THE EARTH. 



95 



their victory, the climate being an enemy 

 that even heroes cannot conquer. 



The distempers that thus proceed from 

 the cruel malignity of those climates are 

 many ; that, for instance, called the Chapo- 

 tonadas, carries off' a multitude of people; 

 and extremely thins the crews of European 

 ships, whom gain tempts into those inhos- 

 pitable regions. The nature of this distem- 

 per is but little known, being caused in some 

 persons by cold, in others by indigestion. 

 But its effects are far from being obscure ; 

 it is generally fatal in three or four days: 

 upon its seizing the patient, it brings on 

 what is there called the black vomit, which 

 is the sad symptom after which none are 

 ever found to recover. Some, when the 

 vomit attacks them, are seized with a de- 

 lirium, that, were they not tied down, they 

 would tear themselves to pieces, and thus 

 expire in the midst of this furious paroxysm. 

 This disorder, in milder climates, takes the 

 name of the bilious fever, and is attended 

 with milder symptoms, but very dangerous 

 in all. 



There are many other disorders incident 

 to the human body, that seem the offspring 

 of heat ; but to mention no other, that very 

 lassitude which prevails in all the tropical 

 climates, may be considered as a disease. 

 The inhabitants of India," says a modern phi- 

 losopher, sustain an unceasing languor, from 

 the heats of their climate; and are torpid in 

 the midst of profusion. For this reason, the 

 great Disposer of Nature has clothed their 

 country with trees of an amazing height, 

 whose shade might defend them from the 

 beams of the sun ; and whose continual fresh- 

 ness might, in some measure, temperate their 

 fierceness. From these shades, therefore, 

 the air receives refreshing moisture, and ani- 

 mals a cooling protection. The whole race 

 ef savage animals retire, in the midst of the 

 day, to the very centre of the forests, not so 

 much to avoid their enemy man, as to find a 

 defence against the raging heats of the sea- 

 son. This advantage, which arises from 

 shades in torrid climates, may probably af- 

 ford a solution for that extraordinary circum- 

 stance related by Boyle, which he imputes to 



Lirmaei Amceuitates, vol. v. p. 444. 



a different cause. In the island of Ternate, 

 belonging to the Dutch, a place that had been 

 long celebrated for its beauty and healthful- 

 ness, the clove-trees grew in such plenty, 

 that they in some measure lessened their 

 own value : for this reason, the Dutch re 

 solved to cut down the forests, and thus to 

 raise the price of the commodity; but they 

 had soon reason to repent of their avarice ; 

 for such a change ensued, by cutting down 

 the trees, that the whole island, from being 

 healthy and delightful, having lost its charm- 

 ing shades, became extremely sickly, and 

 has actually continued so to this day. Boer- 

 haave considered heat so prejudicial to 

 health, that he was never seen to go near 

 a fire. 



An opposite set of calamities are the con- 

 sequence, in climates where the air is con- 

 densed by cold. In such places, all that 

 train of distempers which are known to arise 

 from obstructed perspiration, are very com- 

 mon ; b eruptions, boils, scurvy, and a loath- 

 some leprosy, that covers the whole body 

 with a scurf, and white putrid ulcers. These 

 disorders also are infectious ; and, while they 

 thus banish the patient from society, they 

 generally accompany him to the grave. The 

 men of those climates seldom attain to the 

 age of fifty ; but the women, who do not lead 

 such laborious lives, are found to live longer. 



The antumnal complaints which attend a 

 wet summer, indicate the dangers of a moist 

 air. The long continuance of an east wind 

 also, shows the prejudice of a dry one. 

 Mineral exhalations, when copious, are every 

 where known to be fatal ; and although we 

 probably owe the increase and luxuriance 

 of vegetation to a moderate degree of their 

 warmth, yet the natives of those countries 

 where there are mines in plenty, but too often 

 experience the noxious effects of their vici- 

 nity. Those trades also that deal in the pre- 

 parations of metals of all kinds, are always 

 unwholesome ; and the workmen, after some 

 time, are generally seen to labour under 

 palsies, and other nervous complaints. The 

 vapours from some vegetable substances, are 

 well known to be attended with dangerous 

 effects. The shade of the machinel tree, in 



b Krantz's History of Greenland, vol. i. p. 235. 



