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and the smoke is let out by openings in the roof, or in
the wall just below the roof. There are no windows,
and the smoke usually forms a dense cloud in the
upper part of the room, the air below being warm and
clear. But the wind drives the smoke downwards, and
eye diseases are frequent where this kind of house
exists. When the peasant himself lives in a
smoke-cottage, he has generally another building for the
reception of strangers.
The origin of the word “savu-pirtti” is not without
interest. The word “kota” or “cuda” (a hut), which
is seen in the English word “cottage,” is common in
the Finnish language; and round huts are still in use
among certain Finnish tribes in the east. The word
“pirtis,” which occurs in “savu (smoke) pirtti,” is
supposed to come from the Lithuanians and Letts, among
whom it means “bath-house.” Like the Finns to-day,
and unlike the Russians, these people made free use
of the bath. The pirtis was used among them as a
bath-house, as well as a drying-house for grain-sheaves;
and some of the Esthonians still use it for both
purposes. According to this origin of the word, this form
of building is supposed to have been learnt in very old
days from the Lithuanians and Letts, just as, later, the
Finns learned most of their domestic economy from the
Scandinavians.
The abundance of wood is a great feature in the
domestic economy of the Finnish peasant. The forest
frequently provides a considerable part of his income,
in some districts the largest part. As in other forest
countries, he uses wood for everything, often with
great extravagance. He burns an enormous quantity,
and spends much labour in carting and chopping it.
The houses are built of wood, chiefly of solid timber,
and not of boards, as in Sweden and Norway. Some
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