- Email: [email protected]
The white man in the tropics
344
PUBLIC HEALTH.
II¢ I¢w$. THE WItlTE MAN IN THE TROPICS. Service Publication (Tropical Division) No. 7, Commonwealth of Australia Department of Health. By R . W. CiLENTO, M.D., B.S., Director, Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine, and (temporarily) Director of Public Health, Mandated Territory of New Guinea. Melbourne: H. J. Green, Government Printer, 1925. pp. 168. Communications on this vexed question are of interest, and this publication is of value in the accumulation of evidence for those holding that the white man can not only live in the tropics, but moreover can undertake hard manual work and produce succeeding generations of at least as good a physique as the original settler. The book consists of two parts ; in the first part there are introductory remarks of considerable interest as to what the term " tropics " means, and the conditions met with in such places. These remarks lead on to the question of Climatology and Geography of Tropical Australia and its Dependencies, with the effects of residence therein ; then there is a consideration as to Climate and Racial Progress. It is this portion of the work that will be found of most value to those interested in the question, and in it there is much information. A Clear distinction is made between those who go to tile tropics for a term of years, and are in reality but sojourners there, a n d those who intend to live for good and all, and to make their homes and provide for the future of their children in these parts. As the author shows there is a material difference in the two cases. It seems that the rule for success is work and plenty of it, and this may b e o u t of doors provided a wise selection as to the hours be made, with due regard to the climatic conditions. A suitable dietary and good housing conditions are also essentials. The second part of the book is occupied b y the Concomitants of Tropical Residence, and in this there is detailed all those matters of sanitation, in the absence of which life anywhere, but more especially so in the tropics, is likely to prove unhealthy and burdensome. The various items mentioned include questions regarding water supply, housing, the disposal of waste, personal prophylaxis, and some
~UGUST,1926.
information Is given as to the combat against insect pests and the control of native assistants. The book is one that should be in the possession of, or available to, all who are interested in the matter of life in the tropics. SEWERAGE AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL. By G. BERTRAM KERSHAW, M . I n s t . C . E . 2nd Edition. 364 pp. Illustrated. Cambridge Public Health Series. Cambridge University Press. 1925. 18s. net. T h e first edition of this book, published in 1914, and now reproduced in the volume under review, was a comprehensive and able presentation of the art of purifying sewage as practised at that time. The author, who was Engineer to the R o y a l Commission on Sewage Disposal, had enjoyed exceptional opportunities for familiarising himself with British Sewage Farms and Disposal works; and the various methods of purification and disposal are clearly described. The twelve years which have elapsed since the first edition appeared have witnessed some very striking developments. Chief among these is a new process of purifying sewage by agitation with sludge which has previously been " activated " b y intense and prolonged a~ration, whereby the anaerobic organisms originally present are replaced b y active aerobic forms. The problem of sludge disposal, one of the most baffling with which the sewage works engineer is confronted, has been greatly simplified at Birmingham and elsewhere by subjecting the sludge to a process of bacterial digestion. These later developments are briefly described in a new chapter. The book contains fifty-nine illustrations and many valuable tables. The Cambridge Public Health Series, of which it forms part, is designed to appeal to a wide range of readers, including Medical Officers of Health, Sanitary Inspectors, Municipal Engineers and architects, and students. It will also be found useful b y those members of public bodies who desire to inform themselves concerning the works under their control. It is well and clearly written, and provided with an excellent index.
LT.-COL. F. E. FREMANTLE, M.P., h a s been appointed a deputy lieutenant for Hertfordshire, of which county he was formerly Medical Officer of Health.
PUBLIC HEALTH.
II¢ I¢w$. THE WItlTE MAN IN THE TROPICS. Service Publication (Tropical Division) No. 7, Commonwealth of Australia Department of Health. By R . W. CiLENTO, M.D., B.S., Director, Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine, and (temporarily) Director of Public Health, Mandated Territory of New Guinea. Melbourne: H. J. Green, Government Printer, 1925. pp. 168. Communications on this vexed question are of interest, and this publication is of value in the accumulation of evidence for those holding that the white man can not only live in the tropics, but moreover can undertake hard manual work and produce succeeding generations of at least as good a physique as the original settler. The book consists of two parts ; in the first part there are introductory remarks of considerable interest as to what the term " tropics " means, and the conditions met with in such places. These remarks lead on to the question of Climatology and Geography of Tropical Australia and its Dependencies, with the effects of residence therein ; then there is a consideration as to Climate and Racial Progress. It is this portion of the work that will be found of most value to those interested in the question, and in it there is much information. A Clear distinction is made between those who go to tile tropics for a term of years, and are in reality but sojourners there, a n d those who intend to live for good and all, and to make their homes and provide for the future of their children in these parts. As the author shows there is a material difference in the two cases. It seems that the rule for success is work and plenty of it, and this may b e o u t of doors provided a wise selection as to the hours be made, with due regard to the climatic conditions. A suitable dietary and good housing conditions are also essentials. The second part of the book is occupied b y the Concomitants of Tropical Residence, and in this there is detailed all those matters of sanitation, in the absence of which life anywhere, but more especially so in the tropics, is likely to prove unhealthy and burdensome. The various items mentioned include questions regarding water supply, housing, the disposal of waste, personal prophylaxis, and some
~UGUST,1926.
information Is given as to the combat against insect pests and the control of native assistants. The book is one that should be in the possession of, or available to, all who are interested in the matter of life in the tropics. SEWERAGE AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL. By G. BERTRAM KERSHAW, M . I n s t . C . E . 2nd Edition. 364 pp. Illustrated. Cambridge Public Health Series. Cambridge University Press. 1925. 18s. net. T h e first edition of this book, published in 1914, and now reproduced in the volume under review, was a comprehensive and able presentation of the art of purifying sewage as practised at that time. The author, who was Engineer to the R o y a l Commission on Sewage Disposal, had enjoyed exceptional opportunities for familiarising himself with British Sewage Farms and Disposal works; and the various methods of purification and disposal are clearly described. The twelve years which have elapsed since the first edition appeared have witnessed some very striking developments. Chief among these is a new process of purifying sewage by agitation with sludge which has previously been " activated " b y intense and prolonged a~ration, whereby the anaerobic organisms originally present are replaced b y active aerobic forms. The problem of sludge disposal, one of the most baffling with which the sewage works engineer is confronted, has been greatly simplified at Birmingham and elsewhere by subjecting the sludge to a process of bacterial digestion. These later developments are briefly described in a new chapter. The book contains fifty-nine illustrations and many valuable tables. The Cambridge Public Health Series, of which it forms part, is designed to appeal to a wide range of readers, including Medical Officers of Health, Sanitary Inspectors, Municipal Engineers and architects, and students. It will also be found useful b y those members of public bodies who desire to inform themselves concerning the works under their control. It is well and clearly written, and provided with an excellent index.
LT.-COL. F. E. FREMANTLE, M.P., h a s been appointed a deputy lieutenant for Hertfordshire, of which county he was formerly Medical Officer of Health.