The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-12-11
SOUTH AFRICA's CLIMATE.
It is One of the Healthiest in the wor

It is One of the Healthiest in the World | The testimony with regard to the
 healthfulness of South Africa is unani-
 nous. Its confguration is peculiar and strongly resembles series of steps, | The coast plateau is six hundred feet
 above sea level the Southern Karoo is twelve hundred feet, the Central Ka-
 roo twenty-five hundred feet, and the Northern Karoo four thousand feet and
 upward The least healthy portion of
 this region to Europeans is that border
 ing on the coast. ''The Lancet" in
 leading article some years ago, gave an
 interesting description of the climate of South Africa, which, in view of the
 events now in progress there, it may
 not be out of place to quote: Tn Cape
 Colony rains fall chiefly in the winter
 months, the three hottest months, Jan-
 uary, February, and March, being al-
 most rainless at Cape Town On the
 east coast, however, at Durban, for ex-
 ample, most rain falls in summer, and
 CHlS IS dlSO lHS IulG III lue lIllGIlpT,
 where the winters are usually dry and
 clear with slight frost in some locali-
 ties. The Southern Karoo presents
 decided contrast to the coast plateau.
 The climate here is, on the whole, dry
 with considerable oscillations of temp
 erature and greater contrast of sea-
 sons. The hottest month Is January,
 with mean maximum of S7 degrees F.,
 and the coolest is July, with mean minimum of 36 degrees F. The winters are bright and clear with cold nights, and snow lies for time upon the noun
 tains. The Northern Karoo, of which the elevation varies from twenty-eight hundred to six thousand feet, stretches to the Orange River and has an ex- tremely dry climate, the rainfall in some parts being as low as two inches, and the general average being about ten inches. On the whole. the winter cli mate is very agreeable; clear, sunny, bracing days with just a touch of frost in the air being very frequent.
 "The Transvaal is an elevated plateau with very healthy climate. Pretoria Is at an elevation of forty-five hundred feet above the sea level, and Johannes berg of five thousand feet above sea level. In spite of this elevation the summer heat in these places is very great, and dust storms are frequent Malaria Is common in some parts of the Transvaal during the hot rainy season; nevertheless the climate in general must be pronounced healthy and favor able to Europeans" The climate of | South Africa as a whole may be summ- ed up in these words: Though the | mean temperature of the South African climate is higher than that of the great er portion of Europe, owing to the com plete absence of very cold weather, the | at least in the cooler parts of the country does not exhibit higher rise than often occurs iri north | ern Europe"
 The deductions to be drawn form the foregoing descriptions are that South Africa Is comparatively free from deadly diseases, and this Is indeed the truth 1t Is said to be one of the few portions ,f the other pests of the western world d by yellow fever or cholera, and many ,f the ohtre pests of the western world Ire unknown in this favored land. Low 'evers occasionally prevail and there Ire also periodical epidemics of small- ,ox and measles along the coast line, f, invariably imported by calling ships. )pthalmia and rheumatic complaints II some portions of the country are nore or less common, but may be .voided to great extent with ordinary are. Of course in the case of an army operating in the field there are certain which are difficult and In some instances impossible to escape such as nteric fever, d'arrhoea, and dysentery. 70 make comparison with the dangers rom disease threatening the British rmy in South Africa and those with ,hich our forces in Cuba had to fight 1t } indisputable that the lot of the Brit | sh soldier Is in this respect greatly bet CT than was the American.-M Medical World.
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