WHITE RACE IN THE TKOPICS — WARD 559 



fertile islands, refreshed by cool steady winds from the ocean; <;reat 

 grass lands with one season of dronght and dust and another season 

 of dampness, of rains, and often of floods; the monsoon districts, 

 with their climatic control alternately that of the wet monsoon and of 

 the dry monsoon; the mountains and plateaus with their lower tem- 

 peratures and, if rising high enough, carrying snow the year around, 

 even on the ecjuator. This variety of climates makes it diflicult to 

 arrive at general conclusions for the lower latitudes as a whole. Each 

 type of climate has advantages and each has disadvantages for the 

 white settler. The deserts are free from many tropical diseases, their 

 parched soil and dry, sterile air being unfavorable to the development 

 and distribution of most mic-i-oorganisms and of disease-bearing in- 

 sects. Further, the general physiological effects of desert climates are 

 stimulating. They do not have the weakening and enervating effects 

 associated with the hot-house air of the latitudes nearer the etiuator. 

 The drier districts are, on the whole, to be preferred to the moister. 

 On the other hand, the dust and heat and brilliant sunshine are very 

 trying, and the lack of water is obviously a serious limitation to 

 settlement and agricultural development. Tropical deserts are 

 '• healthy " in the ordinary meaning of the term, but they are not 

 desirable places of residence for white settlers. 



Tropical islands in the trade winds, especially those toward the 

 margins of the tropical zone, like the Hawaiian Islands, are generally 

 regarded as far more desirable places of residence for white men and 

 women than are the continental areas, especially those near the 

 equator. Trade wind islands are still more desirable if they are 

 mountainous, and therefore offer the advantages of tempered heat. 



Wherever mountains and plateaus occur in the Tropics there is 

 general agreement that the climatic conditions, at least up to a height 

 of a few thousand feet, are more favorable for the white settler than 

 are the hotter, damp lowlands. Altitude is chiefly important because 

 of its effect in tempering the heat, especially at night. In India the 

 hill sections are crowded during the hot months by civilian and mili- 

 tary officials, and it has been well said that India is ruled from 7,000 

 feet above sea level. The climate of many tropical plateaus and 

 mountains has the reputation of being a " perpetual spring." Thus, 

 on the interior plateaus of the tropical Cordilleras of South America 

 and on the eastern plateaus of Africa the heat is greatly tempered by 

 the altitude, while the lowlands and coasts are very hot. A list of 

 the better portions of the Tropics for white settlement always in- 

 cludes the plateaus of the Andes, of eastern equatorial Africa, and of 

 South Africa; the Indian hill stations, and the Hawaiian and other 

 trade wind islands. To this list, many other places might easil}' be 

 added. Lord Bryce believed that Rhodesia will become the home 

 of a settled British population, where the race will renew itself from 



