4 THE ETHNOCtBAPHY OF LEPROSY, ETC. 



which is still in progress, and upon Avhich the whole of our 

 argument turns. 



Physiogeaphy of Leprosy. — The area over which our en- 

 quiry extended enihraced almost every variety of surface, from 

 snow-capped mountains and elevated plateaus, to vast plains 

 and great river-valleys and deltas. It included continental 

 areas and peninsulas ; the islands ranged from the largest in the 

 world to tiny coral islets. There were deserts and dank marshes ; 

 open treeless tracts and dense primeval forests ; in fine, no kind 

 of country hut what was represented fully, and on a large scale. 



It was therefore quite easy to see whether physical con- 

 figuration was a determining cause of leprosy. The conclusion 

 we arrived at Avas, that leprosy is independent of physiographical 

 conditions. 



It would he tedious to give details, so we throw some of the 

 facts into a tabular form, giving only one case under each head- 

 ing, though we might 2)roduce hundreds. 



Mountains. — Leprous in Kwantung ; not in P>orneo. 



Plains. — Leprous in Shantung ; not in Kiangsi. 



Marshes. — Leprous in Kwantung ; not in Borneo. 



En'ER Valleys. — Leprous in the Si-kiang ; not in the 

 Hwang-ho. 



Forests. — Leproiis in Tonkin ; not in Iiorneo. 



Islands. — Leprous in Hawaii ; not in Lesser Hundas. 



Coasts. — Leprous in Fokien ; not in Kiangsi. 



Climate and Leprosy. — As we had every kind of physical 

 structure, so our area embraced every kind of climate, save the 

 the arctic. North China and Japan, Ivist Siteria and Saghalien, 

 are temperate ; South China and Tonkin are tropical ; the Archi- 

 pelago is equatorial ; Central China is continental ; the Pacific 

 eminently insular. Korea has hot sununers, and intensely cold 

 winters ; Borneo has no seasonal differences throughout the year. 

 The rainfall varies from fifteen inches to a huildred and twenty 

 in different parts of the area. The Sulu Sea has scarcely a 

 storm, the China Sea is the home of the typhoon. Trade winds„ 

 monsoons, and variable winds are each represented ; and in fact, 

 every kind of climate except the arctic fell within our scope. In 

 no case did we find that Leprosy was dependent upon climate. 



