MALARIA 



3611 



MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 



of the nineteenth century, but in 1880 a French 

 surgeon found an animal germ in the blood of 

 his malaria patients, and this discovery led 

 scientists to the conclusion that the disease 

 was caused by some biting insect that lived in 

 swampy districts. Investigations followed, and 

 the insect was found to be the species of mos- 

 quito known as the Anopheles (see MOSQUITO). 

 The civilized world is now engaged in relent- 

 less warfare against this dangerous insect, and 



THE ANOPHELES 



MOSQUITO 

 To it is due all 

 cases of malaria. In 

 the smaller illustra- 

 tion is the position of 

 the mosquito when 

 about to bite its vic- 

 tim. 



wherever it has been exterminated malaria is 

 unknown. Attacks on the mosquito have ren- 

 dered the fever-infested districts of Cuba and 

 the Canal Zone on the Isthmus of Panama 

 wholly free from the disease (see GORGAS, WIL- 

 LIAM C.). 



Symptoms. A typical attack of malaria 

 progresses through three stages the cold, the 

 hot and the sweating. The first is preceded by 

 headache and a general feeling of discomfort; 

 gradually a chill comes on, causing the patient 

 to shake violently, while the temperature rises 

 to 102 or more. The shivering stage lasts 

 about ten minutes and is followed by the hot 

 stage, during which the skin becomes flushed. 

 A period of from one-half to three or four 

 hours elapses before the sweating stage begins; 

 then beads of water appear on the forehead and 

 finally the whole body is bathed in perspiration. 

 Then the fever and headache subside and in 

 the course of an hour or two the patient falls 

 asleep and the attack is over for the time being. 

 Paroxysms recur at regular intervals of from 

 one to four days until the poison is eliminated 

 from the system. 



Treatment. It has been said that the settle- 

 ment of much of the American continents 

 would have been impossible without quinine, 

 the only reliable remedy for malaria that is 

 known. Doses of this drug usually cure even a 

 persistent attack. The disease occurs in its 

 most dangerous form in the tropics, where it is 



often fatal. Repeated attacks cause the suf- 

 ferer to become seriously anaemic, a condition 

 that needs special treatment by a competent 

 physician. See ANAEMIA. S.C.B. 



Consult Ezdorf s Malarial Fevers; Herms' Ma- 

 laria, Cause and Control. 



MALASPINA, mahlahspe'nah, GLA'CIER, 

 the largest glacier in 'Alaska, in area equal to 

 one-tenth of Switzerland, the country famous 

 for its glaciers. It is more like a lake of ice 

 than a river ; it does not flow down a valley but 

 lies in a great table-land, and is formed by the 

 inpouring of several valley glaciers. On the 

 western coast of the territory it overlooks the 

 Pacific for scores of miles, and as its great mass 

 moves slowly but constantly under the pressure 

 of the ice rivers behind it, huge masses break 

 off into icebergs, which render sea travel in 

 near-by waters difficult and dangerous. 



Every characteristic feature that other fa- 

 mous glaciers have the Malaspina possesses. 

 There are fathomless crevasses that reach far 

 downward; there are rushing streams in sum- 

 mer, and lakes dammed. up by heaps of debris; 

 and there are moraines. Indeed, the moraines 

 along its border constitute one of its strangest 

 features; below, reaching to a depth of a thou- 

 sand feet or more, there is ice which never 

 melts; above, on the solid matter deposited 

 through the ages, are spreading trees, and, in 

 the summer, blossoming flowers. See GLACIER; 

 MORAINE. 



MALAY ARCHIPELAGO, ma lay' arid pel' 

 ago, the largest group or system of islands in 

 the world, situated between the southeast of 

 Asia and the continent of Australia, the equator 

 running through the middle of the group. The 

 archipelago includes the Moluccas, the Sunda 

 Islands, New Guinea, the Philippine Islands 

 and dependent groups (see map, in article 

 OCEANIA). The islands are all of volcanic for- 

 mation. It is assumed that Asia and Australia 

 were joined together in prehistoric times, and 

 when separated the land was broken up, leav- 

 ing only the existing islands above the sea. 

 They possess an intensely fertile soil, with a 

 great wealth of vegetation. Oranges, mangoes, 

 guavas, rice, maize, sugar, coffee, cacao, cocoa- 

 nut, sago, breadfruit and yams flourish, and 

 gutta-percha, camphor and other forest prod- 

 ucts are exported. (All of these products are 

 described in their places in these volumes.) 



Gold, manganese and platinum are found in 

 many of the islands; copper is exported from 

 the Philippines, and there are extensive tin 

 mines in several islands. In Java have been 



