216 A JOURNEY UP THE RIVER CONGO. 
CHAPTER XII. 
CLIMATE AND NATURAL HISTORY. 
THe UNHEALTHY Districts — DRINKING-WATER — PRECAUTIONS 
AGAINST SUNSTROKE—How TO LIVE ON THE Conco—THE Ix- 
CESSIVE MoistuRE—THE Rainy SEASonN—“ SmoxKEs ”—“ LirrTLe 
Drirts”—THE Dry Season—l'HE AFRICAN SPRING—HARLY 
SUMMER—VIOLENCE OF THE STorRMS—'T'HE HARVEST—GEOLOGY ~ 
oF THE District—METALS—FLORA AND Fauna—TuHeE River 
NoT A NATURAL BouNDARY — BoTANICAL ORDERS CHIEFLY 
REPRESENTED—'HE PatMs—LIST OF CHARACTERISTIC SPECIMENS 
COLLECTED—COLOUR AND FRAGRANCE. 
THE climate of the Western Congo naturally varies in 
different degrees of healthiness and temperature, according 
to the regions through which the river passes, but on 
the whole it may be said to be infinitely superior to that 
of the Niger or the Gold Coast. The great absence of 
low, marshy ground about its banks is doubtless the cause 
of less virulent fever, and the regular cool breezes from 
the South Atlantic greatly reduce the tropical heat. The 
river probably is least healthy between Boma and the 
sea, owing, no doubt, to the mangrove swamps that 
inevitably attend the widening out of the embouchure. 
Boma itself is decidedly insalubrious.* It is the hottest 
place on the Congo, and surrounded by many marshes. 
Towards Vivi it becomes decidedly cooler, owing to the 
ereater elevation; and the higher you proceed up the 
river the healthier the climate becomes. One aid to 
salubrity is the magnificent drinking water that may be 
* J believe extensive public works carried out by the Belgians have 
quite sanified Boma.—H, H. J, 
