SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. 51 



from mosquitos but from snakes and other things that creep and 

 crawl. Good stout mosquito netting should be used with not less 

 than 20 meshes to the linear inch. 



Umbrellas. Where survey work has to be carried out in the tropics 

 during the hot period of the year a large surveyor's or garden 

 umbrella, lined wit green baize, is a great comfort. 



Illumination. By far the most satisfactory illuminant for camp 

 purposes is acetylene. The ordinary mining pattern lamps are the 

 best as they are practically indestructible and fool-proof. A supply 

 of spare burners, gaskets and prickers should, however, be taken 

 as natives are apt to lose these when cleaning the lamps. The 

 ordinary small size mining hand lamp consumes about ! / 4 Ib. of 

 carbide in 8 hours. Special tins with air tight lids should be carried 

 to hold the carbide in use as it rapidly takes up moisture from 

 the air and is very offensive. 



Paraffin is awkward to carry, and lamps are far more likely to 

 break. If paraffin is used, however, the Hitchcock" mechanical- 

 draught lamp can strongly be recommended for reading, table 

 illumination etc. ; and the ordinary w Hurricane" lantern for camp use. 



An electric torch should if possible be included in the outfit, 

 also several spare batteries; a torch being very useful in emergencies. 



Fires for Cooking and Baking. Except in the Karroo and on the 

 High Veld there is as a rule no difficulty in getting sufficient 

 wood to kindle a fire. Even in the Namib one can generally find 

 dry bushes or shrubs (aerva sp. sarcocaulon burmanni) which burn 

 readily. Where, however, no wood is available recourse has to be 

 had to cow dung or camel dung, both excellent fuels though 

 sometimes difficult to kindle. This difficulty may be overcome by 

 sprinkling a little petrol over the dung before applying a match 

 to it when it quickly blazes up. 



In South Africa the custom is always to support the cooking 

 utensil either on stones or an iron trivet, or w drie voet" as it is 

 termed. These can be made by any blacksmith and are a great 

 convenience. 



Cooking Utensils and Tableware. Many excellent compact canteens 

 are now sold, made either of aluminium or other material. These 

 are an immense convenience as, each article having its own definite 

 place, the servants can observe when anything is missing and look 



