The same operations which I have described to be necessary for the construction of a tarras roof, are equally so for the floors in every part of the house; but, unless the basement stands very high, so as to allow of water houses, &c. underneath the ground-floor, it is usual to have the latter flued, by means of narrow channels, or air-conduits, of about four inches deep, and as many wide; so as to be covered with bricks of an ordinary size: these flues are made in parallel lines, at, perhaps, a foot or more asunder, and pass entirely under the house, in both directions, having their several apertures covered by small iron grates, for the purpose of keeping out rats, snakes, &c.; which would else find admirable asylums within these intersecting channels. The lower tarrases are thus kept thoroughly dry by the flues, which, of course, give ventilation to every part under the floor. Where bricks are scarce, which is often the case, on account of their never being made for general sale, except at public stations and great cities, and then of a very small size, it is common to build the ground tarras upon inverted pots; each being capable of containing about three pecks, or a bushel. These pots may be had, in any quantity, all over the country; generally at the low rate of a farthing, or, at the utmost, a halfpenny, each.
The pots are ranged upon the ground, within the area formed by the walls, side by side, but not quite in contact, each resting on its mouth, which consists generally of a rim, projecting about three or four inches from the body of the vessel, which is nearly spherical. The loosest sand that can be had, or, in its absence, any dry rubbish, is then thrown in, so as to fill up all the intervals, and to cover the pots, about four inches in depth. This surface being levelled, another stratum of pots is added, if judged necessary; the whole process of filling up is similar in both, and the tarras is laid in the usual manner on the levelled surface.
By far the greater portion of the subsoil throughout Bengal, at least, in that wide expanse reaching from Gogra to Dacca, on the north-east, and from the Soane, along the plains at the foot of the hills, to the debouchure of the Hoogly, (which, together, form the limits of our richest, and most populous, purgunnahs, or districts,) is a loose, gritty sand, very like what farmers term a lush; which, in a few places, receives a strong red tint from the ferruginous mountains, every where to be seen along either boundary. This extreme looseness of the subsoil creates a most peremptory necessity for securing the foundations of weighty buildings, by every possible means; and, in the sinking of wells, is often found to present the most formidable obstacles.
Under such circumstances, it must appear self-evident, that those large mansions forming the bulk of Calcutta, by which I mean that portion raised, and inhabited, by Europeans; together with the several garden-houses, and the numerous edifices on a large scale erected by the natives, especially their places of worship, which are most ponderously constructed; all these necessarily require to be very firmly founded: nor can too much attention be paid to carrying off the water, which pours down from the tops of the houses; lest the bases should be sapped, and very serious injury be entailed.
With this intention, almost every compound, or enclosed area, is either laid with pan-tiles, or is well coated with soorky, in the same manner as the roads; while, in many instances, the junction of the wall with the level of the area is concealed, and secured, by a talus, blending with the building, at about a foot or more above that level.
With respect to bungalows, or any other buildings coming under the designation of ‘temporary,’ their foundations are usually very shallow. These are, for the most part, raised a foot or two from the surrounding level; and, as their inner walls, that often run from sixteen to twenty feet in height, are well secured by the verandas, which likewise preserve the precinct, for full twelve or fourteen feet, from being softened by the rains, very shallow foundations are deemed sufficient. The surrounding parapet which limits, while it raises, the veranda, is usually of burnt-brick, cemented with good mortar, and plastered over with the same; but the whole of the residue of bricklayers’ work is such as has been already explained. The verandas of bungalows are sustained either by strong wooden posts, or by pillars of masonry; their intervals are filled up with jaumps, before described, which may be raised at pleasure, to any angle, including about 10°, or 15°, above the horizontal; or they may be suffered to hang perpendicularly against the exterior faces of the pillars. In tempestuous weather, and especially during those violent squalls called ‘north-westers,’ in consequence of their usually either commencing on, or veering round to, that quarter, it will be found necessary to place the bamboo props, whereby the jaumps are usually elevated, against their exterior sides; by which means the jaump is pressed to the pillar, and becomes greatly exempted from the danger of being blown away; which, nevertheless, frequently is its fate, although its weight may be full a cwt. and a half, or even two cwt.
The force of these north-westers is next to incredible! I recollect one in particular, which, in November 1787, tore up an immense tree, called the ‘Barrackpore Beacon,’ on account of its being situated at a point where it could be seen from Duckansore, along a beautiful reach of the Hoogly river. This fine piece of timber measured nearly twenty feet in girth, and branched out in the most luxuriant manner, reaching to full seventy or eighty feet in height: it was torn up by its roots, though some of the ramifications were much thicker than my own body, leaving an excavation of not less than 15,000 cubic feet.
When stationed at Hazary-Bang, in the Ramghur district, my bungalow was, I firmly believe, saved from falling by mere accident. It had become fashionable to construct fire places in our halls, running up the chimnies, so as to pierce the thatches immediately below the summit of that wall in which the fire-place was made, and which served as the front face of the chimney. Cutting through the wall, to make a proper opening wherein to set the grate, I found that, in lieu of being firm, as it should have been, the whole cut like so much butter. In consequence of this discovery, I hastened the finishing of the stove, which, in a short time, aired the room, and completely dried the walls; but, not before they began to display very unequivocal tokens of what would have taken place, but for my very fortunate adoption of the whim then in vogue.
It is remarkable, that the bungalow stood on a gentle declivity, from which the superficial water was well drained; but, the soil was proverbially spongy, and retained every shower, much the same as chalk, but without its good qualities: thus, notwithstanding the floors, (or tarrases,) were full two feet above the surrounding level, my habitation would, I am well convinced, have subsided; burying every inhabitant under its ruins! Probably, that fatal moment would have accorded with the height of some north-wester; to whose fury the catastrophe would, though erroneously, have been imputed.
The verandas of bungalows are generally allotted to the accommodation of servants of all descriptions; and, except where, as in Calcutta, a separate lodging-room is provided, serve for the home of whatever cahars, or bearers, may be employed. These have each their mat, on which they sleep, forming a pillow of any g’hettry, or bundle of cloaths, and covering themselves with their quilts, &c.: blankets being but very little in use among domestics of any description. When a gentleman has company, the side-board is usually set out in the veranda, where also the several guests’ hookahs are prepared; and, in rainy weather, their water cooled. All servants come upon being called only; there being no bells hung in any part of the country, and very, very few even of hand-bells to be seen. The common call, Qui hi? (meaning ‘who is there?’) often rouzes a dozen of the slumbering crew, though it is occasionally repeated, with some vociferation too, before one will stir. Although to many bungalows there are abundance of out-offices, some of which may have been built for the reception of palanquins, and especially of a gig, (there called a buggy,) few persons allow either their mahanahs, or their boçhahs, to be kept in such places, as they would be subject to various unpleasant purposes, whereby their interior especially would often be soiled: this objection acts likewise in some measure towards the common practice of retaining the gig, as well as the palanquin, within the veranda; the latter is easily lifted in and out by the bearers, but the former requires that a ramp, or slope, should be made, up and down which the syce (or groom) draws it with facility. All conveyances, when housed, are covered with a double cloth, usually made of karwah.