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Forwalls of earth
and rustic construction

Swallows have taught us this craft, making their nests out
of mud mixed with wisps & stalks of hay or
straw to make it bond. Therefore, in places where stone &
brick are lacking, one can use earth to make partitions
& walls. And for this, light earth, which does not
form clumps when plowed, but which is somewhat intermixed with
arene, holds first rank, because it can be beaten &
tamped down better. It is true that it needs to be moistened &
la cut into clods with a ditch-spade, and
thus place & arrange it. This one lasts longer and does not require
as much effort, and ne dryness does not make it
split & crack. But, because such kinds of earth are not found
everywhere, those who are on good & fertile land, after
marking out with a measuring line the width & length of
their foundations, drive into the ground in along the
foundation edges, on this side & that, long poles& or chevron beams to support boards
between which they throw the earth, making each
layer one foot thick or thereabouts, intermixing it
with S.S.S-like branches of heather or
similar things, then with beaters of three
different forms they tamp it & beat it. One is called the
mallet, which has a triangular form like A, and with this, one
first tamps the earth. Next one uses the one made of blocks of
woodpointed at the tip & helved to a thick stick, & this one
is for pressing the earth well at the extremities and edges of
the wall, which adhere to the boards, & is
called. The other one is called the
bat, which is for flattening & beating the earth for
the last time, as shown in .C. Then one makes another layer of
earth& heather and beats it as
was said, & continues thus until the wall is complete,
which one covers with heather & then with
earth. Some m intermix the said
wall with rows of bricks. They also make the
wall tapering, giving a width to the
foundations according to how high one wants to raise the
wall. Which, when old, whitens, & thereby shows that it
has saltpeter in it. That is why, when they fall down,
gunpowder makers profit from them.

