396 THE ZAMBEZIAN CLIMATE 



part of the continent, that the climate reacts in the 

 long run more or less prejudicially upon the con- 

 stitutions of most of them. Even with all the care 

 which is nowadays taken to study and observe such 

 rules of health as up-to-date medical research has 

 so painstakingly and successfully drawn up for the 

 benefit of the European in Africa, it is impossible 

 to get away from the fact that the climatic elFect 

 reacts adversely. To begin with, I understand, 

 after a number of years in the tropics the body 

 temperature becomes appreciably higher than would 

 be apparent in the case of a person residing in 

 temperate climates. Then, very commonly, the 

 kidneys become affected by the restricted secretion 

 of the urine caused by the exceedingly large pro- 

 portion of moisture given off by the skin and lungs. 

 Finally, it is a perfectly well-recognised fact that 

 all persons who reside in the tropics become anasmic, 

 partly from the effect of the destruction of the red 

 blood-corpuscles by fever, and partly from the less 

 nourishing character of the food. The nervous 

 system also assuredly becomes less buoyant, and 

 the general vitality is lowered. 



The only steps which I take, in addition to care- 

 fully observing the ordinary rules of hygiene and 

 health, are to keep my blood as thick and as red 

 as possible by means of tonics — especially iron. A 

 preparation known as Wyeth's Dyalised Iron is 

 the best I know for this purpose; it is handy 

 and palatable, and I have derived great benefit 

 from it. 



In spite of the last few paragraphs, with their 

 alarming hints and darkly outlined possibilities, 



