32 
engaging of the whole. They neither make 
themselves so useful as the Malay, nor do 
they possess the affectionate disposition of 
the natives of Malabar. or Mozambique. 
VOYAGES AND. TRAVELS. 
They labour only throngh absolute neces 
sity, and would quickly sink into profound 
indolence if mot.perpetually incited to ac- 
tion.” 
Aer. VI. An Account of the Native Africans in the Neighbourhood of Sierra Leone = 
* to which is added, an Account of the present State of Medicine among them. By'Tnomas 
* Winrersottom, M. D. Physician to the Colony of Sicrra Leone. 
. pp about 400, 8 plates and maps. 
. WE are informed in the preface that 
the medical history of the negro tribes, 
in the vicinity of Sierra Leone, was at 
first the principal object of the auth ~’s 
attention ; to which “ was subjoined, a 
brief account of the manners und cus- 
toms of the people, whose-diseases had 
been noticed. But this account being 
increased so much by successive additions 
as greatly to exceed the limits originally 
marked out for it, and the medical part 
being thought likely to prove uninterest- 
ing to many who might be desirous of 
perusing the rest of the work, it seemed 
‘advisable to alter the arrangement, and 
tint each part in separate volumes, in 
order that the general reader might 
be at liberty to purchase the one, with- 
out being obliged to purchase the other 
xlso.” : 
Im consequence of this information, 
we shall only notice at’ present the first 
volume of ‘Dr. W Taterfdttbin’é work, 
referring the medical part to its proper 
place, in Chap. XVII. 
‘It appears.to us, that the really ori- 
ginal matter in this volume might, with- 
out any extraordinary abbreviation, be 
comprized in-a few pages. . The author 
himself. characterises his work as a 
«© rude'sketch,”? a “ collection of glean- 
ings, which either have escaped the no- 
tice of more successful reapers in that 
extensive field, or which have been So 
sed over as of little importance.”’ _,'This, 
we doubt not, is a fair though very.mo- 
dest description of such. facts, as were 
collected and noted down on the spot, 
from Dr. Winterbottom’s personal ob- 
servation, but it is by no means applica- 
ble to the manufactured article as it ap- 
pears in the London market. So far 
trom being a collection of loose hints, 
the volumie is systematically arranged in 
fiiteen chapters, treating in the regular 
order of the principal objects of enquiry 
relative, to this part of Africa : nume- 
rous quotations from the most respect- 
able writers are introduced in corrobo- 
ration of the facts recorded ; and pas- 
gages from the Roman and English 
Vol, I. Svo. 
poets are cited, to give an accurate and 
vivid image of scenes which.they never 
beheld, and of which they could form 
no idea. 
The first chapter contains a general 
topographical description of the coun- 
try in the vicinity of Sierra Leone, toge- 
ther with the circumstances of its disco- 
very by the Portugueze. To this suc- 
ceeds the meteorological. history of this 
part of Africa, which contains but little 
of importance that we have not met 
with before elsewhere. In the appen- 
dix, however, is an interesting docu- 
ment on this subject, from which it ap- 
pears that in the year 1793, the medium 
temperature at the colony was 83° Fah. 
and the greatest range of the thermo- 
meter from 71° to 95°.. The barometer 
for twelve months varied only from 
®.8l to $0.09, the average» being 
29.95. The number of rainy days was 
154, during which there fell 86.28 inches 
of rain: of these 138 days happened 
in the months of May, June, July, Au- 
gust, September, and October, in which 
the amount of rain was 79.5 inchés. 
The wet season was ushered in. and 
terminated by stormy weather; no less 
than 27 tornadoes (out of 52, the whole 
yearly complement) having taken place 
in May and October. 
The third chapter treats of negro 
agriculture, which is of the rudest kind. 
An uncleared=épot of ground is, pre- 
pared by cutting down the trees as near 
to the surface-as can conveniently be 
done during the dry season, and then 
setting the whole on fire a short time 
before the rains commence. As soon 
as‘ the first showers have extinguished 
the flames and softened the ground, 
the rice is scattered on the surface, and. 
scratched in with a hoe, which is alk 
the labour required till harvest.. Every 
village has a plantation of corn in.com- 
mon, besides private gardens, in which 
are ‘cultivated the usual excellent vege- 
tables of ‘the tropical countries. The 
art of cookery among, these negro tribes 
is next treated of, their different prepa 
/ 
