93 



gress is exceedingly obliged to him for having undertaken to 

 preside over this discussion. 



The CHAIRMAN : Gentlemen We have to get through a 

 large amount of work this morning, and I think we had better 

 begin at once by my calling upon Mr. Evans to read the 

 paper prepared by Dr. Sansom and himself on " Tropical 

 Hygiene and Plantation Work in the Federated Malay 

 States." Discussion will follow the reading of the paper, 

 and I hope that many of you will express your views on this 

 very important matter. 



NOTES ON TROPICAL HYGIENE AND PLANTATION WORK IN 

 THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 



By C. L. SANSOM, 

 Principal Medical Officer, Federated Malay States, 



AND 



F. D. EVANS, 



Executive Engineer, Malaria Advisory Board, Federated 

 Malay States. 



[ABSTRACT.] 



It is not proposed to discuss at length all the problems of 

 hygiene and preventive medicine which arise in connection with 

 tropical plantation work, but to mention briefly the most 

 interesting and important experiences and general conclusions 

 arrived at in the Federated Malay States, and in particular to 

 describe the anti-malarial work which is being carried out there 

 by the Government. 



The labour force for agricultural purposes is mainly recruited 

 from Southern India under a system of free immigration, and 

 the coolies are at liberty to move as they wish. Under a labour 

 enactment employers are compelled to provide proper housing, 

 water supplies, medical attendance, hospital accommodation, 

 and other necessaries to their labour forces, and the good 

 health of labour is therefore a matter of great financial import- 

 ance to employers. Unhealthy estates are put to greater 

 expense in order to obtain labour, pay higher wages, higher 

 medical administration charges, and get less work from their 

 forces than healthy estates. 



The principal diseases which attack labour forces in the 

 tropics are ankylostomiasis, cholera, dysentery, malaria, and 



