CEYLON COCOA ESTATE 13 



In the space between, rats hold high carnival 

 every night. Substantial stone partitions, 

 reaching to within a few feet of the roof, divide 

 the bedrooms from the one sitting-room. A 

 verandah surrounds three sides of the building, 

 while at the other end, store-room and bath-room 

 are added. The kitchen and servant s room are 

 in a separate hut. This has its advantages in- 

 asmuch as it keeps the house cool to have no 

 fires, but makes it extremely irksome and throat 

 scraping to give loud shouts whenever one wants 

 anything. 



I hope all the good housewives won't be 

 utterly shocked when I say, I have never yet been 

 inside the kitchen. I was strongly advised not 

 to do so, as being rather fastidious, a sight of 

 the native methods of cooking might seriously 

 damage my appetite, and as the one panacea 

 everyone gives for avoiding fever is " Eat — eat 

 — eat," this advice was not to be deprecated. 

 I believe there is no proper fireplace in the 

 kitchen, only a fire on the hearth and a clay 

 oven, and the water for my bath is always 

 heated in an empty Keresine tin (but of course 

 it has been thoroughly purified from its original 

 aroma). The breakfasts and dinners that are 

 produced out of this primitive kitchen would do 

 credit to the most orderly Western menage. 



We have done all we can to make our very 

 unpromising-looking rooms homelike. Photo- 



