17 



geueral kitclieii, coiisistiug of a shed about 1(3 or 18 feet wide and 100 

 feet long, where every coolie cooks for himself, excepting in sorting time. 

 Their food is then prepared for them in bulk by the storekeeper. 



The Javanese coolie has a somewhat different house, as a great many 

 of these are married men. QMiey have small houses, about 25 feet 

 square for the married men, while for the single men the houses are 

 similar to those of the Chinese coolies. 



There is a store on the estate under the control of a Chinese mer- 

 chant, who usually pays for the expense of the building and Avho sells 

 to the coolies at prices subject to the approval of the administra- 

 tor. As the estate grows, branch stores are established in the several 

 divisions of the plantation under the control of this merchant. When 

 there are many Javanese coolies there is a separate store in the Java- 

 nese quarters, as the Javanese coolie is a Mohammedan and is not 

 allowed to even touch anything coming from the pig, while this is the 

 principal diet of the Chinese coolie. 



The material shed is a building about 28 by GO feet, and is usually 

 covered Avith zinc or galvanized iron. This building contains the 



QPre-oS 



Platform vwhere tobacco is fermented, 



180'X30'& 2/2 to^ above ground. 



Press O 



\0 Do or 



Fia. 2.— Ground plan of fermenting shed. 



material and the extra attai>or covering of the drying sheds. The build- 

 ing is usually insured for six or nine months each year. The horse 

 stable, ox stable, and carriage sheds are all small open sheds, as the 

 climate is so very warm that no closed stables are necessary. 



One of the imi^ortant features of the Sumatra tobacco estate is the 

 hospital. All of the laborers employed on the estate, including the 

 Chinese and Javanese coolies, have to be treated free of charge by the 

 planters in case of sickness. This is in all contracts for labor. At tirst 

 the hospital is in a small building, but on some of the large estates, 

 especially those of the older comi)anies, line modern hospitals have 

 been erected, where all necessary medicines and api)liances are kept, 

 and where a regular i^hysician comes at least once a week to visit and 

 inspect the place. 



The most imx)ortant building of the establishment is the fermenting 

 shed, v/hich usually costs about $600 or ^700. The ground x)lan of 

 2605 2 



