86 SANITATION AND HYGIENE ON TROPICAL ESTATES 



in a tropical area increase the virulence of malaria, and 

 apparently people who are but slightly affected in one 

 tropical country become seriously affected when moved 

 to another. Again, it is recorded that increases of 

 population in areas subject to malaria add very largely to 

 the virulence and intensity of the disease. In the Malay 

 States malaria has to be reckoned upon and dealt with by 

 the planter, the haunts of the malaria-carrying mosquito 

 must be obliterated if he is to keep his labour force 

 efficient; in fact, in some cases, if he is to keep a labour 

 force at all. The Federated Malay States Government 

 has instituted a Malaria Advisory Board to investigate 

 the best methods of preventing malaria and to show how 

 these can be carried out, and the Executive Engineer 

 attached to the Board will, in the latter part of this paper, 

 describe and discuss the work done. 



Finally, attention is called to the Annual Reports of 

 the Principal Medical Officer, Federated Malay States, 

 for 1911 and 1912. It will be seen from these that the 

 death-rate amongst estate labourers has fallen enor- 

 mously. The figures for 1913 are 29 per 1,000, as against 

 60 per 1,000 in 1911. This reduced mortality is largely 

 due to protection of water supplies, better housing, better 

 sanitation, anti-malarial measures, and last, but not least, 

 more individual attention to the labourer, and especially to 

 his food. To argue that all a planter needs to do is to see 

 that a labourer gets a little rice, and expect good health 

 and good work as a consequence is foolish. Rice alone is 

 not sufficient; even if enough rice is eaten to supply the 

 amount of energy required for an ordinary day's work, the 

 bulk of that amount is not and cannot be digested. Male 

 labourers are not as a rule efficient cooks, and are often 

 careless about their cooking; they are also addicted to 

 the habit of cooking a supply for more than one day, so 

 that what is kept over from the first day becomes sour 

 and unwholesome. Attention to the food supply of a 

 labour force is essential; this has been widely recognized 

 here, and the good results of such attention are very 

 obvious wherever it has been given. Sonie who are 

 expert in the management of their labourers supply 

 cooked rations without finding difficulties. This is the 



