use, which was made of logs, diminished
in size as the wood became seasoned; so that now each log averages a
quarter of an inch less in width than it did when the house was built
twenty odd years ago. There are just one hundred logs in the house, which
makes the house twenty-five inches smaller than it was when it was built,
but I cannot point out the exact spot where the two feet and one inch are
missing. Neither do I know that this had anything to do with the opening
in the roof about the chimney; but I do know that the opening gradually
became wider and wider until it not only admitted the entrance of numerous
flying squirrels and other varmints but also let in the rain and snow and
consequently it had to be remedied. Neither the flying squirrels nor the
elements can now enter at that point.

The Connecticut Yankees stop the leaks around the big chimneys of the old
farmhouses with mortar or concrete, but at permanent camps cement is not
always handy, and even if one is living in a farmhouse it will probably
necessitate quite a long drive to procure it. If, however, there happens
to be on hand some strips of the various tar roofing compounds, some old
tin, or even a good piece of oilcloth--by which I mean a piece that may be
so worn as to have been cast aside and yet not so perforated with holes
that it will admit the rain--it may be used to stop the leak.

Fig. 291. Fig. 292. Fig. 293. Fig. 294. Fig. 296. Fig. 297. Fig.
298. Fig. 299.

[Illustration: How to lay a composition roof and how to cover space around
flue. (Fig. 295 is on next plate.)]

Fixtures for Applying Roofing

The complete roofing kit consists of cement, caps, and nails. The
galvanized caps and nails are the best to use; they won't rust. Square
caps have more binding surface than the ordinary round ones; but we can
mend "with any old thing."

Fig. 291 shows a chimney from which the roof of the house is parted,
leaving a good-sized opening around the smoke-stack. To cover this, take a
piece of roofing compound, tin, oilcloth, tar paper, or paroid and cut as
is shown in the upper diagram (Fig. 292). Make the slits in the two ends
of the material of such a length that when the upper ends are bent back,
as in the lower diagram (Fig. 292), they will fit snugly around the
chimney. You will need one piece like this for each side of the chimney.
Where the ends of the chimney butt against the ridge of the roof you will
require pieces slit in the same m