Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-08-26

st-d that the Boers, who thrive as
hr.Gsmau in the Transvaal and the
Orange Free State, would suffer We're
th.v r1 stir up the soil as husbandmen.
T1 discover. finally. the power Of the
ahite race TO adapt itself to tropical
conditions we must disregard the chill
C.eu IF those white cmigrants who have
ln rnarried with native women.
Id IL obvious that accommodation to
climate by intcrmarriase is. in reality.
aulaccIimatizationa at all but the forma-
tion Of an entirely new type. II is The
belief Of many anthropologiSts that the
s,-.-ese of the Spaniards in Mexico and
south America was due largely to the
.r. sein" with the natives. which
vplvod a new type. more accommo-
lated -0 THE environment than We're the
t-.rrp.au=. on the other hand. it is
4J-n.ttcd that q cross beween races is
,ttru apt to ho a weaklng. sharing in
IL pathological predispositions Of both
,.e parent stocks, while enjoying but
.srrerfyctly their several immunities.
Eay can it be disputed that many Of
th most successful examples Of accli-
rt.t.-atiOn have occurred where there
ha+ bean complete absence Of cross
ir--. Z < in the French island of Reunion.
.ff he southeast coast Of Africa, among
the Beers of South Africa. and in Ger
in parts of South America as Well
'~nr Jews. who studiously avoid inter-
marriage with non-Jews. are 4 remark
.N1a people in this respect. They seem
.n thrive in All climates. and it has been
rnntandtd that a little Semitic blood is
always help to acclimatization. At
aI events. the cosmopolitan adaptive
aTt'tudes of the Jewish people has
reyor been denied
After what be-. zen done in Santi-
ar1 Ne cuba we scarcely need point
Witt that hygiene and sanitation have
,ccOmpIiShed wonderful results in as
-isting individuals to withstand those
immediate effects of climatic charge
which used to be often fatal. The
vc4r'v loss in the British army from
disease alone at one time in India was
MI for each regiment of 1000 men. In
1SI6 the annual loss had been reduced
to 50. and in 1883 it was only 80. The
loss III Cochin-China per regiment was
rs in 1861; the actual deaths have now
been reduced to 30. The terrific an
-uaI loss If AS per 1000, reported from
Senegal between 1882 and 1887, is now
reduced to about IS. Such results en-
courage the hope that. with further
advance in the science Of prevention.
the figures may be yet further cut
down. The allowance of vacations,
the strict regulation of diet. the avoid
auce 81 excessive fatigue and expos
ure. and especially of all form of ag-
ricUlturdl labor, together with the eX-
\ tension Of the hill station system,
4 should 10 much in this respect. In
! decd. it is now conceded by most can
| ala observers that. with few eXcep-
! lions. such as Cochin-China and the
West coast of Africa. white men have
I 4 fair chance of good health in the
tropics.
II is certain that heat b| itself. I'M
accompanied by excessive humidity
does not seriously affect human health,
except when unduly prolonged The
mortality Of soldiers and sailors in Al
Seria was q per 1000 from 1897 to 1913
so that scientific observers doubted
whether the white race would thrive
there. At the present time the birth
rate in Algeria exceeds that of France
itself, and the death-rate is but little