RESEARCH IN BRITISH WEST AFRICA, 195 
soon as the produce, which consists chiefly of ground nuts, is disposed of. The 
possibility, therefore, of diseases being carried from or into adjoining countries 
is by no means remote. 
V. NARRATIVE. 
Having now considered the geographical position of the Colony, its general 
physical conditions and plant associations, the climate and rainfall, and the 
natives, let us deal in greater detail with the localities visited, and see to what 
extent each and all of these factors influence the existence and distribution of 
the various members of the group of insects under consideration, 
The dotted line on the appended map shows the route traversed by the 
author. 
It was my intention to proceed up one bank of the river, cross over to the 
other bank at the extreme limit of British territory, and work back to Bathurst. 
My stay in the Colony extended from February 18th to May Ist, the last two 
and a-half months of the dry season, the only season of the year when it is pos- 
sible, for Europeans at least, to do any considerable touring. Consequently, 
owing to the short time at my disposal, my proposed journey was found to be 
impossible, and therefore only typical portions were visited; while in addition 
to these, through the kindness of His Excellency the Governor, I was enabled 
to examine in the Government steamer the whole river to MacCarthy Island 
and also the Bintang Creek—by no means the least valuable portion of the 
investigation. 
(a). Bathurst and Cape St. Mary. 
Bathurst is the capital and principal settlement of the Colony. It is the only 
town having permanent Kuropean residential quarters. It is situated on the 
extreme eastern end of the Island of St. Mary. This island has an area of 
about four and a half square miles, and is little more than a mixture of swamp 
and sandbank, inundated during the rainy season. Although much has been 
done to fill up the swamps and drain the whole area, much still remains to be 
done to make the town a model tropical settlement. Commercially, the position 
is good, but residentially it is far from satisfactory, in spite of untiring efforts 
on the part of the Senior Medical Officer and his staff. Mosquitos, including 
Stegomyia fasciata, are to be found in considerable numbers. This is due in 
great part to the surrounding marshes, but also to the confined nature of most of 
the residential quarters and the lack of access of free air to these on account 
of the lower parts being used, in nearly all cases, as stores, &c. The close prox- 
imity of the stables to the residential quarters (in some cases they are part of the 
same building) is a fact much to be deprecated. Tsetse do not infest the town 
during the dry season, but, I am told, are not infrequent visitors during the rains. 
An exhaustive report on the town, from an entomological aspect, has already 
been published by the late Dr. Dutton; and, from my short stay and examina- 
tion, I do not feel justified in amending or adding to this excellent piece of work. 
I understand that a scheme is on foot to remove the residential quarters from 
Bathurst to the vicinity of Cape St. Mary, and in view of the recent epidemic 
of yellow fever, when four Europeans died in one week, some such drastic 
measure is necessary. Cape St. Mary is situated about seven miles from 
