1 74 Coffee Planting. 



re-lay them from time to time, as they have a ten- 

 dency to slip down and become displaced, especially 

 should the slope of the roof be at all steep. They 

 have the advantages of being durable and incom- 

 bustible. Neither tiles nor shingles, however, pro- 

 vide so comfortable, dry or healthful a covering 

 as thatch, according to my experience, whether for 

 bungalow or coolie lines. 



Iron sheets, both plain and corrugated, tarred 

 and galvanized, are extensively used for roofing 

 buildings of all kinds in the East. For coffee stores, 

 where a maximum warmth and dryness is desirable, 

 they are all that can be desired ; they are also 

 valuable from their durability and non-liability to 

 combustion. As a material for dwelling-houses in 

 a tropical climate, however, iron is most objection- 

 able, rendering the temperature of the interior 

 intolerable in hot weather, and producing an in- 

 cessant and most unpleasant reverberation during 

 the process of natural expansion and contraction 

 (one or other of which appears to be always in 

 progress), as also when affected by wind, or rain. 

 I have also been assured by medical men that 

 iron roofing for dwelling-houses is unhealthful, 

 owing to the great variation of temperature occur- 

 ring under it the heat being excessive during 

 the day in fine weather, while the cold at night 

 is equally intensified. 



