BUILDINGS AND BUNGALOWS. 139 



while after a shower every part got damp, and, being 

 entirely built of vegetable produce, there was a very 

 strong odour of decaying matter something between 

 wet hay and bilge-water on a steamer. When dry, 

 the lemon-grass had it all its own way, and the scent 

 then was very pleasant. 



A little " roughing it " must be expected and put 

 up with at this time, the most important matters 

 being to secure a healthy spot with command of 

 good water, protection from the night dews and 

 chills to keep out the damp of an Indian monsoon 

 is more than any house built by human hands can 

 be expected to achieve. 



A boarded floor, however, a foot clear above 

 the ground, is an important sanitary feature which 

 should never be overlooked. If the doors and 

 windows of the permanent bungalow are got up 

 from the agents about this time they will do duty 

 for a period in the humbler structure. 



The natives house themselves temporarily in 

 "lines" i.e., long, low sheds with matting sides, 

 thatch roofs, and beaten mud floors. There must 

 be running water near, but not close enough to 

 receive the refuse of the huts which heavy rains 

 will wash down. With proper guidance, and when 

 they feel the authority of a strong hand, the coolies 

 may be trained to any point of order and discipline. 

 Left to themselves, the lower classes, who are swept 

 together by the maistries in the lowlands and 

 brought up on the advance system, are unquestion- 



