KILGHIRI HILLS. 2-45 



have been hitherto extremely neglected, the only building in which stone 

 Hitherto but little ^'^^ J^t been employed being a private house in 

 Ootakamund, which, from its singularity in this 

 respect, is generally known as Stouehouse. The reason for this prefer- 

 ence of brick over stone is undoubtedly its comparative cheapness; and 

 the advantages of the superior durability of the latter material, and what 



on the Neelgherries is a matter of no small import- 

 Its advantages. 



ance — -its dryness — have beea sacrificed to present 

 saving in cost. Were the bricks employed for dwelling houses properly 

 burnt and vitrified, the most weighty objection to their use — damp- 

 Bricks used are very ^^^^ — would not obtain ; but they are in most, 

 if not in all cases, of native manufacture, and 

 being made of a very sandy clay, and but slightly baked, they are so 

 absorbent, that except in the dryest and most elevated situations, the 

 houses constructed with them are scarcely ever dry, and many are the 

 fevers, rheumatic attacks, and similar affections to which their valetudina- 

 rian resident/ are consequently subject. 



Quarrying on the large scale is almost unpractised in this country, 



Selection of Building ^nd should stone be required for buildings to 



be hereafter erected on the Neelgherries, some 



care would be necessary in the selection of a proper stone, and a 



favorable site for working, in order that the expenses of quarrying and 



the carriage of the stone be as small as possible. In many parts of 



Peculiar structure of Mysore the foliated rocks exhibit a great tendency 



the Gneiss of ih'sore. , t ay ■ ^ 11 • c c 



to scale Oil in large slabs, varying from a few 



inches to one or two feet in thickness, and as this variety of the rock is 



very free from vertical joints, long narrow post-shaped blocks, and slabs 



How worked. of various sizes are readily cut by means of a row 



of iron wedges driven into holes previously cut with the chisel.* 



* In Mysore the electiic telegraph wire is supported on stone posts of this description 

 upwards of twenty feet in length, and averaging about nine inches square in section. 



