-making;
but instead of being made into bricks, it is made at once into the wall.
The foundation having been dug out and levelled, two boards are placed
on edge eighteen inches or two feet apart. These are kept in their
places by two pieces of wood nailed across them. The space between these
boards is filled with mud, in which chopped hay and rushes have been
mixed to bind it together. The boards are left for a day or two, while
the builders proceed with the other part of the wall. They are then
taken off, and the heat of the sun soon dries the wall into a mass
almost as hard as a brick. The boards are then put on again higher up,
and the process repeated until the walls have gained the desired height.

In a fortnight's time the walls were finished, and the bullock-carts
were despatched to Rosario to fetch lime, as Mr. Hardy had determined
to plaster the inside walls to keep in the dust, which is otherwise
continually coming off mud walls. By this time a considerable extent of
land was ploughed up, and this was now planted with maize, yam or sweet
potato, and pumpkins: a small portion, as an experiment, was also
planted with potato seeds, but the climate is almost too warm for the
potato to thrive.

Upon the return of the carts with the lime, the partition walls were
built with the bricks. The walls finished, all hands went to work at the
roof. This Mr. Hardy had intended to have had regularly thatched; but
during his last visit to Rosario he had heard that the Indians
frequently endeavoured in their attacks to set fire to the roofs, and he
therefore determined to use tiles. The carts had to make two journeys to
Rosario to get sufficient tiles and lath. But at last all was finished;
the walls were plastered inside and whitewashed out; the floor was
levelled, beaten down hard, and covered with a mixture of clay and lime,
which hardened into a firm, level floor.

It was exactly two months from the date of their arrival at the farm
that the doors were hung and the finishing touch put to the house, and
very pleased were they all as they gave three cheers for their new
abode. The tower, they all agreed, was an especial feature. It was
built of adobe up to the height of the other walls, but the upper storey
had been built of bricks two-thick and laid in mortar. The top had been
embattled; and the boys laughed, and said the house looked exactly like
a little dissenting chapel at home.

It was a joyful day when a fire was f