THE STEGOMYIA RATE 195 



very severely visited by yellow fever, viz. the French 

 Colony of JMartiniqiie, and in this island we have 

 evidence that antilarval measures had not been 

 vigorously pushed. Yet, in spite of the fact that 

 yellow fever was raging in Martinique, the adjacent 

 island of St. Lucia remained absolutely secure owing 

 entirely to the wise antilarval measures and sharp 

 look-out taken by the Governor and his officers. 

 It proves conclusively that yellow fever need never 

 again be a source of alarm to the West Indies as 

 of old, provided that anti-larval measures are pushed. 

 Again, a source of great danger to the West 

 Indian group is Venezuela, the remaining stronghold 

 of yellow fever. But, again, the adjacent Colony of 

 Trinidad, with its up-to-date antimosquito measures, 

 need have little to fear. In this respect the "Liver- 

 pool" of the West Indies (Port of Spain) has as 

 little to dread as the Liverpool of Lancashire. 

 Nevertheless, no Colony can afford to take risks, and 

 as rigid an inspection of all arrivals from Venezuela 

 must be made as the Isthmian Canal authorities enforce 

 in the case of arrivals into their territory. In other 

 words, each Colony must see that all its defences are 

 perfect. In the present day, with our knowledge of 

 how yellow fever is carried, its presence in any Colony 

 is rightly regarded as a disgrace, and as showing that 

 the Colony is as yet in the barbarous stage, and possesses 

 no medical organisation worthy of the name. Yellow 

 fever is not to-day regarded as the inevitable penalty 

 of our desire to go to tropical lands ; it is to-day the 

 penalty of ignorance and superstition. 



