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are bound together by three purlins on each side of 

 the roof, one of which is at the lower end of the 

 rafters, outside the wall-plate, another is just below 

 the ridge, the third midway between these two. The 

 purlins are firmly tied by sinnet to the rafters, and so 

 prevent any of them from shifting or sagging. The 

 purlins are long straight pieces of timber, not less 

 than 6 inches in diameter. The rafters are small 

 straight trees, from which the bark has been cleanly 

 removed, as it would harbour destructive insects. 

 They are placed from a foot to 18 inches apart. On 

 the outside of the above-mentioned side posts, which 

 support the wall-plates, another row of side-posts is 

 set up. These are generally the stems of tree-ferns 

 smoothed, either round or square. They are placed 

 from 3 to 6 feet apart. They are let some distance into 

 the ground, and are fastened at the top to the lowest 

 purlin and the ends of the rafters by sinnet. The walls 

 or sides of the houses are formed of laminated reeds or 

 canes of the gascm (eulalia japonica). The lamina are 

 arranged either uprightly, horizontally, or diagonally. 

 By interweaving the lamina, aided by coloured sinnet 

 fastenings, many curious patterns are worked out. 

 Sometimes the walls of the houses, outside the reeds, 

 are thatched with cane leaves or branches of the 

 makita (parinarium laurinum), with the leaves 

 attached, or the fronds of the marsh acrostichum 

 aureum. The roofs are thatched with sugar-cane 

 leaves, ferns, or long grass. When the two latter are 

 used, the rafters are (like the side walls) covered with 

 several layers of reeds woven into different designs, 

 over which the thatch is laid, all being made fast to 

 the rafters by sinnet. When the leaves of the sugar 

 cane are used, they are doubled over a reed and 



