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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the owner can make another floor higher up, with some bamboo sticks 

 and a few hours of time. 



The house is only one story high. The framing of the roof except 

 for the larger pieces, which are of timber, is made with bamboos of 

 sizes graduated to correspond with the weight they are intended to 

 support. It is covered with a shingling of palm -leaves, or with wisps 



of straw, after the fashion of a European thatch. The outside walls 

 and the partitions are often made in the same way. Inside, the house 

 is divided into three or more apartments. The first, the vestibule, 

 usually open in front, is reached by the ladder. Next to it is the prin- 

 cipal room, serving for salon, dining-room, and bedroom, and from 



