by eigfht yards, and has a bright, attractive appearance. 

 The hall leading to the dining- room has a much larger 

 floor space completely tiled'; the entrance to the writing 

 and reading room, to a few spiecial cabins ; and' the cor- 

 ridors, each measuring about twenty-seven yards long, 

 are lain in red and white blocks. The pattern is the same 

 in all parts of the ship. The colouring is red and white, 

 except in the smoking room; the tiles in (the latter are 

 green and white. Each iblock is about two inches square ' 

 and, I am told, about one inch in fhiokness. 



\Vhatever objections there may be against the use of 

 such tiling they cannot be very serious, since the N.D.L. 

 have deoidied tO' ex:tend the use of it on all, or most, of 

 their passenger ships. The joints ot the small blocks 

 are visible here and there, but such "cracking " is not 

 apparent to any serious extent. There is one objection 

 which I cannot refrain from recording, though it must 

 be apparent to most passengers on. first entering a rubber- 

 tiled room. I refer to the unpleasant smell of something 

 akin to sulphur which pervades every olosedl room the 

 floors O'f which are tiled ; it is for all the world like the 

 smell of wet matches. At first I thought this might be 

 due to the tiling having been recentl}- laid ; ibut the pre- 

 sent lot is three and a half years odd, and musit have been 

 washed; at least one, and in some pants quite four, thou- 

 sand times. It is as bad to-day as it was when I first 

 boarded the ship, and is quite perceptible even in the hall, 

 where a draught of fresh air can always be relied upon. 

 I was tiold that, owing to the objectionable smell, the 

 authorities would not like to use it in the passengers' 

 cabins. 



The steps and doors are provided with ordinary rubber 

 mats of fair quality, deeph' and parallel grooved, and 

 about one-eighth to one-quarter inch in thickness. I am 

 informed: that the step treads have been renewed re- 

 cently owing to their having been badly worn ; the tiling 

 alongside appears to be as good as when new. The 

 authorities intend to replace all such step treadis with 

 ordinary rubber tiling on account of the ease with which 

 the latter can be cleaned, the safer footing given to pas- 

 sengers, and the improved duraibility ensured thereby. 



Wherever tiling has been used the effecit is very pleas- 



