S2 
TEINIDAD. 
whether on foot or on horseback ; cork helmets, Panama 
hats, and sombreroes are vejy good, but not sufficient to 
protect the whole person from the sun’s fierce rays. It 
is cpiite as essential to protect the spine from the heat 
of the sun as the head ; indeed I suspect most persons 
feel the sun’s heat more unpleasant to the back than to 
the head. 
The West Indies have a bad name for yellow fever 
and other diseases. Yellow fever does certainly prove 
fatal in some cases, but I am of opinion that with care 
and proper attention to food and clothing, and avoiding- 
excess in the use of stimidants, a man may enjoy life 
and live as long in Trinidad as in England. It does 
appear that the wear and tear of the constitution is 
gi-eater here than in Britain. Men do seem to grow old 
more quickly, yet longevity is not rare, and the average 
of life is more than equal to that of the large cities in 
Europe. 
Trinidad may be said to be a healthy island ; in cer- 
tain localities it is, however, decidedly unhealthy, and 
dm-ing the prevalence of northerly and westerly winds 
much sickness obtains. We have swamps and lagoons, 
and low lying districts. Those who live to leeward of 
swamps, or in the neighbourhood of lagoons, are cer- 
tainly subject to fever and ague, which is often of so 
obstinate a character that when once it has taken pos- 
session of the system, it refuses to yield to medical 
treatment imless the patient removes to some other and 
healthier locality. When once this low fever or typhoid 
fever gets into the system it is long before the consti- 
tution regains its vigour. In many cases, though life 
may be spared for years, mental and physical strength 
(Continue much diminished. Quinine is a valuable 
medicine in fever, but when taken in large quantities for 
nny length of time, its action upon the brain is not a 
little injurious. 
The rains in Trinidad are very heavy, and during 
some months they fall for many hours in succession, and 
