Copra and its Preparation 383 



in the most rational manner at the least cost 

 to himself, so long as the utility and efficacious- 

 ness of the building are not unduly sacrificed in 

 one's anxiety to save money. It is meant by 

 this that the planter should endeavour to use 

 those suitable materials which are most readily 

 to his hand in his own locality, such as native 

 timber and boards, limestone, or brick, &c., 

 so long as they will serve the purpose. 



Wherever it is at all feasible, however, the 

 roof, or at least that part of it which lies 

 directly over the hurdles, should be made of 

 corrugated galvanized iron sheets to render it 

 absolutely impervious to showers, however 

 heavy they may be, and, for a scarcely less 

 important reason, for cleanliness. 



This central roof should be wide and high 

 enough for sufficient cover, and for as free 

 evaporation inside as possible. The side roofs 

 over the cooling floors of the building may 

 safely be constructed of "attap" (the leaves 

 shorn from the fronds of the palm, and bent 

 double closely side by side over a stick about 

 4 ft. long). An attap roof can be made perfectly 

 watertight if properly and narrowly laid, and it 

 will, in such cases, last three to four years without 

 renewal. There is, of course, with such roofs, 

 always the danger of fire by sparks from the 

 furnace, but such risks can be lessened if battens 

 of bamboo are fastened across the top at 

 intervals of about a foot or so, to prevent the 

 ends of the leaves becoming loose in a wind, 



