ch. ii RELATING TO HEALTH AND CLIMATE n 



avocations, the answer must be that it depends on 

 what are those avocations. Roughly speaking, with 

 regard to any but the most severe forms of manual 

 labour not accomplished under cover, there is no doubt 

 whatever that they can be carried out in perfect health 

 and without discomfort. There are, indeed, many who 

 say that there is nothing that a man can do in England 

 that he cannot do equally well in the Protectorate. 



To me that seems going rather far. I do not believe 

 that a man could, for instance, go on ploughing or 

 digging all day and day after day without being in 

 danger of falling a victim to nervous collapse. Neither 

 do I believe that he could do so on the high veldt in 

 South Africa ; though there the climate is in some 

 respects the finest in the world. Luckily, in East Africa 

 there is no need for a man himself to do the manual work 

 on a farm. It is essentially an overseer's country. Once 

 the oxen are broken and the native taught, continuous 

 manual labour in the sun is no longer necessary. 

 Under cover and out 'of the sun there is no danger in 

 hard physical work. Thus an engineer or smith can 

 engage in his tasks and suffer no ill effects whatever ; 

 though perhaps he might be well advised in not 

 attempting too long working hours. Except for any 

 heavy continuous work the sun will not affect anyone. 

 A man can walk all day, shoot all day, do mixed tasks 

 all day and be better for the work. 



Then as to the necessity for a periodical holiday : we 

 again have a debatable and much debated point. The 

 fact is really that the country is as yet too young in white 

 occupation for an authoritative answer to be given. As 

 each year we get additional evidence it certainly appears 

 more probable that the periodical holiday is more in 

 the nature of a luxury than of a necessity. After the 



