Some account of the last yellow fever epidemic of British Guiana / by Daniel Blair ; edited by John Davy.

Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Some account of the last yellow fever epidemic of British Guiana / by Daniel Blair ; edited by John Davy. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    its ill-repute chiefly from the ravages of its yellow fever epidemics. During their prevalence, the neioly arrived certainly incurs tre- mendous risk, but at other times, and to the old settler in all times, there is little to apprehend. Those who suffer most from the winters at home, the narrow and weak-chested, and scrofulous, enjoy excellent health in this colony. With reference to the effect of climate here on the lower animals, it may be mentioned, that horses quite done up for service from rheumatism or founder in cold climates, regain their health and become service- able here. It is not to be concealed, however, that the never- varying warmth and luxuriousness of the climate induces inaction and apathy among the inhabitants*, and that some endemic dis- eases (such as painters' colic and obstinate intermittent, and the ansemic cachexy), in individual cases, require a temporary and sometimes a permanent, removal from the colony, f * [Accordingly, stronger motives seem to be required in these regions — tropical regions generally—for exertion, whether bodily or mental, than in colder climates; but the motives to exertion in the former are commonly less than in the latter. It is not surprising, therefore, that indolence should have become there a habit, and that the dolce far niente can be appreciated more fully in the West Indies even than in Italy, where, when powerful motives have operated,—as also in Greece, — the greatest of human ener- gies have been developed.] —Ed. ( •j- For much interesting information on the peculiarities of British Guiana, the reader is referred to Sir Robert Schomburgk's description, Major Tul- lock's Army Statistics, Dr. Shier's Report on Thorough Drainage, and the First Report of the Demerara Railway Company.