i 4 A COLONY IN THE MAKING chap. 



The principal diseases of the country are : Malaria, 

 dysentery, typhoid, sunstroke, lion bites, and whisky. 



The settler may avoid the last two by not laying 

 himself open to the one nor indulging in the other, or 

 if so indulging by doing so in moderation and with all 

 due precautions. 



Of malaria, without in any way wishing to minimise 

 the seriousness of this scourge, it may be said that it 

 is regarded in a much graver light at home than it 

 really merits. Most of those who have had 

 experience of both would, I venture to say, infinitely 

 prefer an ordinary go of malarial fever to a heavy 

 cold. It is less unpleasant and more easily cured. 

 The danger in malaria lies in neglect. An attack 

 comes and is over in a day ; the patient dismisses 

 all thought of it. In a month or so it returns and the 

 same thing happens. It comes again a little sooner, 

 and perhaps in rather a more severe form. At last 

 either through a heavy dose of quinine taken with a 

 rising temperature, or owing to the nature of the 

 beast, the ordinary malaria attack turns to blackwater 

 and heavy trouble ensues. Luckily, in the Highlands 

 themselves malaria is most uncommon and blackwater 

 almost unknown. Still, as long as a large proportion 

 of the white population descend to unhealthy areas 

 either for sport or plantation purposes, so long 

 will there be cases of malarial fever ; and so long 

 also will those few specimens of Anopheles mosquitoes 

 which exist in the Highlands be infected. It is well, 

 therefore, to bear in mind that after an attack of fever 

 the blood can and should be completely purged of 

 the disease. On the principle, however, that pre- 

 vention is better than cure, every farmer should see 

 to it that his house is free from mosquitoes. There 



