CONDITIONS INFLUENCING PREVALENCE 231 



that most of us have other concerns to attend to, so that it 

 is unreasonable to expect us to devote our lives to the 

 prophylaxis of a single tropical disease ; though this is no 

 argument against the adoption of such reasonable precau- 

 tions as may be practicable. In the " hot weather" of the 

 Punjab and North- West, though Culices, owing to our own 

 carelessness, are usually in swarms, Anopheletes are sc 

 scarce that there is no real need of special precautions ; but 

 as soon as the rains break curtains are indispensable to safety. 



This brings me to the question of clothing, which 

 may be made to afford considerable protection without 

 being otherwise unsuitable to the climate. I do not think 

 our Indian species of Anopheles ever bite during the day, 

 and the same seems to be true for West Africa, so that 

 practically it is only during the evening that there is much 

 chance of being bitten while awake, and not even then 

 while moving about. The really dangerous time is during 

 and after dinner, and the favourite point of attack the ankles, 

 which are bitten through the thin socks that are usually 

 worn. Unfortunately of late years, the sensible and cleanly 

 custom of dressing for dinner in white drill jacket and pants 

 is yielding to an absurd desire to assimilate our customs 

 to those of Europe ; though how men of refined habits can 

 reconcile themselves to wearing a garment which is nightly 

 saturated with perspiration till it is worn out, passes my 

 comprehension, and those who will sacrifice so. much are 

 hardly likely to adopt trowser-straps, which would not be 

 correct "form " in the black habiliments whereby the Indian 

 Memsahib loves to keep green the ideals of the old country, 

 though they formed a customary adjunct of the supplanted 

 white costume, and would, applied to either, afford complete 

 protection. 



It is dangerous for a mere man to venture on the 

 subject of ladies' dress, and in any case absolutely bootless ; 

 but as fashion ordains that their evening costumes must 

 sweep the ground, they can obviously protect themselves 

 without straps, if they happen to think of it, and care to 

 deny us the pleasure of glancing at the neat contour of a 

 pointed shoe with an impossible heel; but the " low neck," 



