CONVICT LABOK FOR ROAD WORK. 127 
Iron bunks are much better than wooden bunks. They can be 
kept free from vermin easily, and are more comfortable and durable. 
When bunks with straw bedding are used, the straw or hay should 
be changed at least once a week. 
QUARTERS AND STRUCTURES. 
The quarters and structures in use in convict camps in the United 
States are of the following types: (1) Frame structures built for 
relatively permanent occupation; (2) cheap shacks with tar-paper 
roofing or covered on all sides with tar paper; (3) structures with 
galvanized metal roofs and canvas sides; (4) shacks with wooden 
sides and canvas roofs; (5) abandoned cabins or farm houses; (6) 
buildings of the portable or " knock-down" variety; (7) canvas tents; 
(8) wooden or steel cars or cages mounted on wheels. 
Each of these types may serve to good purpose when used in 
connection with the conditions to which they are fitted and when 
represented by structures of good design; but, as frequently happens, 
they also may be used inappropriately in an environment to which 
they do not belong, and in such cases, even though the structures 
themselves are of good design, their use may result in inadequacy 
or lack of economy. 
In any case, the choice of type will be influenced by a number 
of conditions, such as the following: 
(a) The normal range of temperature of the locality. Thus, 
though the generally warm or mild temperatures of the extreme 
southern sections of the country will permit of the use of tents or 
even of shelters with open sides, the cold winters of the Northern 
States demand tightly constructed buildings. 
(b) The rainfall and humidity of the section. In a section of 
heavy precipitation, such as the coastal regions of the States of Oregon 
and Washington, only buildings of the closed-in, tightly constructed 
types should be used, and these should be raised above the ground 
in order to escape the evil effects of the excessive moisture. Canvas 
tents would be out of place under such conditions not only because 
of the small protection they afford but because they would deteriorate 
very rapidly in such a climate. On the other hand, in the arid and 
semiarid sections of Arizona, New Mexico, and neighboring States 
tents make ideal quarters. Not only do they provide sufficient pro- 
tection against weather but in the absence of moisture and heavy 
winds they give excellent service for relatively long periods, 
(c) The availability of building material. The inducement to use 
wood in the construction of quarters in those sections of the country 
which are heavily wooded, and where wood is accordingly cheap, may 
be sufficient to outweigh a number of other important considera- 
tions; but in the Central and Middle Western States the use of 
53577°— Bull. 414—16 9 
