200 A NATURALIST IN MID-AFRICA. 



must most emphatically warn every traveller never 

 to drink it unless after boiling, and, where possible, 

 to avoid it altogether. 



The climate may be most safely put half way 

 between that of the West Coast of Africa and that 

 of the Zambesi valley. I do not propose to give a 

 long account of the remaining districts, for which 

 excellent materials for a thorough report will prob- 

 ably be soon available. I must, however, care- 

 fully point out that there are three very distinct 

 climates of very different kinds in British Central 

 Africa. The high plateaux of the Stevenson Road 

 and, according to Mr. Johnston, parts of Angoniland 

 and Nyika — that is, the Colony zone — are perhaps 

 as good in every way for Europeans as the Masai 

 highlands. It is only in these districts which are 

 probably of rather small area that Europeans can 

 hope to maintain full working efficiency for in- 

 definite periods and make permanent homes. It 

 gives, however, a peculiar value to British Central 

 Africa that there are such places, however limited 

 in area they may be. It means a supply of Euro- 

 pean food, vegetables, and comforts of all kinds, as 

 well as a refuge for a few months to those Avho are 

 settled in the less healthy places. 



The Coffee zone, above 3,000 feet, which one 

 may roughly call the Shire highlands, is very 

 difficult to understand. Many Europeans seem 

 never to have fever at all, and there are a few who 

 seem to preserve their health in spite of very great 



