It is observed as a general rule, always to make a purdah full a foot wider on each side than the door way it is to conceal; also to carry it a foot above the door plate, and to have a portion, about a foot in depth, without any lath, at the bottom, so as to trail a little on the ground. Those purdahs which are made of karwah, or other cotton stuff, are generally quilted with cotton, or are composed of many folds, or have coarse blankets inlaid between their outer coatings. The last is by far the most effectual, most neat, and most durable mode of construction; but, at the best, purdahs are a very indifferent make-shift; and, though often, from necessity, applied to windows, are by no means answerable to their intention. Their best use is certainly to deaden sounds; hence, they are advantageously suspended outside the doors of sleeping, or other retired apartments; when, by closing the doors, privacy and quiet may usually be effected. The presence of a purdah usually indicates the exclusion of males; and that the apartments, within that entrance, are devoted to the accommodation of ladies; except when rolled up, and tied, as has been explained in regard to cheeks.
The best timber for building, in whatever branch, is the sygwam, or teak; but its dearness prevents its general use, especially since naval architecture has been so much an object of speculation at Calcutta. However, it can generally be purchased at about a rupee, or a rupee and a quarter, per foot: making its utmost price about three shillings and three-pence. Those who build houses of the first class, rarely fail to lay all their tarrases upon teak joists; both because they possess superior strength, and that they are far less likely to be attacked by the white-ants. This has been attributed to the quantity of tannin contained in teak-wood, which some have asserted to be a perfect preventive, or antidote; but, after having seen those noxious insects devouring shoes and boots by wholesale, I can never bring myself to accord with such an opinion. There is, in teak-wood, evidently some property, hitherto occult, that repels the white-ant, at least for some years, but which is doubtless diminished by exposure to the air; as we find that very old teak-timbers become rather more subject to depredation, than new ones. The greater part of the teak used in Bengal, and at Madras, is imported from the Pegu coast, in immense beams, and in spars, planks, &c., of all sizes. It is by no means unusual to see the squared timbers measuring from forty, to fifty, feet in length, and averaging from fifteen to twenty inches in diameter. Here is food for our dock-yards!
It would certainly be attended with considerable benefit to the public, if that occult principle, or matter, which apparently exists in the teak-wood, enabling it to resist both the white-ant, and the river-worm, could be ascertained; it might be possible to impregnate, or to saturate, other timber in a similar manner. This is the more essential, because we have abundant proofs that mere hardness does not deter those voracious insects, which are found at times even upon the lignum vitæ! But the principal object, so far as relates to naval purposes, is, that the teak-wood certainly is, in a great measure, devoid of the gallic, or any other, acid; or, if such is present, it assuredly must be in a very limitted portion; since the nails driven into teak-wood are never corroded so as to decay the surrounding wood, and to liberate it from confinement. To this decay, called ‘iron-sickness,’ are attributed many losses of ships, supposed to have foundered at sea, in consequence of planks starting; which must often happen when the wood embracing a nail is destroyed by the acid, or by the action of salt water upon the iron. In repairing ships built of oak, many nails are found perfectly insulated, by the wood having been rotted, and fallen away; which has never been the case with vessels built of teak.
The generality of apartments being large, the halls measuring perhaps from thirty to forty feet in length, and from sixteen to twenty-four in width, and other rooms in proportion, it is evident that very substantial, as well as long, timbers must be requisite to support their flat roofs; for, with a few exceptions, truss-roofs are not in use. The mode introduced by Mr. Lyon, the Company’s architect, at Berhampore, certainly contributed greatly to reduce the quantity of timber in a roof, but it rendered it absolutely necessary that every timber should be perfectly sound. That gentleman, whose professional skill, and excellent social qualities, demand an ample tribute, exploded burgahs, (or smaller battens,) from the roofs he constructed; and, in their stead, threw arches from the centre of one to the centre of the other timber; so that the intervals between the timbers were to appearance grooved, or fluted, longitudinally. This, however, was barely distinguishable, the arches being very elliptic; rarely, indeed, including more than an angle of six degrees, on a circle having full ten feet of radius.
Hence, it will be seen, that the joists were tolerably close, but their diameters admitted of considerable reduction, on account of the continuity of such a series of arches, which gave great solidity; and, by their mutual pressure, admitted that a joist should be freely removed, without in the least affecting the roof.
The houses built and inhabited by the natives, invariably have flat roofs. In these the apartments are, for the most part, extremely narrow, and dark. The verandas, where any are made, consist of arcaded fronts, invariably indented gothic; and have pillars, either of an hexagonal, or of an octagonal, form, resting on short pedestals, while the arch may be seen to break off rather too suddenly from the shaft, which continues up to baisez-mur, (or bassimere, as our architects vulgarly call it,) and divides the upper part into various compartments, all of which are ornamented with a profusion of carved work. In almost every Hindostanee building, of this description, there will be seen an odd number of arches, to which others in the main part of the edifice generally correspond. The chambers, if so we may call them, are taken off from the ends of the halls, by similar arcades; each of which, as well as those of the exterior, is furnished with a purdah. These narrow slips have no windows, or, at the best, only small loop holes. The intention of such oven-like recesses would perplex an European unacquainted with Asiatic customs, but he would soon find that, in the cold season, such are peculiarly warm, and that, during those months in which the glare is obnoxious, they remain cooler than such as admit more light. Almost every house is furnished with some means of ascending to the chut, (or flat tarras-roof,) whereon the natives often pass the evening, causing the heat to be first abated, by means of several pots of water, which throw up a steam fully indicating the temperature at which the tarras had arrived. The natives are not partial to upper-roomed houses in general; though they affect to pride themselves greatly in the possession of doomaulahs, that is, of houses having a second floor: it seems that ostentation is the reason of this predilection in favor of ground floors, whereon all their attendants, &c., may be seen from the level of their compounds (or enclosed areas). The stairs, where any exist, (for sometimes a very mean boarded ladder is made to answer that intention,) are narrow, steep, and unsafe: these are almost always built of solid masonry, as far up as the first turn, (or landing place,) after which they commonly consist of small bricks laid edgeways in lime mortar, supported by stout timbers, placed at a proper angle, and resting on the proximate joist of the upper floor. In every Hindostanee house, the doors are very low, and often are made to open into a long arcaded veranda, running the whole length of the interior, much the same as in our inns; while, in the front, or towards the road, a hanging balcony is sometimes made, supported on continuations of the joists, of which the extremities are carved into grotesque forms; such as the heads of alligators, or of tigers, or of serpents, and not infrequently of little human figures, whose size and squat position strongly put us in mind of a fœtus in utero.
Saul-wood is used to an immense extent, both in buildings, and in the construction of ships, but is not to be compared, either for toughness, strength, resistance against insects, or durability, with teak. Its price is much in favor of general service, to which its great size, and admirable straightness, are considerable, and valuable recommendations; but it is extremely apt to crack, though not to snap; especially when exposed to the weather. There is something very peculiar in saul-wood; since it is seen to warp, even after having been employed in bulk for many years, riving into large fissures longitudinally: the white-ants also devour it with avidity. Mr. Lyon, already noticed, when he was building the General Hospital at Berhampore, caused an immense copper trough to be made, in which he boiled the beams intended for that edifice: some were boiled in pure water, others with tannin, and some with arsenic; under the hope both of seasoning the timber, and of giving it a repellant, or preservative quality. This ingenious, and highly praise-worthy experiment, was by no means successful; for, although, in the first instance, the timbers seemed to defy the white-ant, especially those boiled in the solution of arsenic, still they were not completely secured from depredation; while, on the other hand, nine in ten rived so dangerously as to demand immediate props, and ultimate removal.
Many authors have recommended the boiling of timber, planks, &c., with a view to extract the sap, and thus to season them out of hand; but they have invariably neglected to furnish us with the results. Now, I have ever held it necessary, that medical practitioners should keep a register of the obituary, as well as of the convalescent department, in order that we may know how to avoid certain systems; which, doubtless, for want of such a guide, or caution, have been repeatedly resorted to by various medical characters, who, insensible of those fatal effects that had attended former experiments, thus consign many patients to their graves! So should all experiments, such as that above recorded, be fully laid before the public, and their results be candidly detailed. It is evident, that where we see only the suggestion, without the proofs of its failure, we must frequently be induced to adopt hints of a most pernicious tendency.
Saul timber, when used in buildings, ought always to have its ends completely open to inspection; both to prevent the white-ant from preying upon it under cover, and to insure its being duly aerated; without which, however charred and tarred it may be, rottenness will speedily take place. This arises from being bedded in masonry, which, during the rainy season, even under the best roofs, will absord a large portion of moisture, that will, infallibly, in time, penetrate into the timber. It must be recollected, that not one in hundreds of the houses in Calcutta, or that are built on their plan, contains a fire-place: hence, during some months in the year, the walls will exhibit various indications of moisture, even to their very cornices; though this will often depend upon the proper selection of sand for mixing in the plaster. It is now well known, though not long since discovered, that all sand, taken up within the flowing of the tides, is strongly impregnated with salt, which will keep the mortar wherein it is mixed eternally subject to damps; notwithstanding the tarrases may be flued, or be founded upon pots. I have known several, otherwise highly eligible, houses rendered untenable, merely by this incautious use of river sand; which occasioned whatever mats, or carpets, were laid down, to be speedily rotted. The fault was at first imputed to the vicinity of the river, whence it was suspected the damps were received; but it was ascertained, that such tarrases, and mortar, as were compounded of pit-sand, remained dry, and free from so obnoxious a defect. Nevertheless, the greater part of the buildings, in and about Calcutta, receive a certain portion of river-sand, taken up within the reach of brackish water: while this practice is allowed, the walls and tarrases will remain subject to occasional moisture; and, as we daily see in that city, the plastering will blister, or, indeed, become mottled, and obviously unsound.
Saul-timbers are found in all the forests, ranging under the hills, branching our possessions from Assam up to Hurdwar; they are more abundant in some parts than in others, but no where scarce. Many of these forests present thousands upon thousands of acres, whereon the saul, sissoo, and other useful timbers grow spontaneously; offering to us an inexhaustible depôt! The only consideration is, that water-carriage should be at hand. The Indian wood-feller, who pays not more than sixpence, or a shilling, for each tree he may choose, and which may, perhaps, contain from sixty to a hundred feet of timber, considers it a bad speculation, if some river be not within a stone’s throw of the selected wood: his object is to lop and bark as fast as he can, and then to launch the tree into the river, there to be fastened to others, intended to form a raft, or float, which, being secured to a boat, may glide down with the current to some established market. His expences are very trifling; for, with the exception of some duties, most injudiciously imposed, his adventure will not cost more than two-pence per foot, when arrived at the place of destination; where it may commonly be sold, without risk or delay, for full three times that sum. Few saul-timbers measuring a ton, or even a load, (i.e. forty, or fifty, cubic feet,) stand the owner in more than three rupees when landed at Patna; where such always meet with a very ready sale, in whole rafts, at nine, ten, and sometimes up to fifteen, rupees per stick, (or timber;) and this, notwithstanding the number of competitors in the trade. Those competitors rarely prove injurious to each other, while they render great service to the public, by preventing the whole trade from falling into a few hands. Thus, the prices of saul-timber are not only kept down, but, in general, owing to occasional gluts, seasoned timbers may be, to any amount, purchased at the several ghauts, or wharfs.