MEDICAL SURVEY OF THE TOWN OF TAYTAY. 255 



washed, dressed in its best clothing, and wrapped in a mat which serves 

 as coffin or winding slieet. The body is carried to the grave upon a sort 

 of hanunock constructed of bamboo slats and slung from a bamboo pole 

 on the shoulders of two men, who are relieved in relaj's. After the 

 funeral, those present return to the house of the deceased where a funeral 

 feast is prepared. 



TEIE BETTER CLASS QF INHABITANTS. 



Such are the conditions under which the greater part of the population 

 of Taj'tay undergo their daily existence. The changes which take place 

 as we climb the rounds of the social ladder are much more in the direction 

 of better material possessions than in that of improved habits and genuine 

 comfort. Improvement is first shown in the construction of the house, 

 in the proportion between the amount of wood and lighter materials 

 employed, the height of doors, etc. While in the more ordinary houses 

 tlie supports are* the sole portions that are of wood, each advance in 

 material well-being is marked by the additional use of wood in construc- 

 tion : first the floor joints and principal members of the roof frame, next 

 the steps and the door and window frames, then the sides, until the entire 

 house, except the thatched roof and the floor of bamboo lath, is con- 

 structed of wood. The final dignity of stone foundation, floors of wide 

 smooth boards, and roof of galvanized iron, is attained by only one house 

 in Taytay. 



So it is also with regard to furniture. The possessor of a few chairs, 

 a table, and a small mirror has climbed a step or two in the social scale, 

 and when the principal room is lined with chairs, and there is a bed 

 (reserved for distinguished visitors), a clothes press of hardwood, and 

 sufficient dishes to set a table, the owner is likely to be one of the 

 pvincipales. 



An individual's social station is indicated also fairly accurately by his 

 clothing. On Srmdays and gala occasions, the well-to-do man will appear 

 in public in just such clothing as is worn by his white acquaintances, 

 the ordinary clothing serving for underwear. However, just as soon as 

 he is at home and in private, he removes the outside clothing and again 

 appears in shirt and drawers. The ladies of the family do not change 

 the style of their clothing, but use much handsomer material. The 

 younger ones appear in gay colors, the older ones in more sober ones. 



Among these more well-to-do natives in Taytay very little change will 

 be foimd in the kitchen, perhaps nothing more than an increase in the 

 number of fireplaces. Tlie ordinary diet remains the same except that 

 fish occupies a more prominent place, and meat appears oftener. The 

 hygienic conditions outside of the house are likely to be worse, due to 

 the ability of the occu])ant to ])urchasc and kee]) a Inrger number of 

 animals. 



