the basement are of stone; the remaining portions of the walls are of brick.

The School being designed for both boys and girls, an entirely separate entrance is provided for each department. The front door at which the girls enter has a very beautiful frontispiece, with double columns (thus providing for large side lights) and a heavy ornamented cap-all cut from granite in the best style. The words "HIGH SCHOOL" may be seen over this door.

The door in the circular projection, fronting on another street, is the entrance for boys, and has also a fine frontispiece, cut from granite. The Basement, First and Second Floors, are fitted up as School rooms, and the entire building, thus divided, is capable of accommodating 600 pupils-boys and girls. We will now proceed to give an explanation of the accompanying Plans of the different School rooms in the building. A reference to Fig. 1 will be advantageous in connexion with such explanation.

The Rooms in the Basement Floor (which is 12 feet high in the clear,) are separated from each other by solid brick walls. The pupils, in the girls' department, entering the house at A, (Fig. 2,) pass into the large lobby C, 12 feet by 28, from which they can go to all parts of the building appropriated to their use.

The furnace room H has a brick floor, and can be kept in as good order as any other parts of the house. The wood boxes, n, n, and

the furnace F, are so constructed that, with an ordinary degree of care, the room may be kept as clean as any of the School-rooms. In this room, at m, m, provision is made for setting up umbrellas. It resembles a ladder placed in a horizontal position, and is fastened to the ceiling on one side, and supported on the other by substantial posts of oak or other strong wood turned in a tasteful style, and let into the floor. The pump, p, accessible to all in the girls' department, connected with a nice sink, lined with lead, affords an abundant supply of excellent water. The rooms E, G and I, nearly 16 feet by 24 each, are appropriated as offices of the School Trustees, Superintendent and Masters, &c.

The large Lecture Room D, on the left hand side of the Plan, is furnished with a sufficient number of seats (a specimen of which is shown at 7,) to accommodate about 250 pupils. On the platform, P.

At all Lectures and other exercises in this room, the girls, entering at a, occupy the seats on the right of the middle aisle. The boys, entering by descending the short flight of stairs b, are seated at the opposite side of the room. This arrangement is deemed advisable in order to obviate the objections sometimes made against having a School for boys and girls in the same building The departments are thereby kept entirely separate, except in exercises in vocal music and occasional lectures. The boys enter the house at the end door B, which is six feet above the basement floor, and by a short flight of stairs they reach the first story at e (Fig. 3.)

partment for girls. They are easy of access to the pupils, who, asThe three rooms, D, E and F, (Fig. 3,) are appropriated to the decending the broad flight of stairs (at a, Fig. 2), terminating at B, can pass readily to their respective rooms.

As the course of instruction in this School occupies three years, the room D, (Fig. 3,) is appropriated to the studies of the first year, E to those of the second, and F to those of the third. In each room there are three sizes of seats and desks, but the arrangement in all is uniform-the largest being at the back of the room. The largest desks are 4 feet 8 inches long, and 22 inches wide on the top; the middle size is two inches smaller, and the other is reduced in the same proportions. The largest seats are as high as common chairs (about 17 inches,) and the remaining sizes are reduced to correspond with the desks. The passages around the sides of the rooms vary from 2 to 4 feet wide, and those between the rows of desks from 18 to 24 inches. On the raised platforms, P, P, P, P, are the Teachers' Tables, d, d, d, d, covered with green baize and furnished with four drawers each. The registers, f,ff.f, admit the warm air from the furnace, and the pipes, P, P, P, conduct it into the rooms in the upper story. The passage, b, leads into the yard, which is ornamented with a variety of shrubbery. The door near e, leading from the room F is used only for Teachers and Visitors, except when the two departments assem ble in the hall. In the room C the boys pursue the studies prescribed for the first year. The other rooms in this department are in the next story.

Pupils ascending from the area e, Fig 3, by two circular staircases, land on the broad space a, c, from which, by a short filght of stairs, they reach the second story, which is sixteen feet high in the clear. This second story is divided into three school-rooms-two of the smal er of which, separated from the third by a nross partition, are fitted up precisely like rooms C and F, in Fig. 3. and are immediately them; and the third is fitted up like D, Fig. 2, only that it is furnished with three rows of seats instead of two, and has three seats and desks on each side of, and parallel to the ends of, the Teacher's platform.

One of the smaller rooms in the second story is appropriated to the middle class, and the other to the senior class of pupils. The arrangement of the seats and desks are the same as in the other rooms, except that they are movable-being screwed to a frame not fastened to the floor. The cross partition, referred to above, is composed of four very large doors, about 14 feet square, hung with weights in such a manner that they may be raised into the attic, thus throwing the whole upper story into one large hall-an arrangement by which one room can be changed into three and three into one, as occasion may require. On all public occasions, such as Quarterly Eqaminations and Annual Exhibitions, the rooms are thus thrown together, and the seats and desks turned so as to face the large platform in the principal School room.

In erecting a building, such as we have described, in which the School rooms are necessarily placed one over the other, care should be taken to deaden the noise overhead. This may be done by filling up (with proper precautions) the spaces between the joice of the floors with tan bark, cork shavings, or some other compact light substance.

furnaces for warming the building, and by the rooms of the Janitor.

The first floor is occupied by the male department, and consists of a School room about 30 by 54 feet, and nearly 15 feet high in the clear, with two recitation rooms, entries, &c.There are 62 desks, each four feet long and accommodating two pupils.

On the second floor are the girls' school room, about 28 by 40 feet, with seats for 76 pupils, 2 recitation rooms, library, hall, and room occupied by primary department. There is a large skylight in the centre of the girls' School room, and another in the library. The rooms are fifteen feet in height.

The building is thoroughly and uniformly warmed by two