“Making allowances for increased cost of logs and differences in any of the material cost, this cabin can be duplicated for less than $700 by any one who has the ground, a few tools, and some building ability.  It is compact, convenient, and more roomy than a superficial glance reveals, and it can be occupied (slight care is required) from April to November with only the kitchen stove and the fireplace supplying the heat.  The same plan can be used for an all-frame structure, perhaps at less cost.  It could be sheathed and slab covered in a locality where slabs, edged to six or eight inches wide, could be had; or slabs could be used perpendicularly in the gable ends and on the outside of the rear extension.”

We must not overlook the differences in cost of lumber and labor in different places, sometimes more than doubling nor the fact that different contractors will vary often twenty-five per cent in their bids.

A mere cabin, like a wooden tent, 12 X 10 with a platform adjoining, will accommodate one or even two persons and can be built by a contractor even at war prices for about fifty to one hundred dollars.  This will serve for tool house or storeroom when a more convenient residence can be afforded.  A number of such can be seen at “Free Acres,” New Jersey, an hour from New York City on the D. L. & W. Railroad.

Thoughtful provision and planning will go far to reduce costs.  A stove pipe which should run up inside the house, not outside, so as to conserve heat and fuel, serves as chimney and fireplace.  A Franklin stove, practically an open fireplace set out entirely inside the house, is a practical device, though it costs from $18 to $30.  It gives a cheerful open fire to burn wood or coal and has a flat top to keep things hot, a clutch oven of sheet iron, and a bob can be attached to the front of the grate.

But remember that though you may have trees or fallen wood for the cutting it takes a lot of time to cut it.  A cylindrical self-feeding coal burner is most economical for heating and a lined sheet iron cooking stove for the kitchen.

A fireless cooker, which retains the heat all day by means of soapstone or insulation and slowly cooks the food without losing the juices, is an economical device.  It can be made at home by copying what you see in the stores or by getting directions from the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Don’t forget double windows at least toward the north; and on all windows have heavy holland shades which make an air space between the cold windowpanes and the atmosphere of the room.

Portable houses sound attractive, but they do not pay unless you will need to move them.  Manifestly it costs more to make a house like a trunk than like a shed.  The houses shipped ready made of the “Aladdin” type, with all the parts ready marked to be nailed together by unskilled labor are a much better investment and are not shaky.

It is true that living is expensive in the train suburbs, when almost all that is eaten comes from the city, with freight and monopoly rates added.  But one can raise most of what the family eats, and save besides in car fares and doctor’s bills.