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the medical treatment of such eases as he sees upon occasional 
visits to the estate hospital. It is of the greatest importance 
that there should he a regular medical inspection of lines, drains, 
latrines, water supply, any anti-malarial works that may he in 
hand and all other sanitary arrangements. Of no less importance 
is it that the coolies should from time to time be mustered 
and inspected by the doctor. On estates v. here there is little 
sickness a muster once a quarter is sufficient, but where there is 
much malaria, in spite of the inconvenience inseparable from a 
complete muster of the labourers, it is essential that the medical 
adviser should see every cooly not less than once a month, by this 
means alone is it possible for him to form an opinion as to the 
general health of the labourers, the effectiveness of such preventive 
sanitary measures as are in force or the necessity for further efforts. 
In addition to regular visits from a medical practitioner it is 
the custom on larger estates to employ a dresser, a reliable man 
should be engaged for his duties are important. The dresser should 
be present at all musters, he should attend to the minor ailments of 
the coolies and supply them with simple remedies. If a quinine 
ration is given he must keep a quinine check-roll in which should be 
included tlie names of all labourers, dependents, and children. 
He must visit the lines not less than once a day to see that 
they and their surroundings are clean and that the line sweepers 
keep the drains and latrines in good sanitary . condition. Not ' 
the least important duty of a dresser is to account each day 
for all labourers, especially any who are absent without leave from 
the morning muster or working parties. All rooms should be 
searched for sick labourers or dependants and every case ot -sickness 
immediately reported to an assistant or the manager. A highly 
skilled dresser is not necessary, he will be apt to keep sick coolies on 
the estate under his own treatment and report them to the manager 
only when their condition is beyond his efforts and not improbably 
also those of the hospital staff. The dresser should find all coolies 
who through illness are unfit to work and report them to the * 
manager, but the responsibility to obtain prompt hospital treatment 
for the sick must rest upon the manager and cannot be shifted 
to a dresser. 
Hospitals. 
It is obligatory upon all employers of native labour to make 
suitable arrangements for the hospital accommodation of the sick. 
In the tropics especially diseases are difficult of diagnosis and they 
are usually rapid, in their progress, the treatment applied in the 
first twenty -four hours frequently determines the issue of the case. 
It is, therefore, essential from a humanitarian and not less so from an 
economical standpoint that* prompt and skilful medical relief shall be 
available for the sick. Where small hospitals are put up on each 
estate they do not discharge these requirements, there can be no 
