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Introduction to neuropsychology 2nd ed Edition J.
Graham Beaumont Phd Cpsychol Fbpss Digital Instant
Download
Author(s): J. Graham Beaumont PhD CPsychol FBPsS
ISBN(s): 9781593850685, 1593850689
Edition: 2nd ed
File Details: PDF, 5.06 MB
Year: 2008
Language: english
INTRODUCTION TO NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
 Introduction to
Neuropsychology
SECOND EDITION

J. GRAHAM BEAUMONT

THE GUILFORD PRESS

New York London
© 2008 The Guilford Press
A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc.
72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
www.guilford.com

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission
from the Publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Beaumont, J. Graham.
Introduction to neuropsychology / J. Graham Beaumont. — 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59385-068-5 (cloth: alk. paper)
1. Neuropsychology—Textbooks. I. Title.
QP360.B413 2008
612.8—dc22
2007052765
 . . . And I have felt
A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns.
And the round ocean and the living air,
And the blue sky, and in the mind of man.
—WILLIAM WORDSWORTH,
from Lines Composed a Few Miles
above Tintern Abbey
About the Author

J. Graham Beaumont, PhD, CPsychol, FBPsS, is Head of the Depart-

ment of Clinical Psychology at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability
in Putney, London, United Kingdom. Widely published, Professor Beau-
mont is a past Honorary General Secretary of the British Psychological
Society and Chair of the Division of Neuropsychology, and holds an
Honorary Chair at Roehampton University, London. He was formerly a
Reader and Associate Dean for Combined Science at the University of
Leicester and Professor and Head of the Department of Psychology at
Swansea University.

vii
Preface to
the First Edition

This book was born out of my frustration at being unable to find a text
to accompany the courses that I teach in neuropsychology to undergrad-
uates, graduate clinical psychology trainees, and other medical and para-
medical groups. Its first aim is therefore to provide a systematic and
comprehensive introduction to the field of neuropsychology for those
with some, perhaps not very advanced, knowledge of psychology.
At the same time, I wanted to produce a book that would make the
current advances in neuropsychology accessible to the intelligent lay-
man, without sacrificing critical standards of good science by “popular-
izing” the material. I wanted to communicate, if I could, some of the
excitement that I feel about this area of investigation. Only you can
judge whether I have succeeded in this ambitious aim.
In trying to cover, in a balanced way, what I consider to be the
whole subject of neuropsychology within a fairly short book, I have nat-
urally met problems. The limited space has dictated rather severe com-
pression of the material in places, and more examples and further elabo-
ration would probably have been helpful. However, every book has a
purpose, and the purpose of this one is to provide a thorough but con-
cise introduction to the subject. I hope that you will not feel that read-
ability has suffered unreasonably in trying to fulfill this aim.
Throughout the book, there are both references and suggestions for
further reading to enable the reader to pursue specific topics and particu-
lar areas of interest. This may help to fill some of the gaps that are inevi-
tably left in a text of this length.

ix
x Preface to the First Edition

One limitation that has been accepted in preparing this text is that it
deals only with adult neuropsychology. There is quite deliberately
almost no reference to children. Sadly, it is not even possible to recom-
mend an alternative text for those whose prime interest is the neuropsy-
chological organization of children in normal or abnormal states. That is
another book waiting to be written.
Another point—in one sense an apology—is that the text uses the
male gender “he” throughout to imply male or female individuals. There
comes a time when the syntactic maneuvers required to avoid any use of
“he” or “she” become burdensome, and until some better neutral article
than “s/he” is found, it seems reasonable to carry on using “he.” No
particular stance on sexual politics is implied by this, and I hope that
you will accept what has been written in good faith as simply a tradi-
tional (and I think fairly harmless) usage within the English language.
A word also about the figures. First, and most important, I should
like to thank my talented friend Don Keefe for his excellent work in pre-
paring these. Although all the anatomical figures are original drawings,
they are inevitably in some debt to two quite exceptional sets of anatom-
ical illustrations: the collections of Nieuwenhuys, Voogd, and Van
Huijzen (1988), and Netter (1983) (see “Further Reading” on p. 41).
The example items from test material are also, with some exceptions
that are noted, original drawings. They are based upon real test material
but, because it is considered unethical to expose this material unneces-
sarily since it may undermine the accuracy of the test in clinical practice,
most of the examples have been slightly altered.
There are many others whom I want to thank for their help with the
book. There are those people who have kindly given permission for the
reproduction of figures. Dr. Jennifer Wakely was extremely helpful in
arranging for the photographs of normal brain specimens. Professor
Tony Gale read the manuscript and made many perceptive and construc-
tive suggestions which have been particularly valuable. The publishers
have been unfailingly patient, encouraging, and helpful, and I am espe-
cially grateful to them. Lastly, my family, colleagues, students, and
friends have had to tolerate my reclusiveness and frequent ill humor dur-
ing the preparation of the book, and they have been unreasonably
understanding and kind.
It only remains to say that I hope that you not only find the book
informative, but that you enjoy reading it. I especially hope that some
readers may become sufficiently interested by this introduction to con-
tinue their study of neuropsychology, and may become those who will
develop the subject toward solving some of the great and fascinating
problems that remain in understanding the relationship between the
brain and intelligent behavior.
Preface to
the Second Edition

Just 25 years after writing the preface to the first edition of this book, I
have now completed a thorough revision of the original text. The previ-
ous edition was embarrassingly out of date, but I am pleasantly sur-
prised that it has remained in print, and this has encouraged me to give it
a thorough overhaul. The first edition was probably the first concise
general text on neuropsychology for undergraduates, at least in the
United Kingdom, and despite the subsequent proliferation of other texts
(the best of which are listed at the end of Chapter 1), there still seems to
be a need for a concise and readable, but authoritative, introduction to
neuropsychology. I hope that this is it.
In revising this text, it has been fascinating to reflect on the changes
in neuropsychology over the past 30 years. In the 1970s, when I was a
young academic, neuropsychology was a relatively new discipline in the
universities and existed only as a clinical specialty. It is now an estab-
lished field of psychological research in its own right, with rich links to
other areas of psychology and cognate disciplines. Professionally, the
specialty of clinical neuropsychology is now formally recognized, and
training programs are available worldwide to prepare psychologists for
this area of professional practice. In the last 30 years there has been a
staggering growth in neuropsychology in parallel with the development
of the neurosciences. It has been an inspiring and exciting period, but it
has made revision of the text a rather daunting challenge. In the 1970s it
was possible for one person to have a grasp of all the relevant literature
in neuropsychology; today, it is no longer the case.

xi
xii Preface to the Second Edition

These developments in the discipline have been reflected in some

major additions to the book. There is a new chapter on degenerative dis-
eases and profound brain injury, hardly a topic within neuropsychology
in 1980, and a major section has been introduced on imaging to reflect
the very considerable impact that clever developments in medical physics
are having on research in the discipline. Advances in clinical neuropsy-
chological practice are reflected in substantial changes to the relevant
chapter, and these changes reflect the increasing role of rehabilitation; it
is an embarrassment to remember just how neglected this topic was until
the 1980s. Neuropsychiatry has also become established as a recognized
discipline since the first edition of this book, and its convergence with
neuropsychology is reflected in the final chapter. The remainder of the
text has been subject to detailed revision and updating, with substantial
additions to the chapter on the frontal lobes to reflect more recent inter-
est in executive functions and attention. The extensive references have
also been updated. Sexist language is no longer acceptable and has been
removed.
I make no apology for the fact that the text still contains a balance
between clinical and experimental neuropsychology. Contrary to some
of the advice that I have received, I still think it important that students
are educated in both aspects of the discipline, even though the tradi-
tional experimental approaches are currently somewhat out of fashion
(although there are signs of a sea change) and imaging studies are very
much the vogue. For the same reason I have retained many of the older
references that are still of relevance and importance. Too many of my
students believe that nothing published before 2000 is worth reading;
they are wrong. Psychology, generally, is in danger of losing contact with
its rich intellectual heritage, and an appreciation of the history of
neuropsychology is critical to a full understanding of contemporary con-
cerns.
I must thank Rochelle Serwator at The Guilford Press for her sus-
tained enthusiasm for the project and unfailing patience with my delays,
and Jennifer DePrima and Louise Farkas for their efficient editing of the
text. I wish to warmly thank Professor Andrew Mayes, Lisa Williams,
MA, and Antonio E. Puente, PhD, for their perceptive and helpful com-
ments on the manuscript. The Institute of Neuro-palliative Rehabilita-
tion at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability permitted me some time
during the tenure of an international fellowship to work on the text, for
which I am grateful. I also owe a debt to my professional colleagues at
the Royal Hospital, without exception a talented group of friends,
for their inspiration and support. Roehampton University has pro-
vided an academic base and given me the opportunity for continued
 Preface to the Second Edition xiii

exposure to the stimulus of undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Most importantly, I must thank Pamela for inspiring me to complete this
revision and for helpful and intellectually challenging discussions that
have greatly enriched my knowledge and sustained me through difficult
times.
The one thing that has not changed in 25 years is my wish to inspire
students with an interest in neuropsychology to grapple with the intellec-
tual questions that the discipline poses and to share the satisfactions that
I have enjoyed from being a neuropsychologist. I hope this book contin-
ues to contribute toward these goals.
Contents

PART I. INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1. The Discipline of Neuropsychology 3
What Is Neuropsychology? 3
Branches of Neuropsychology 4
Comparative Neuropsychology 5
Conceptual Issues 6
Historical Background 8
Clinical Neuropsychology 11
Experimental Neuropsychology 14
Cognitive Neuropsychology 17
The Fringe 18
The Plan of This Book 19
Conclusion 20

CHAPTER 2. The Structure of the Central Nervous System 22

Terminology 23
The Environment of the CNS 24
The Spinal Cord 26
Divisions of the Brain 27
The Brain Stem 29
The Cerebellum 31
The Diencephalon—The Subcortical Forebrain 31
The Telencephalon—The Cerebral Cortex 35
Conclusion 40

xv
xvi Contents

PART II. CLINICAL STUDIES

CHAPTER 3. The Frontal Lobes 45
Some Methodological Issues 45
Intelligence 48
Specific Functions 51
The Motor and Premotor Cortex 52
The Prefrontal Cortex 54
Broca’s Area 61
The Orbital Cortex 61
Modern Theories of Frontal Lobe Function 64
Lateralization of the Frontal Lobe 67
Conclusion 68

CHAPTER 4. The Temporal Lobes 72

Audition 74
Vision 78
Attention 78
Memory 80
Personality 89
Conclusion 91

CHAPTER 5. The Parietal Lobes 95

Somatosensory Perception 96
Tactile Perception and Body Sense 98
Spatial Orientation 101
Spatial Neglect 104
Symbolic Syntheses 108
Apraxia 109
Intersensory Association 113
Short-Term Memory 113
Gerstmann Syndrome 113
Language 114
Conclusion 114

CHAPTER 6. The Occipital Lobes 118

Anatomical Divisions 118
Basic Visual Functions 121
Visual Perceptual Functions 123
Blindsight 127
Visual Prostheses 128
Conclusion 129
Integration of Cortical Functions 130

CHAPTER 7. Language 134

The Lateralization of Language 134
Varieties of Aphasia 136
 Contents xvii

Anatomical Structures 139

The Forms of Aphasia 141
Aphasia Assessment 150
The Rehabilitation of Aphasics 151
Conclusion 153

CHAPTER 8. Degenerative Diseases and Profound Brain Injury 159

Multiple Sclerosis 160
Parkinson’s Disease 162
Huntington’s Disease 165
Profound Brain Injury 167

CHAPTER 9. The Subcortex and Psychosurgery 180

Neurosurgery 182
Psychosurgery 185
Conclusion 191

PART III. EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES

CHAPTER 10. Split Brains and Dual Minds 199
The Commissurotomy Operation
and the Patients 200
The Effects of Commissurotomy 202
Consciousness Divided? 211
Conclusion 215

CHAPTER 11. Divided Visual Field Studies 220

The Technique 221
The Evidence 224
The Theories 234
Conclusion 239

CHAPTER 12. Dichotic Listening 245

The Technique 245
Lateral Ear Asymmetries 247
Attention 252
An Index of Lateralization 255
Conclusion 256
Other Methods
in Experimental Neuropsychology 257

CHAPTER 13. Electrophysiology and Imaging 263

Electrophysiology 263
Minor Physiological Techniques 279
Brain Imaging 280
Conclusion 285
xviii Contents

CHAPTER 14. Individual Differences: Gender and Handedness 292

Gender Differences in Cerebral Organization 292
Handedness 297
Conclusion 309

PART IV. APPLICATIONS

CHAPTER 15. Neuropsychological Practice 317
Testing for Brain Damage 318
The Assessment of Specific Functions 323
Assessment in Practice 329
Rehabilitation 332
Conclusion 336

CHAPTER 16. Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology 340

Neuropsychiatry 341
Functional States and Laterality 345
Theoretical Models 350
Conclusion 354

Author Index 360

Subject Index 370
Index of Tests and Procedures 380
 PART I

INTRODUCTION
Other documents randomly have
different content
 Concrete Tennis-Court

Concrete Driveway
Such driveways may lead to the
garage or up to the porch of the
house. One of the cheapest types to
the garage is a double runway for the
wheels of the automobile. These
runways should be about 4 feet 8
inches on centres and made 18
inches wide. They should be
constructed in the same way that
Concrete Runways to Garage walks are built.
Where a full-width concrete
driveway is built, it should be made about 6 inches thick at the
centre and 5 inches at the edges, sloping from the centre out. At
intervals of every 25 feet expansion joints should be built as was
specified for walks.

Concrete Steps
 The only difficult problem in the construction of concrete steps is
the making of forms. These should be well braced to prevent bulging
when the concrete is tamped into them. The aggregate ought not to
be over ¾ inch diameter, so that as the material is tamped into the
forms and the sides spaded, a good surface will be left when the
forms are removed. If the aggregate is too large, some pieces may
catch along the forms, and when they are removed large holes will
be found in the risers of the steps. The treads should be finished
with a wood trowel.

Concrete Garden Retaining Wall

Small Retaining Walls

Wherever terraces or lawns need the support of a small retaining
wall, concrete is excellent for this purpose. The foundations of such
walls should be carried down below the frost-line. The usual mixture
is 1 : 2 : 4. Drains should be built at intervals along the lower part of
the wall, to allow the seeping ground water to come out. At intervals
of about every 25 feet expansion joints should be made, somewhat
the shape of the tongue and groove in flooring. The base of such a
retaining wall should be at least as wide as ⁴/₁₀ the height of wall.
 Pools and Fountain-Basins

Concrete Pool
Such ornaments to the garden are not entirely outside of the
possibilities of the small house owner’s pocketbook. They should
have the exterior walls carried down below frost-level, and the
bottom and sides reinforced with steel. For the bottom woven-wire
reinforcement will answer the purpose and for the sides ⅜-inch
reinforcing rods should be used. These pools ought not to be more
than about 2 feet deep, in which case the bottoms may be made 6
inches thick and the sides 12 inches at the top and 14 inches at the
bottom.

Ornamental Garden Furniture of Concrete

 Simple Types of Concrete Garden Seats
There is no great difficulty or secret in making simple garden
furniture of concrete. Generally where the furniture is of simple lines,
the mould can be made of wood. If, say, a bench is to be made, the
top might be moulded as a slab of concrete, and the legs at the
ends as slabs, and all fitted together. If flower-boxes are desired, the
mould would necessarily have to be a little more complicated, but
not greatly so. The one thing to remember in making any of these
moulded bits of concrete is that they should always have embedded
inside of them reinforcing wire lath.
Of course the making of ornamental
pots and vases is rather difficult and
takes some skill. Here the original shape
must be modelled in clay, and a plaster
mould made of it, which is shellacked
Concrete Vase for Garden inside and greased. Special cores must
also be designed, and where fine
surfaces are desired various processes of
mixing ingredients must be resorted to. This is a special field of
itself, and men who do this kind of work generally have studied out
methods of their own. Some examples of this kind of work are
illustrated.
 XVIII
CLASSIFICATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF
THE ARCHITECTURAL MOTIFS USED
IN SMALL-HOUSE DESIGNING

There are not many architectural motifs that can be used in

designing the small house, and the ones which are employed over
and over again are fundamentally a part of the construction. The
plan must build up into block forms, because of the requirements of
construction, and the designer has only a handful of shapes that
make good roofs, for the same reason. The varieties of dormer-
windows that he can put on the roof are limited to a few that are
capable of being reasonably constructed. He cannot be original in
the forms he selects, for they have all been thought out before. He
should know them as he does the alphabet and build with them as
he builds words with letters.
For example, take the plan of the small house. Can there be
much room for originality here? Usually there are at the most four
rooms which must be arranged on the ground floor of the small
house: the living-room, dining-room, kitchen, and pantry. On the
second floor are generally placed the bedrooms. Does it not seem
reasonable to assume that all of the best combinations of so few
rooms must be quite limited in number, and that the chances are
that they have already been thought out? Many a young designer
has labored enthusiastically upon what he believes is his original
layout for a small house, only to find later that his solution has been
already worked out and perhaps a trifle better. When an inventor
tackles any particular problem, his first step, if he is wise, is to
consult the patents which have previously been issued along this
line, and then he will know what has been done.
 Rectangular
Square Plan “L”-Plan
Plan

Rectangular Plan
T-Plan
with Small Extension

Combination of “T”-plan
U-Plan
with L-plan
Try as hard as he will, no designer can get away from the fact
that the cheapest arrangement of rooms in his small-house plan
makes a square unit and builds a square block house, but that such
a plan is one of the most difficult forms to make pleasing to the eye.
For this reason the room arrangement, which gives a rectangular-
shaped house, is more often adopted. But we often tire of too much
repetition of the rectangular house, and designers try to vary it a
little. There is not much leeway here, however. By adding a wing at
right angles to the main rectangle of the house, we can have an L-
shaped plan which is easier to give architectural variety to, but very
uneconomical, for the number of linear feet of exterior wall for a
house of this shape is just as great as that for a house which is a
rectangle in plan, as long as the L and as wide. This also holds true
of the U-shaped plan and the T-shaped plan and the combination of
the T and the L shaped plans. In fact, as soon as the designer tries
to get away from the simplest rectangular shapes in the small house,
the economic reins pull him back, and he must go slow in selecting
too picturesque plans. Limited, therefore, in his possible scope, the
real work of the designer should be one of perfecting the acceptable
solutions which have been already worked out. Only once in a
generation are absolutely new arrangements stumbled on.

GAMBREL GABLE

WALL GABLE HIP ROOF FLAT ROOF

On top of these various-shaped blocks, which these plans will
form, a roof must be erected. Here again one would think that the
architectural motifs would be quite varied, and yet when the matter
is studied it is not the case. There are only five fundamental shapes
of roofs which can be placed upon these blocks, and two of these
types are really the same, and another ought not to be employed, so
that, after all, there are actually only three fundamental roof motifs
to use. These are the gable roof, the gambrel roof, and the hip roof.
The wall-gable roof is merely a type of end treatment for the gable
roof, and the flat roof is not suited to the average small house in the
country or suburbs, because of traditions.

A B
 These two houses are ugly as sin, yet are considered
very practical. All rooms on 2nd floor are square and
cellars are high and dry.

This house is considered impractical, because rooms

on 2ⁿᵈ floor are not square and are lighted with
dormers, and the cellar is low and partly omitted. But
architecturally something can be said of it.
In the small house the designer has the choice of either placing
these roofs above the second floor or placing the second floor within
the roof. Where the former is selected he sets for himself a very
difficult architectural problem—that of trying to make the proportions
of a house limited in ground area fit under a roof placed too high.
This has rarely been solved with any satisfaction, for in nearly all
cases the house looks too high and stilted. The comparative
drawings show how true this is. Notice how house A and B look
stilted, while house C has a charm which no manner of designing
would ever add to the former. Is it not a fact to be reckoned with
that the small house is best solved architecturally if the second floor
is placed within the roof? Economy of material is certainly secured in
this way, and the construction is greatly simplified. The chief
difficulties are to properly ventilate these rooms under the roof, and
to give them good lighting without making too many and too large
dormers. This is a hard problem, but it has been solved successfully.
The Dutch gambrel roof was developed for this purpose, and there
has been no doubt as to its beauty, except when wrongly used by
placing it above the second story or poking the second floor through
it in one long, single dormer.

VARIATIONS OF DESIGN DEVELOPED FROM THE FEW

FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURAL MOTIFS
It is quite evident from the above how important the roof
designing is in the small house. It goes without saying that the
simplest arrangement of roofs is the cheapest to build and the
easiest to maintain. Every valley means a leak at some later date, for
as careful as may be the builder, the history of roof valleys shows
that they leak sooner or later. The designer cannot freely mix his
roofs either. Gambrel roofs, hip roofs, and gabled roofs do not go
together harmoniously, without considerable study, and as a general
rule they should not be required to do so. The usual methods of
construction of these types of roofs are indicated well enough in the
drawings and need no explanation. The ridge-poles in all cases are
not of any structural importance, but act as alignments for rafters.
For this reason they are made only an inch thick. Hip rafters have
much the same function in hip roofs. Whenever valley rafters are
needed, these must be designed like floor girders. If dormers are
built into the roof, it is customary to double the rafters around the
openings. Where gable dormers are constructed, one of the valley
rafters must be extended to the ridge-pole, or else the rafters will
collapse.

GAMBREL ROOF CONSTRUCTION

CONSTRUCTION OF GABLE ROOF

HIP ROOF CONSTRUCTION

 Even when it comes to the design of
dormer-windows, the limits of originality are
quite restricted. The drawings show all of
the possible types that have been used with
any success. Variations in the proportions
and the details of these motifs is about all
that the designer can hope for, and yet this
is one of the hardest problems to solve. The
correct designing of dormer-windows is a
very rare thing to be seen. How many CONSTRUCTION OF
houses of modern Colonial style have ugly A DORMER
dormers! They are usually made too large
and too wide and fat. The dormer-windows
used in the old Colonial houses were narrow and high, and in those
proportions were their charming appeals. To-day a double-hung
window with weight-boxes is used in these dormers, and the whole
width made too wide because of these additions to the sides. This is
a warning that the designer should be careful in adapting old motifs
to modern requirements. This particular problem has been correctly
solved with the use of the weight-box, but how many times it has
not been solved is evident on all sides. Another unfortunate use of
the dormer-window motif is the extension of the second floor up
through the lower slope of the gambrel roof. This cuts away any
legitimate lower section of the gambrel roof, and in order to preserve
it, the designer projects it outward from the ends of the house, and
has it skirt by the side of the second floor like an added toboggan-
slide with no earthly reason for its existence. Then, too, the prairie-
schooner dormer, the semicircle one, and the eyebrow dormer are
certainly types to be used with great care, for they can become
eyesores without effort, and they cost a good deal to construct.
Where the dormer is to be made inconspicuous the flat-roof type has
been successfully employed, but the roofing material on it should be
tin or copper. In some of the trap-door types of dormers where the
pitch is very slight, the roofing material ought to be of sheet metal.
The sides of dormers are made less conspicuous by covering them
with the same material as used on the roof, but this is not always
desirable. However, all vertical joints of dormers with the roof should
be carefully flashed to prevent leaks.

FLAT TREATMENT OF GABLE END

The treatment of the gable ends of dormers is practically the

same as that required for the treatment of the gable ends of the
main roof. Here again, although on the face of it there seem to be
innumerable ways of treating the gable ends of roofs, yet there are
comparatively few methods. The drawings show about all the
possible ways, and any types which appear to differ from these can
be shown to be merely variations. The simplest method of treatment
is to place a small moulding under the ends of the shingles. A
variation of this can be made by adding a wide board below the
moulding or a course of shingles running parallel with the edge. The
classic cornice can be used, but great taste is needed in handling
this motif, for any pitch which is not of the traditional classic
pediment form is apt to look badly. The verge-board motif comes
from half-timber traditions, and is generally used in a very careless
fashion. In general, it usually looks best when some visible means of
support is made a part of the design.

FLAT TREATMENT OF GABLE END

ADAPTATION OF CLASSIC PEDIMENT

 VERGE-BOARD TREATMENT OF GABLE END
The shingle imitation of the thatched-roof gable is one of those
amusing architectural fads which do not have very deep roots, and
sooner or later are forgotten.
The wall-gable treatment is very dignified, but is usually
associated with larger houses, but when simplified it has a charm
which none of the other motifs can offer.

SHINGLE IMITATING GABLE

WALL GABLE
END OF THATCHED-ROOF
Other than these few, there are no common motifs to use in
adorning the gable end of a roof. This and the previous statements
only go to prove that the originality of design in the small house is
limited within a narrow scope, and that the real beauty is not
obtained in trying to find different forms, but in trying to use the
traditional structural forms in the best proportions and giving careful
attention to the details. In fact, it has been said that house
designing is largely an assembling, into pleasing general proportions,
of carefully designed traditional details.
 XIX
TRADITIONS OF BUILDING FROM WHICH
OUR MODERN METHODS ARE DERIVED

Importance of Tradition
The art of building has grown by evolution, like other things in
this world. The carpenter who builds in wood to-day builds according
to certain customs which come down to him from centuries of
carpenters. Modern methods of constructing the small house have all
human history for their background. When we speak of modern
methods, we merely refer to those which are used at this time, as
they have evolved from past experience and been considered
satisfactory. To hear some architects and builders talk, one would
think that modern America had the monopoly on good construction,
and that our system of building was newly invented. How often have
we heard remarks like the following from the self-styled practical
man: “The genius of the present age is eminently practical and
constructive. Improvements of every kind and ingenious
contrivances for easily effecting results, which in past ages were only
accomplished by slow, laborious effort, ... etc.”
But they were saying this kind of thing in 1858, for the above is
quoted from a book of this date, so that even the practical man is
traditional in his remarks about building.
There are also too many young men to-day wasting their time
discovering what they think are new ways of building, but which
have been known for centuries and discarded as unsatisfactory. If
they would only study what had already been done, they would save
themselves a lot of trouble.
Styles of Design Change, but Construction the
Same
The styles in designing houses may change from year to year, or
more likely from generation to generation, but the methods of
building and the traditions in back of them continue on, with only
slight changes which mark the evolution of the art. In as brief a
period as we have had in this country to produce domestic
architecture, we can notice very distinct styles of design, but running
through them all are similar ways of building. Our earliest Colonial
houses were built according to traditions brought over from England.
These traditions in turn had deep roots in Europe, back to primitive
days, when houses were not much more than temporary, movable
shacks.
There is, however, one general trend through which building
methods seem to pass. First, we have rather heavy, clumsy ways of
building; this is followed by a long period of experimental cutting
down of the materials of construction and standardization of parts;
following this comes the stage of extreme lightness of construction,
when the builders go as near the limit of safety as possible, and
then accidents occur which tend to discredit the system.
The early English houses were built of heavy oak-trees. Later
half-timber houses used smaller structural members and more
standard sizes. These traditions were brought to this country, but it
was soon found that heavy oak was not necessary for their stability,
but that some of the native soft woods would answer the purpose.
The thinning-down process continued, until we developed the frame
dwelling of balloon construction which is practically built of 2 by 4
pieces throughout.
We are now having a building code formulated by the United
States Department of Commerce, which is intended to establish the
minimum requirements for small-house construction, so that
greatest economy of material can be secured, but also a precedent
set for the minimum cutting down of material in building. In the
compilation of this code this tendency to reduce the quantity of
material used was very evident in the discussions which centred
around the problem of whether the brick walls for small houses
should be 12 or 8 inches thick. In Colonial days they thought nothing
of building them 2 feet thick. To-day we hesitate at building them as
thick as 12 inches. In fact, our building codes show no uniformity of
opinion on the matter, and our experts disagree. The preliminary
form of the above-mentioned code has settled upon an 8-inch
thickness for walls not exceeding 30 feet, and made additional
allowance for an extra 5 feet in height on the gable end of the
building.
The process of thinning down is still going on, as this indicates.
The illustrations representing briefly the historical progress of
styles in domestic architecture in the United States are given to
show how these styles have varied, and impress the reader with the
rather constant undercurrent of construction methods throughout
these changes.
In the early Colonial houses the wooden frames were built of
heavy oak timbers which were hewn into shape and dressed down
with the adze. Sometimes rafters and joists were sawn, and the
further along we progress in time the more we find the saw being
used.

AMERICAN DOMESTIC
AMERICAN DOMESTIC
AMERICAN DOMESTIC
 If we now jump to the period between 1865 and 1889, we find
that the awful atrocities of architecture were being built in the East
with similar heavy frames, although slightly less massive. Where
tradition was less strong in the West, the balloon frame had grown
up, but during the same period houses of equally bad design were
built with one or the other systems, showing that the system of
construction had very little to do with the style of architecture. Even
consider the variety of styles used in modern domestic work, and
then one can realize that all of these different types of buildings are
built much in the same way. Good design has apparently little
relation to good construction, although good design is improved
when it expresses the construction. We often see very beautiful
houses set up for moving-picture plays, but these are built of flimsy
stage scenery. We have also seen very ugly houses which make us
curse the builder for having built them so well.

Fundamental Building Traditions

Inherited from England
It is from England that we have inherited most of our building
traditions of domestic work. The earliest methods of constructing a
home were much the same for all European countries. Woven
brushwood of the crudest sort was undoubtedly the first beginnings
of domestic construction. The next step in advance was, according
to a German theory, invented by a woman. It consisted of erecting
leaning poles and stakes and filling the space between with inwoven
wattlework. The shapes were conical, like the Indian tents, but later
the gable roof shape was adopted because of the greater interior
space allowed.
In building the gable-shaped houses the early builders used very
heavy and massive construction for the ridge-pole and its support,
for they believed that this upheld the rafters. This tradition was kept
alive until quite recent times, but now we know that when rafters
are supported at their base, the ridge-pole practically takes none of
the weight and need only be used for ease of erection.
 OLD ENGLISH CRUCK
PRIMITIVE TYPE
CONSTRUCTION
But to our ancestors the important problem in first erecting the
house was to secure the substantial support of the ridge-pole.
Obviously the erection of two forked trees at either end of the ridge-
pole made an excellent solution, but when the room was long this
meant that the interior had to be cluttered up with interior posts. We
find then that one of the primitive methods in England of eliminating
the interior posts was the adoption of the cruck system of
construction which is shown in Fig. 2. By selecting two bent trees
and placing them together in a shape like a wish-bone, the ridge-
pole could be well supported without interior columns. By placing
cross-tie beams on these bent trees and extending them outward,
the plates for supporting the lower ends of the rafters could be held
in position. This permitted the carpenters to erect the exterior walls
independently of the roof, a thing which they seem to have desired.
There is another variation of the above method of supporting the
ridge-pole, and that is shown in Fig. 3. Instead of selecting a bent
tree, one was secured which was upright for a certain height, and
then which bent to one side with a branch. By placing two of these
trees together, a perfect end was formed for the house. However,
this was not a very good type, since it meant the selecting of very
unusual-shaped trees.
 ENGLISH POST & TRUSS CONSTRUCTION

For this reason the system of post-and-truss construction, which

is shown in Fig. 4, was the natural outcome of the above. Diagonal
bracing at the corners evidently was found to be useful in resisting
high wind-storms, and it was usually employed.
There apparently remained a distrust of masonry walls among
the carpenters, for they continued to support the roofs entirely upon
heavy timber framing, and records show that the exterior walls were
built up after the roof-framing had been completed. There are
evidences that the early types of walls, after the primitive woven
brushwood walls proved insecure, were made like a barricade of
trees; that is, they were merely a continuous line of vertically placed
tree-trunks. This, of course, was a ruinously expensive type of wall
when timber became scarce, and it is no wonder that it grew to a
system of construction like that shown in Fig. 5. Even this required a
good deal of wood, so that the filling of the space between the
timbers rather logically became masonry or plaster on lath. However,
the method of building shown in Fig. 5 has all of the elements of the
system of construction used in framing modern exterior walls. The
most important difference is in the size of the timbers used.
 TYPE OF ANCIENT ENGLISH HALF TIMBER
WOODEN WALL CONSTRUCTION
The half-timber construction of the Middle Ages was only the
artistic treatment of this crude system of building. In drawing
number 6 is a very simple half-timber house which shows practically
no attempt at all to decorate. The construction is perfectly evident,
and there are no curves and carving used to ornament the building,
as can be seen on some of the more elaborate houses of the cities.
This simple building system was the traditional background of the
English carpenter, and it is not at all extraordinary that he brought
his methods of building over to this country.
 TYPE OF FRAMING FOR BRACED FRAME AS
COLONIAL DEVELOPED FROM
OF FIRST PERIOD NEW ENGLAND COLONIAL
Even the custom of calling in the neighbors and feasting them
when a house-raising was celebrated came directly from English
traditions. The old post-and-truss construction of the early English
houses required framing on the ground and then lifting into position
afterward. Records show that the people from the surrounding
countryside were called in to help, and their wages of hire were paid
by the house owner with a huge feast. In early Colonial days the
nearest neighbors were likewise called in to help raise the frame,
and the host was supposed to feed the gathering, after the work
was finished, and make a jolly party of eating and drinking—a sort of
social debt, but not looked upon as wages, as in older days.
 The hard climate which the earliest American colonists had to
face and also the abundant supply of wood which lay at their very
doors were factors which slightly altered the traditions of building.
After the house had been framed and the spaces between the
timbers filled with plaster or masonry, the exterior was covered over
with clapboards or shingles as an extra covering against the weather.
The use of clapboards or shingles as an exterior covering of course
was not new, for many English farmhouses show that it was used in
that country. But with this difference in exterior appearance, the
framing underneath was the same as shown in Fig. 7.

Revolt against New England Traditions

It was only a matter of time when the thinning-down process
began to make itself evident in the traditions of Colonial carpentry,
and from its clumsy beginnings it evolved into the more or less
standard form of construction which we call the brace-frame.
The difficulty of securing good labor in the West, and also the
increasing use of the power sawmill, made it possible and necessary
to standardize a quick and easy method of building which would
meet the great demand for houses in rapidly growing communities.
Quoting from the New York Tribune of January 18, 1855, we
have a very interesting account of the conditions which were then
prevalent that brought about this later variation of the wooden
frame structure. The conditions there described seem almost like our
modern difficulties with labor and materials.
“Mr. Robinson said: ... I would saw all my timbers for a frame
house, or ordinary frame outbuilding, of the following dimensions:
2 × 8 inches; 2 × 4; 2 × 1. I have, however, built them, when I lived
on the Grand Prairie of Indiana, many miles from sawmills, nearly all
of split and hewed stuff, making use of rails or round poles, reduced
to straight lines and even thickness on two sides, for studs and
rafters. But sawed stuff is much the easiest, though in a timber
country the other is far the cheapest. First, level your foundation,
and lay down two of the 2 × 8 pieces, flatwise, for side-walls. Upon
these set the floor-sleepers, on edge, 32 inches apart. Fasten one at
each end, and perhaps one or two in the middle, if the building is
large, with a wooden pin. These end-sleepers are the end-sills. Now
lay the floor, unless you design to have one that would be likely to
be injured by the weather before you get on the roof. It is a great
saving, though, of labor to begin at the bottom of a house and build
up. In laying the floor first, you have no studs to cut and fit around,
and can let your boards run out over the ends, just as it happens,
and afterward saw them off smooth by the sill. Now set up a corner-
post, which is nothing but one of the 2 × 4 studs, fastening the
bottom by four nails; make it plumb, and stay it each way. Set
another at the other corner, and then mark off your door and
window places and set up the side-studs and put in the frames. Fill
up with studs between, 16 inches apart, supporting the top by a line
or strip of board from corner to corner, or stayed studs between.
Now cover that side with rough sheeting boards, unless you intend
to side-up with clapboards on the studs, which I never would do,
except for a small, common building. Make no calculation about the
top of your studs; wait till you get up that high. You may use them
of any length, with broken or stub-shot ends, no matter. When you
have got this side boarded as high as you can reach, proceed to set
up another. In the meantime other workmen can be lathing the first
side. When you have got the sides all up, fix upon the height of your
upper floor, and strike a line upon the studs for the under side of the
joist. Cut out a joist 4 inches wide, half inch deep, and nail on firmly
one of the inch strips. Upon these strips rest the chamber floor-joist.
Cut out a joist 1 inch deep, in the lower edge, and lock it on the
strip, and nail each joist to each stud. Now lay this floor, and go on
to build the upper story, as you did the lower one; splicing on and
lengthening out studs wherever needed, until you get high enough
for the plate. Splice studs or joists by simply butting the ends
together, and nailing strips on each side. Strike a line and saw off
the top of the studs even upon each side—not the ends—and nail on
one of the inch strips. That is the plate. Cut the ends of the upper
joist the bevel of the pitch of the roof, and nail them fast to the
plate, placing the end ones inside the studs, which you will let run
up promiscuously, to be cut off by the rafter. Now lay the garret floor
by all means before you put on the roof, and you will find that you
have saved 50 per cent of hard labor. The rafters, if supported so as
not to be over 10 feet long, will be strong enough of the 2 × 4 stuff.
Bevel the ends and nail fast to the joist. Then there is no strain upon
the sides by the weight of the roof, which may be covered with
shingles or other materials—the cheapest being composition or
cement roofs. To make one of this kind, take soft, spongy, thick
paper, and tack it upon the boards in courses like shingles.
Commence at the top with hot tar and saturate the paper, upon
which sift evenly fine gravel, pressing it in while hot—that is, while
tar and gravel are both hot. One coat will make a tight roof; two
coats will make it more durable. Put up your partitions of stuff 1 × 4,
unless where you want to support the upper joist—then use stuff
2 × 4, with strips nailed on top, for the joist to rest upon, fastening
all together by nails, wherever timbers touch. Thus you will have a
frame without a tenon or mortise, or brace, and yet it is far cheaper,
and incalculably stronger when finished, than though it were
composed of timbers 10 inches square, with a thousand auger holes
and a hundred days’ work with the chisel and adze, making holes
and pins to fill them.
“To lay out and frame a building so that all its parts will come
together requires the skill of a master mechanic, and a host of men
and a deal of hard work to lift the great sticks of timber into
position. To erect a balloon building requires about as much
mechanical skill as it does to build a board fence. Any farmer who is
handy with the saw, iron square, and hammer, with one of his boys
or a common laborer to assist him, can go to work and put up a
frame for an outbuilding, and finish it off with his own labor, just as
well as to hire a carpenter to score and hew great oak sticks and fill
them full of mortises, all by the science of the ‘square rule.’ It is a
waste of labor that we should all lend our aid to put a stop to.
Besides, it will enable many a farmer to improve his place with new
buildings, who, though he has long needed them, has shuddered at
the thought of cutting down half of the best trees in his wood-lot,
and then giving half a year’s work to hauling it home and paying for
what I do know is the wholly useless labor of framing. If it had not
been for the knowledge of balloon frames, Chicago and San
Francisco could never have arisen, as they did, from little villages to
great cities in a single year. It is not alone city buildings, which are
supported by one another, that may be thus erected, but those upon
the open prairie, where the wind has a sweep from Mackinaw to the
Mississippi, for there they are built, and stand as firm as any of the
old frames of New England, with posts and beams 16 inches
square.”
The above address, which was delivered before the American
Institute Farmers’ Club, has been quoted in detail because of the
interesting point of view of the days of 1855 which it reveals. When
Mr. Robinson had finished there were other comments, especially
one by Mr. Youmans, in which he described early conditions of
building in San Francisco. He also said that he had adopted this plan
of building on his farm in Saratoga County, where he found great
difficulty in getting carpenters that would do as he wished. They
could not give up tenons and mortises, and braces and big timbers,
for the light ribs, 2 by 4 inches, of a balloon frame. Does this not
remind the modern reader of comments he has heard upon all sides
these days concerning labor which will not do what is wanted but
insists on doing things in the old way?
Some pertinent remarks were also made by a Mr. Stillman, who
testified that he had seen whole blocks of houses built in two weeks
at San Francisco, and better frames he never saw. He said they were
put up a story at a time, the first two floors often being framed and
sided in and lived in before the upper part of the house was up.
Have we any such housing crisis as this, in these days, or did we do
any quicker building of war villages than that described above?
And now we read from the Preliminary Report on the Building
Code Committee of the United States Department of Commerce the
crystallized tradition of this system of wooden frame construction
which was evolved so many years ago that we sometimes forget the
conditions of its making:
“Exterior Walls.—1. Wood studding shall be 2 × 4 inches nominal
size or larger, and spaced not to exceed 16 inches on centres. All
walls shall be securely braced at corners. The minimum sizes
specified in these requirements shall in all cases be understood as
referring to nominal sizes of such timbers.
2. Exterior walls, except those of dwellings or parts thereof not
more than one story high, shall be sheathed with boards not less
than ⅞ inch thick. Sheathing-boards shall be laid tight and properly
nailed to each stud with not less than 2 tenpenny nails. Where the
sheathing is omitted all corners shall be diagonally braced and such
other measures taken to secure rigidity as may be necessary.
3. Wood sheathing may be omitted when other types of
construction are used that are proven of adequate strength and
stability by tests conducted by recognized authorities.
4. When joists are supported on ledger or ribbon boards, such
boards shall not be less than 1 × 4 inches, shall be laid into the
studs and securely nailed with not less than 2 nails to each stud. The
floor-joists shall be well spiked to the sides of the studs.”
 XX
TRADITIONS OF THE CONSTRUCTION
OF DOORS AND WINDOWS

Windows
What are the elements of design in the
elevations of the small house? Surely they
are not the five classical orders, as
commonly used in monumental
architecture, but rather they are the doors
and windows. The successful placing and
careful detailing of the doors and windows
of a small house will have more to do with
the architectural attractiveness of the
structure than anything else, for, after all,
the most important part of any elevation is
the treatment of the holes in it. The walls
would be plain and uninteresting but for the
holes where the doors and windows are
placed. The fenestration cannot be too
large or too small, and here is the problem. Primitive window
We desire plenty of light and air, but we
must also recognize that windows which are too large leave little
wall space in the rooms, are cold in winter, and appear less homelike
than smaller and snugger appearing ones. Then, too, windows which
are of plain, clear glass in very large sheets make these holes appear
open and black, and this is quite contrary to our traditions of the
windows of a home, which should be safe and cosey. The omission
of muntins from the windows of small houses is a great mistake in
design, even though these small panes require a little more work to
wash.
Our traditions of door and window
construction come, as do other structural
traditions, from England. Undoubtedly the
earliest structures had no windows at all,
but were lighted by the openings through
the defective construction of the walls and
also through the door. Our ancestors of
those days were more interested in
protecting themselves from outside
intruders than they were in fresh air and
sunshine in their rooms. When it was safe
to build windows they were only holes in
the walls. Some of the old huts, built on
crucks, a construction previously described,
had holes in the roofs for windows, which Lattice Window
served the double purpose of letting in light
and letting out the smoke of the fire. We
get an inkling of what a window was from the very derivation of the
word itself, which comes from the old Norse word “wind-auga” or
wind-eye. This does not sound like a glazed sash, nor does the other
Anglo-Saxon term for window, “wind-dur,” meaning wind-door,
suggest a closed aperture. Of course these windows were
undoubtedly closed in some way or other in stormy weather or when
danger was outside. Probably a wooden board or shutter was used,
which had a small peep-hole cut in it. These were hung from the
top, and when opened were held in position with a prop on the
outside.
There is no certainty of when the smaller domestic houses of
England began to use glazed windows. In 1519 William Horman
wrote: “I wyll haue a latesse before the glasse for brekynge.” This
would suggest that windows of latticework were preferred because
of the cost of glass, and this might have been filled instead with
canvas, horn, or tile to let in some light. But another writer in 1562
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