58 Art. VIT. — A. Matsnmnra : 



lopment of betel-nat chewing ; the betel-nut kernel itself, even 

 when mixed with the chunum ov lime, being a somewhat inert 

 substance."^ If one is a natural development of the other, it is 

 reasonable to suppose that the two do not exist together. 



Chapter III. . 



Dwellings and Household Utensils. 



There is no uniformity in skill in the construction of dwell- 

 ings in the East Caroline and Marshall Islands. The houses of 

 the Truk islanders, like their clothing, are the most primitive. In 

 this chapter, separate treatment will be given to each island. 



I. Teuk. 



1. Dwellings. — The houses are rectangular in the ground-plan, 

 the size being usually 4 by 7 m. The four poles, one at each 

 corner, are mostly trunks of bread-fruit trees driven into the 

 ground. Trunks forming the shape of the lettei- Y ^'■^'^ chosen for 

 this purpose, so as to afford support for cross-beams. The timbers 

 employed, from the ridge-timber to cross-beams, are usually minor 

 trunks of bread-fruit trees. Ropes of coconut fibre are used 

 instead of nails. The roof, of which the ridge-timber and the 

 eaves are parallel and of the same length, is thatched with 

 leaves of the ivory-nut tree {Coelococcus carolineims), the caves 

 honging down to about 90 cm. above ground. The sides are also 

 covered with leaves of the same tree. The entrance is provided 



1 F. W. Christian, «The Caroline Islands," p. 189. 



