Fig. 65.
The boy who can manufacture these two tools can, with the aid of other boys, build himself
A Workshop;
and it is possible he can do it alone, but when it comes to lifting heavy lumber he will be glad of the assistance of some of his friends.
If the reader is the happy possessor of some old locust fence-posts, he has the best sort of material for a foundation. Lacking locust, chestnut posts will make a good substitute. Lacking chestnut, some carefully laid and levelled stones or bricks will answer all purposes. I have seen many an old house resting upon four heaps of rough stones, the latter having faithfully supported the edifice for years, and prevented the sills from rotting from contact with the damp earth.
Even the ground will answer for
A Foundation,
if the dirt is properly packed and drained. All through certain sections of this country there are hundreds of humble dwellings built upon “mud-sills”—in other words, with no other foundation or floor but the bare ground.