574 ANNUAL, REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 193 



stated as follows : " So far as the race is concerned, I am persuaded 

 that the hot and humid Tropics are not suited to white colonization 

 and never will be with our present knoweldge, even if they were 

 rendered as free from disease as England." The same idea was 

 expressed by Dr. John C. Phillips, in an article in the Harvard 

 Alumni Bulletin, four years ago : " I doubt whether the white man 

 can ever escape the ultimate effect of the Tropics (particularly the 

 mental effect) merely by living at high altitudes. He may well 

 escape all tropical diseases, but there are subtle deteriorating influ- 

 ences that will finally come upon him unless there are regular and 

 extended visits to the homeland." Some few years ago I wrote to 

 the editor of one of the leading English medical journals, the Lancet, 

 asking him to state briefly what he believed to be the views of the 

 medical profession in his country on the question of acclimatization 

 in view of the long experience of British soldiers and civilians in 

 tropical countries, especially in India. It should be remembered 

 that much of India and of other monsoon areas, especially during 

 the rains, have conditions of heat, moisture, and rainfall very similar 

 to those of the low altitudes near the equator. The answer to my 

 request was an excellent editorial in two successive issues of the 

 Lancet, giving considerable detail, and summarizing the conclusions 

 briefly in the following statement : " That residence in hot climates 

 under the circumstances of ordinary life has an adverse effect upon 

 Europeans can not, we think, be doubted. Some constitutions seem 

 to be altogether unfitted for these climates, and such individuals lose 

 their health and physical energy from the moment of their arrival. 

 A still larger number do so sooner or later under a more protracted 

 residence, even if they escape being attacked by one or the other of 

 the endemic or epidemic diseases incidental to such climates. Resi- 

 dence in tropical and subtropical countries usually produces a very 

 appreciable effect, not only on the complexion but on the constitution, 

 and notably so during childhood and youth." 



Such quotations might be extended almost indefinitely, but those 

 that I have given are representative. It is obvious that there are 

 real differences of opinion as to the effects of tropical climates. The 

 truth lies somewhere between the extremes; between the older pessi- 

 mistic and newer optimistic views. The Tropics are not as hope- 

 lessly unhealthy as they have been painted. On the other hand, they 

 are not, for the large majority of nonnatives, a desirable place of 

 residence. To sum up this highly complex matter : White residents 

 from cooler latitudes on coming into the Tropics must adjust them- 

 selves physiologically to the new climates. During this adjustment 

 there is more or less strain on various organs and functions of the 

 body. The strain may be too severe ; then the individual suffers. The 



