SEC. IV HYGIENE OF COLLECTORSHIP 29 



Accidents from the Gun have been already noticed; a few- 

 special rules will render others little liable to occur. The secret of 

 safe climiing is never to relax one hold until another is secured ; it 

 is equally applicable to scrambling over rocks, a particularly difficult 

 thing to do safely with a loaded gun. Test rotten, slippery, or 

 otherwise suspicious holds before trusting them. In lifting the 

 body up anywhere, keep the mouth shut, breathe through the 

 nostrils, and go slowly. In swimming, waste no strength unneces- 

 sarily in trying to stem a current ; yield partly, and land obliquely 

 lower down ; if exhausted, float ; the slightest motion of the hands 

 will ordinarily keep the face above water ; and in any event keep 

 your wits collected. In fording deeply, a heavy stone will strengthen 

 your position. Never sail a boat experimentally; if you are no 

 sailor, take one with you or stay on land. In crossing a high, 

 narrow footpath, never look lower than your feet ; the muscles will 

 work true if not confused with faltering instructions from a giddy 

 brain. On soft ground, see what, if anything, has preceded you ; 

 large hoof-marks generally mean that the way is safe ; if none are 

 found, inquire for yourself before going on. Quicksand is the most 

 treacherous, because far more dangerous than it looks. Cattle- 

 paths, however erratic, commonly prove the surest way out of a 

 difiicult place, whether of uncertain footing or dense undergrowth. 



Miasm. — Unguarded exposure in malarious regions usually 

 entails sickness, often preventable, however, by due precautions. It 

 is worth knowing, in the first place, that miasmatic poison is most 

 powerful between sunset and sunrise ; more exactly, from the damp 

 of the evening until night-vapours are dissipated ; we may be out 

 in the daytime with comparative impunity, where to pass a night 

 would be almost certain disease. If forced to camp out, seek the 

 highest and driest spot, put a good -fire on the swamp side, and 

 also, if possible, let trees intervene. Never go out on an empty 

 stomach ; just a cup of coffee and a crust may make a decided 

 difference. Meet the earliest unfavourable symptoms with quinine; 

 I should rather say, if unacclimated, anticipate them with this 

 invaluable agent. Endeavour to maintain high health of all 

 functions by the natural means of regularity and temperance in diet, 

 exercise, and repose. 



"Taking Cold." — This vague " household word " indicates one 

 or more of a long varied train of unpleasant affections, nearly 

 always traceable to one or the other of only two causes : sudden 

 change of temperature, and uneqiial distribution of temperature on 

 the surface of the person. No extremes of heat or cold can alone 

 effect this result ; persons frozen to death do not " take cold " 

 during the process. But if a part of the body be rapidly cooled, as 

 by evaporation from a wet article of clothing, or by sitting in a 



