AN UNHEALTHFUL STREET. Without pavement or gutters. ] First of all, since we are to build a house, we must have a good place for it. We will not build on low land if we can help it. Neither will we build near standing water. We see a great many houses upon land that is almost always wet, but they are very unhealthful for the people who have to live in them. If our house is to be a healthful place for us, we must build it on firm land that is well drained. Some day the whole city of Manila, within the walls, will have to be raised several feet higher than it is at present, to get it far enough above the low, unhealthful land it now stands on. The streets must be made wider, too, so that the sun can shine upon the house walls. The narrow streets are nearly always damp and unhealthful. Manila will never be a healthy place until these things are done. But outside of the walls, and in the country, we can pick our plots and prepare our building sites. The fine, beautiful house and the little nipa cottage can be equal in one respect; that is, both can have clean, healthful surroundings. The living-rooms of houses in this country should never be close to the ground. The land on which a house stands should be well drained and kept dry. This, however, is not all that should be done to prepare a building spot. In tropical countries bad gases rise from the earth at night, and we should do what we can to prevent these from getting into the house. The ground where the house is to stand should be dug down at least a foot and filled in with hard cement. This will keep it dry and prevent the earth-gases from rising through the floors. Besides this foundation, the house should have cement gutters running all around it, to carry off surface water. The foundation walls should rise from the cement bottom to a height of at least six feet. The ground floor may be used as a place to store carriages, furniture, and other things of that sort; but it is unsafe to keep horses or other animals there. All the bad odors and gases from these rise, making the living rooms above unhealthful. The first floor of our house,—the floor on which we mean to live, should be tightly built, so as to keep out all drafts of air, and to leave as few cracks as possible for insects to crawl through. We shall get fresh air enough if we have large windows that open freely. We are fortunate, in this country, in having the beautiful thin shells with which our window sashes are filled. These are much better here than glass would be. They shut out the bright rays of the sun, while they can be pierced with tiny holes, if need be, to let in air when the window is closed. Heavy shutters with slats are also good. If we have these in the house, the windows may be open, even at night, or when it rains.