308 POPULATION. 



DWELLINGS AND FAMILIES. 



AVliile the climate of South Carolina, like that of Greece, Rome and 

 Palestine, renders life out of doors pleasant and preferahle for the larger 

 portion of the time, and while it never necessitates the protection of 

 costly houses, the materials for huilding are abundant and cheap. In 

 the upi)er third of the State the crystalline rocks furnish a great variety 

 of building stones ; the granite itself being of the very finest quality ; in 

 the low country the great lime beds are being utilized in the manufac- 

 ture of concrete blocks for building, and the lime rock, though not de- 

 veloped, has long since been tested, and found durable (see Lower Pine 

 Belt). Clay suitable for brick is found in nearly every neighborhood, 

 they are burned at a cost of about $3.00 per thousand, and sell at from 

 five to ten dollars per thousand, according to the facilities of transporta- 

 tion and the demand. The best yellow-pine lumber may be had for seven 

 to twelve dollars per thousand. Cypress, for roofing, is cheap and al)un- 

 dant, and there are many varieties of hard woods. The cheapest houses 

 are log cabins. Such a house, twenty feet square, with a good wooden 

 floor raised a foot or more above the ground, ten feet between joints, 

 plastered outside with clay and ceiled inside with split pine boards, with 

 a good chimney and board roof, furnishes complete protection against the 

 vicissitudes of the seasons, and is estimated to cost, work and material, 

 from thirty to fifty dollars, according to locality. The population of 

 South Carolina has always enjoyed ample house room, as will appear 

 from the following comparison wdth the country at large, not to speak of 

 the populations of Europe, W'here, with the exception of France, Wap- 

 peaus makes the average number of occupants to a dwelling from 8. 86 in 

 Saxony to 5.42 in Belquiver. The following table gives the facts relating 

 to dwellings and the number of persons to a family in South Carolina, 

 with such general data as serves to exhibit the status here in comparison 

 with the country at large : 



