160 
HINTS TO TRAVELLERS. 
On completing a day’s journey, the underclothing, at least, should be 
changed without delay, and the skin should be well dried by the free use 
of a rough towel. 
Food. 
The lassitude which is often so much felt by Europeans resident in 
the tropics too frequently tempts them to the abuse of alcoholic stimulants 
and highly-spiced foods. The habit is a most pernicious one, for such 
indulgence is one of the most fruitful causes of the permanent ill-health, 
so often wrongly attributed to the mere residence in a hot climate. 
There is no doubt that food should be taken with greater moderation 
in hot than in cold climates; heat*producing articles of diet, such as 
fats, should be taken in far smaller quantity, but an ample supply 
of vegetables is essential. The meals should never be heavy, especially 
during the heat of the day, and intervals of about four hours should 
always separate consecutive meals. 
Cooking should always be conducted with great care in the tropics, for 
the stomach and liver are less able to bear any extra strain, such as 
would be induced by the attempt to digest imperfectly-cooked food. Para¬ 
sites are often introduced into the system by insufficiently cooked food. 
Natural milk must be boiled; condensed milk should be mixed with 
boiled water. 
So long as the general health continues good, any excess in the use 
of alcoholic stimulants is one of the most fatal errors into which the 
tropical resident can fall. When not over-worked, or suffering from 
the prostration consequent upon fevers or other illness, hot coffee, tea, 
or cocoa will nearly always be found sufficient. But, on the other hand, 
it must be remembered that a supply of alcoholic stimulants is an im¬ 
portant part of the traveller’s outfit. When exhausted by fever—from 
which the European resident in the tropics is pretty sure to suffer at 
one time or another—the moderate use of stimulants is advisable. But 
in order that the good effects of alcohol may be obtained in time of 
need, it is necessary that its use should be medicinal, and it should not, 
therefore, be looked upon as an essential part of the ordinary dietary. 
When a course of continued physical or mental exertion has to be 
maintained for some time, there is no doubt that alcohol in moderation 
is beneficial. Parke considered that the purer specimens of whisky, 
