CLIMATE 
27 
are about the same as those of Reunion and Mauritius, 
where Europeans have thriven well for a long time past. 
Very recently these conditions have been made the 
subject of special study by Dr. Lacaze, and he has made 
accurate investigations of the district between Majunga 
and the Central Province. We extract the principal data 
from his information. 
The diseases which are principally treated of are marsh 
fever and dysentery. Of 107 Europeans who had spent on 
an average a year and a half in Madagascar, 6 succumbed 
to marsh fever. The time during which the fever can be 
resisted is short. In Boina, on the western side, all Europ¬ 
eans had attacks of fever in the first year, generally in the 
first month, but with regular diet the organism completely 
adapts itself to the new surroundings. 
In the winter months the number of fever cases some¬ 
what increases, and they are especially numerous in May, 
when the south or south-east winds set in. Excessive 
muscular exertion and long exposure to the open air 
favour these attacks. At a greater elevation the fre¬ 
quency of the attacks of marsh fever diminishes, though 
even among the Hova of the Central Province many 
individuals have been met with suffering from recurrent 
attacks and their accompanying symptoms (enlargement 
of the spleen and anaemia). Among preventive measures 
physicians recommend a careful choice of one’s dwelling- 
place, which should be situated as high as possible, and 
should have its entrance protected from the wind. Small 
doses of quinine taken every other day have been found 
serviceable. 
Dysentery, on the contrary, increases in frequency with 
the height above the sea, and, unlike marsh fever, 
appears especially to attack the natives, while the Europ¬ 
eans are less liable to this disease. During three 
years only three cases were reported among the Eu¬ 
ropeans employed in the Suberbieville gold-mine, and 
