THE HEALTH OF THE CACAO ESTATE 297 



of his neighbours is likely to be infected, but where due 

 care is taken malaria is seldom found. The writer's 

 personal experience of malaria is not an extensive one, 

 although he has resided with his family for near upon 

 twenty-five years in Trinidad. Happening to go into the 

 country for a week some years ago, he put up on the estate 

 of a friend. Some of the labourers on that estate were 

 down with malaria, and seven days after his return home 

 he was suffering from infection. The attack was not a bad 

 one, but lasted for several months, reappearing at intervals 

 of weeks ; and although his family was somewhat nume- 

 rous no other case occurred, principally owing to the care 

 taken in adopting the necessary hygienic measures. 



Provided that proper care is taken, with an intelligent 

 supervision of any patient who may happen while travelling 

 to become infected, any European can live as comfortably 

 in a cacao estate residence as in one in any other part of the 

 country. And many planters can be pointed to as spending 

 their lives in such residences and enjoying excellent health. 



On some of the slopes of our mountains, estates are found 

 possessing residences which are treated by the wealthy 

 as country residences where they go for a change of air. 

 In such districts also we find residential owners in consider- 

 able numbers, who come to town for a change of air, not 

 specially on account of health reasons, but for the purpose 

 of breaking up the monotony of too long a residence in 

 one place. Attention to general health is, of course, as 

 necessary as in any other situation or climate, and excess 

 of every kind should be carefully avoided. In the tropics 

 fatigue comes quicker than under the conditions of a 

 temperate zone, and when we see the " new chum " going 

 walking at a great rate, it causes a quiet grin (if nothing 

 else) at his evident wish to show us " how he's going to 

 do it." A bishop once did this, but received a lesson 

 which checked his efforts and made him a wiser man — and 

 he took it " like a man." We can rest assured that he 

 will find out in time, however, that violent exercise is 

 far from economy, and that a steady pace pays better. 



