XLYI 



THE enormous hat sometimes worn by the village Arab 

 is an outgrowth of a heat and sunshine which even the 

 natives cannot endure without protecting their heads. 

 The turban has come from the same cause. In all trop- 

 ical countries some means of avoiding the danger of sun- 

 stroke is universal, though the natives can stand a sun 

 which would be fatal to a Frank. In India, Europeans 

 who have to be much in the sun often wear a cork or 

 quilted cushion inside the coat down the spine from neck 

 to waist ; for any part of the vertebral column is sensi- 

 tive to excessive heat. The top or front of the head is 

 much less so than the base of the brain ; whence the wear- 

 ing of the turban on the back of the head or the helmet, 

 or the pugree or its equivalent. Animals, from inherited 

 ability to resist its dangers, do not often suffer from the 

 intense heat, which, in summer, registers, they say, 110 

 Fahrenheit and upwards in the shade, while in the sun one 

 may almost do the family cooking. Still, in many places, 

 horses, especially if imported from a temperate climate (as 

 the Australian waler in India), are better for a hood over 

 the head'. 



This big hat is quite common in Tunis, is made of 

 plaited straw, and is heavier even than a Mexican som- 

 brero. The heavier the head-gear the safer the man from 

 sunstroke and really the more comfortable. 



The Tunisian countryman rides not a saddle but a pad, 

 and this is more generally useful, as it can be employed 



