be recommended as a permanent residence for invalids. Its rainfall is
more evenly distributed through the year, and the humidity, which is
remarkably constant, is about 75 per cent. The variations in summer and
winter heat are also within a small range; the highest mean temperature
for summer being 75°; the lowest mean for winter 48°. But the winds are
trying, and render it unsuitable for invalids. Uitenhage, a small
village three-quarters of an hour's run from Port Elizabeth, is far
healthier, and is rapidly becoming a favourite suburb. It has an
exceptionally good water-supply. In the near neighbourhood are the
largest vineyards in the Eastern Province.
These three towns may serve as types of the climatic conditions to be
met with on the south-western, southern, and south-eastern coast-line
respectively. It must be again emphasised that climatically none of the
coast resorts are as beneficial for phthisis and chest affections
generally as the uplands; but that other factors render them at the
present time, and for the immediate future, the most suitable resorts
for the seriously ill. And though climatically they are not the best
that South Africa can afford, they are, nevertheless, better than most
of the European resorts that have hitherto been frequented. For they all
afford more prolonged sunshine, and purer air, and are more exempt from
the infectivity of overcrowding than is the case with the fashionable
recruiting places of Europe. But it is to the highlands of South Africa
that we eventually look with confidence as promising the maximum of
benefit, which will be available as soon as the difficulties of food and
accommodation and social environment are adjusted. From the coast-line a
series of terraces rise to the northward, with extreme regularity on the
western three-fourths, with less uniformity on the eastern fourth of the
southern continent, as far as the Zambesi. Four terraces may thus be
distinguished, and are divided as follows:--
1. The coast plateau comprising the land within fifty miles of
the coast, and reaching a level below 1000 feet.
2. The Southern Karroo, the plateau between the Outeniqua and
Langenbergen mountains to the south, and the Zwaartebergen to
the north. Level from 1000 to 1500 feet.
3. The Great or Central Karroo, the plateau between the
Zwaartebergen range to the south, and the Nieuwveld and
Roggeveld to the north. Height between 2000 and 3000 feet.
4. The Northern Karroo, stretching north to the Orange River at
a level of 4000 feet and over. The Transvaal and Rhodesia,
though not commonly included as within the Karroo districts,
are high tablelands with similar altitudes, and may be
described under this heading.
The climate of the coast plateau is similar to that of the seaboard, and
much need not be added to the description given under that heading.
Visitors to the higher plains of South Africa must be warned to go not
unprovided with warm clothing, and to be careful of evening chills. The
fall of temperature as night comes is very great. It has been observed
that chills which in England usually result in nasal catarrh, in South
Africa take the form of intestinal catarrh, and most visitors experience
this discomfort soon after arrival.
In the Southern Karroo is situated the important health-resort of Ceres,
much frequented by the residents of Cape Town, from which it is distant
only 84 miles. It is a pretty little Dutch town, 1700 feet above
sea-level, with picturesque surroundings. It has a small sanatorium
under very competent medical supervision. The water-supply is derived
from mountain springs, and is very pure. The climate is drier than that
of the coast plateau, and its ease of access from Cape Town enables
supplies to be readily brought up. Being within the line of winter rains
it is not recommended for phthisical patients in other than summer
months, but during the latter, which may be taken as extending from
October to March, the phthisical patient could live and sleep in the
open air in properly-constructed sanatoria. It is much to be desired
that further accommodation of this kind should be supplied, as Ceres
forms a comfortable halting-place, where the phthisical patient may with
advantage spend a few weeks on his road to the higher plateaux, and it
would be an invaluable resort for delicate persons whom physicians are
obliged to send out of England during the English winter, a time at
which Ceres would be at its best.
Grahamstown, though not properly in the Southern Karroo, is at nearly
the same level, 1700 feet, as Ceres, and may be considered here. Its
rains occur mostly in the summer, and it is consequently more to be
recommended as a winter resort. It is one of the prettiest towns in
South Africa and one of the most English, and it vies with the capital
in educational facilities. It is best reached from Port Elizabeth, from
which it is 100 miles by rail, but the journey occupies nine hours. Its
climate is remarkably equable but somewhat damp. It has a public
library, second only to that of Cape Town, and a magnificent museum.
Sport is still to be procured in the neighbourhood, and the society is
more cultured and intellectual than is the case in many colonial towns.
It has long enjoyed the sobriquet of the "City of the Saints," and is a
pleasant and healthy place for family settlement, the schools being
numerous and excellent. It is not, however, so well adapted for the
presence of sanatoria for phthisis as many other districts in South
Africa, owing to its humidity.
The Great or Central Karroo and the Northern Karroo may be considered
together, as they have very similar climates, differing only in the
greater height of the northern plateau with the consequent influences on
temperature and dryness. It may be said to offer a crescendo of
advantage as the elevation increases. Here is probably to be found one
of the most perfect climates in the world for tuberculosis, and one of
the most healthy and invigorating. I would defy the most miserable
hypochondriac alive to remain uncheerful on a bright sunny day on these
glorious uplands. His struggle to remain lugubrious would be as hopeless
as Mr. Thompson's after his second glass of port, even when that
gentleman's deference for Sir Austin Feverel urgently required the
effort. Something of the same exhilaration may be felt in the higher
Swiss altitudes, but unaccompanied by the vivifying influences of the
sun. Sunshine and pure air, it must be remembered, are the strongest
bactericidal agents known. Mr. Clinton Dent, lecturing at St. George's
Hospital, gave expression to his astonishment at the surgical triumphs
of healing, which he attributed to pure air, achieved under his
observation during the war. The dryness, and consequent clearness, of
the air are remarkable, and indeed incredible to the northern European.
This feature explains the inferior shooting of our soldiers on their
first arrival in South Africa; they would invariably sight their rifles
too low, their targets being, in fact, far more distant than seemed
possible by reason of the clearness. And this dryness makes it possible
to tolerate extremes both of heat and cold which without this factor
would mean serious discomfort.
[Illustration: THE MORNING MARKET AT KIMBERLEY
Photo by Wilson, Aberdeen]
In fact, the moist warmth of our English summers is infinitely more
oppressive and less easily borne than the far higher temperatures, but
tempered by comparative absence of moisture, which prevail in the
Karroo. The rarity of sunstroke throughout South Africa is a clinical
observation which establishes the truth of the statements just made. In
the records of a military hospital in the Northern Karroo during the
months from August to April, including therefore the hottest time of the
year, out of 3000 medical cases not a single instance of sunstroke was
noted. The experience gained in this hospital has an additional value
from the circumstance that the gifted physician, the late Dr. Washbourn,
was the observer, and some of the results he records may be more
eloquent than many pages of description. Of the medical cases (nearly
3000), 546 were enteric, 379 dysentery, 296 muscular rheumatism, 258
malaria, 187 "continued fever," 152 diarrhoea, 93 jaundice, 70
tonsilitis, 71 influenza, and only 43 bronchitis and chest affections.
Dr. Washbourn acutely remarks, "From this list it may be roughly
concluded that the air in South Africa is good; the food bad." It
will be noticed that intestinal diseases form more than a third of the
total. The dysentery was probably due to faulty ingesta and not to the
specific organism usually associated with dysentery, since amoebæ coli
could not be found in the stools. Malaria occurs only in limited areas
in the northern Transvaal and parts of Rhodesia; the Karroo proper and
the coast-belt are entirely free. The causation of malaria is now so
well understood that it must yearly become a more and more preventable
disease. But the great outstanding features of the list, the prevalence
of intestinal diseases, the absence of respiratory troubles, merit
closer examination. The intestinal diseases, under which the muscular
rheumatism, (caused by toxines), the jaundice, and much of the continued
fever, must be included, are due to ingesta, _i.e._ food and water. The
difficulty of obtaining good food, and the absence of sanitation which
is the main cause of the impurity of the water, are the obstacles which
must speedily be overcome in order to make the second feature assume its
proper value in the treatment of disease. The rainfall is everywhere
adequate for the supply of pure water, but this must be properly stored
and kept from contagia. The interesting experiments which Dr. Vivian
Poore has made on the subject of rural hygiene are convincing as to the
possibility of disposing of excreta with complete security to health,
and material profit to the community, without the necessity of abundant
water. He has found that in the dry-earth system of closets, followed by
the application of the excreta to the soil and their superficial burial
in the humus, with subsequent tillage, a perfectly successful system of
drainage is obtainable. In an acre and a half of ground he has for many
years disposed of the excreta of a hundred persons, and the crops he has
raised upon this land have yielded a profit of £50 per annum per acre.
It appears to me fortunate therefore that most of the South African
towns (except on the coast) have not yet adopted the costly and wasteful
methods of destruction of sewage which are the fashion of the moment and
which entail an immense loss of water. An intelligent application of
very simple methods, within the reach of the smallest community or of
the largest town, will ensure proper destruction of excreta, increased
fertility of soil, and security against contamination of water--the
latter being by far the greatest danger in South Africa. The supplying
of food is intimately bound up with the conservation of water. The soil
of the Karroo is astonishingly fertile when watered, and irrigation
should be widely adopted. In places where this has been done the most
satisfactory results have been obtained. At Matjesfontein, for example,
a small oasis in the midst of the dry Karroo has been created within
recent years by intelligent methods of irrigation. It is to be hoped
that more energetic and progressive settlers will ultimately, as farms
change hands under the financial stress of the war, tackle these
difficulties with modern methods of agriculture. When it becomes
possible to obtain fresh food-stuffs at moderate cost, the country will
be ripe for the multiplication of sanatoria and places of reception for
invalids and visitors. The type of sanatorium to be recommended for
phthisical patients is still much debated. The essay of Dr. Latham and
Mr. West, of St. George's Hospital, who have lately won the King's
prize, offered for the best solution of this question, will be published
within a few weeks, and may go some way towards settling the model to be
adopted. At the present time only a few sanatoria exist in South Africa,
and it will be well to devote a few words to the localities in which
they are to be found.
Beaufort West, on the northern main line from Cape Town, and Cradock, on
the northern main line from Port Elizabeth, are old-established
health-resorts which offer fair accommodation for invalids. They are of
nearly equal altitude, some 2800 feet, and are both in possession of a
good water-supply. Their moderate elevation and ease of access from the
coast render them particularly suitable for advanced cases of phthisis
who are too ill to travel farther north, and for asthma and cardiac
affections.
Howick, on the main north line to the Transvaal from Durban, altitude
3500 feet, was much used as a convalescent military base during the war,
and is a popular health-resort with adequate invalid accommodation. It
has a good all-the-year-round climate, but is particularly recommended
for the winter, which is its rainless season. Estcourt, a little farther
north on the same line, is some 300 feet higher, with much the same
climate. It has a sanatorium. Standerton, 5000 feet, near the
Natal-Transvaal border, and on the Durban line, has a bracing winter
climate, and is then much frequented by Johannesburg residents, anxious
to escape the dust-storms of the Rand. Wakkerstroom, 6000 feet, a few
miles east of Standerton, is an advancing health-resort, which has a
sanatorium. It is best adapted for cases of early phthisis. Its altitude
contra-indicates it for persons with heart affections.
Middelburg, 4000 feet, in the Great Karroo, on the Port Elizabeth line,
has a sanatorium, and opportunities of accommodation in farms in the
neighbourhood. It has a summer rainfall, and is therefore more
especially to be recommended as a winter resort.
Kimberley, altitude 4000 feet, on the Great Northern Plateau, is the
fourth largest city in South Africa, and is entirely unique in this,
that it may be described as being run by a benevolent despotism, that of
the De Beers Company, who own the diamond mines. This company has built
at its own cost the best sanatorium in South Africa. The fierce heat
and the dust-storms render it somewhat trying as a permanent residence.
Bloemfontein, 4500 feet, in the Northern Karroo, the capital of the
Orange River Colony, has long been a favourite resort for phthisical
patients, and has a well-deserved reputation for the extreme dryness of
its climate. It has summer rains of short duration but very heavy while
they last. Its mean humidity is 58. December, January, and February are
the hottest months, with a mean maximum of 85.° It has very fair
hotel-accommodation at prices much lower than those ruling in
Johannesburg, and has sanatorium establishments. It is on the main line
of railway from Cape Town, from Port Elizabeth, and from East London. It
has a good water-supply, and should become a most successful centre for
the treatment of many pulmonary affections. The principal drawback to
its healthiness is the prevalence of dust-storms in the late winter
months.
Johannesburg, 5700 feet, in the great northern plateau of the Transvaal,
is the largest and busiest town in South Africa, and cannot, for these
reasons, be recommended as a health-resort; moreover, for some time to
come the scramble for accommodation and the general roughing that
results must keep away all but the most active and robust. But it is in
a very healthy position, and enjoys a splendid climate for ten months of
the year. The later winter months (July and August) are spoilt by the
severe dust-storms, and the wealthier Johannesburg residents usually
leave it during these months. It is the centre towards which all
railways converge, and may be reached from Cape Town (in 45 hours by
mail train, once a week; in 60 hours by the ordinary daily service),
from Port Elizabeth in 43 hours; from Durban in 24 hours. It has summer
rains in heavy downpours, with clear, fine weather between the showers.
The healthiest parts of Johannesburg are the Hill and Parktown, which
are fashionable suburbs. There are numerous hotels, which at the present
time are very expensive; a single room with board cannot be had under
25s. a day; servants' wages are high, from £6 to £10 per month;
food-stuffs are dear and difficult to procure; fresh meat is
unobtainable, all supplies being imported frozen; eggs are 11s. a dozen;
milk 1s. a pint; house-rent, for a six-roomed house, averages from £20
to £30 a month. These details are mentioned to give the intending
visitor warning what he may expect at the present moment; and the great
rush which is continuing will doubtless keep up the prices and lack of
accommodation, so that for a considerable time to come Johannesburg is a
place for the delicate and the ill to avoid.
Pretoria, the official capital of the Transvaal colony, is 30 miles
north of Johannesburg, but it is 1760 feet lower, and is sheltered and
shut in by mountains, which render it a pleasant resort from
Johannesburg in its windy months. The winter climate is delightful. The
sanitation, both of Johannesburg and Pretoria, is very imperfect and
bad, and enteric and dysentery are in consequence very prevalent.
Pneumonia is one of the scourges of Johannesburg, probably owing to the
frequency of chills, the variation in temperature from the heat of the
day to the cool of the evening being very great--as much as 70° at
times. Water is not too plentiful, and there are seasons of scarcity
which increase epidemic disease.
Basutoland has been called the Switzerland of South Africa from its
beautiful mountain-scenery. It is, however, not open to invalids, or
indeed to travellers, owing to its being still a native reserve.
Harrismith, 5250 feet, in the Orange River Colony, is probably the
nearest available health-resort to Basutoland, and is an excellent place
for consumption in earlier stages. A sanatorium is being provided. It is
easily reached from Durban. I have known a case of phthisis with
repeated hæmoptysis to be arrested by a visit of six months to
Harrismith.
Rhodesia is, as has been said, a continuation of the elevated tableland
of the great northern plateau, and its climate is very similar to that
of the higher Karroo, with the exception that malaria is found in some
parts of the country, and is not present in the Karroo. The country is
on the whole healthy, but is as yet too undeveloped to receive invalids.
THE SPAS OF SOUTH AFRICA
There are numerous mineral-springs in the country, but they remain for
the most part but little used, and there is here an excellent
opportunity for future development. A few words upon some of the better
known of these may be useful.
Caledon, altitude 900 feet, 80 miles from Cape Town, is the best known
and most developed watering-place in South Africa. A line of railway,
connecting it directly with the Cape main-trunk line, has just been
completed. Its reputation dates from the times of the earliest Dutch
occupation. It has ferruginous springs, both hot and cold, which offer a
most successful treatment for gout, rheumatism, anæmia, and cardiac
diseases and renal insufficiency. There is excellent and increasing
accommodation in connection with the springs. The climate is very
pleasant, and especially to be recommended in summer, as being drier
than the coast towns, though within such a short distance of Cape Town.
The rains are in the winter.
Brandvlei, near Worcester, 100 miles from Cape Town, has some very hot
sulphur-springs which have not yet been much used.
Montagu, altitude 750 feet, near Robertson (140 miles by rail from Cape
Town), has some hot mineral-springs which have been used with success in
rheumatism and skin diseases, and there is an "établissement des bains"
under progressive management.
Aliwal North, 4500 feet, on the Orange River, best reached from East
London, may be compared to the Swiss watering-place, Loêche, in the
combination of hot sulphur-springs with a great altitude. The baths are
excellent for rheumatism and skin diseases, and good accommodation is
procurable. The climate is a delightful one, with short summer rains and
bright dry winter. The altitude is unfavourable for cardiac affections,
but good for phthisis, and this has long been a much commended resort
for the latter disease.
Warmbaths, altitude about 5000 feet, a thermal spring, connected by rail
with Johannesburg and Pretoria (from the latter of which it is distant
70 miles), is rapidly becoming an important spa. The water issues at a
very high temperature. It is ferruginous, sulphurous, and alkaline.
Increased accommodation here is very desirable, and will no doubt be
rapidly supplied. Rheumatic affections, anæmia, and skin diseases are
benefited by this treatment, but heart disorders are aggravated by the
high elevation.
It is impossible within the limits assigned to me to go into further
details about the magnificent opportunities for the health-seeker which
this great country must offer in the near future. To those who have been
bred under those kindly skies, and who have left them permanently, an
incurable nostalgia often comes, when the burden of this murk-laden
atmosphere of London seems indeed intolerable. I hope that these few
pages may lead many a sufferer to find new vigour and new courage in
that sunnier air. May it prove to them in very fact a land of Good Hope
and pleasant memories, whether they remain in the country or whether
they make but a fleeting visit.[15]
FOOTNOTES:
[15] I have obtained much help, for which I wish to make due
acknowledgment, from the following works on South Africa, which I would
commend to the inquirer on the subject:--
"John Noble's Hand-Book," published in 1887 by the Cape Government.
"Health Resorts of South Africa." Dr. Arthur Fuller, 1898.
Messrs. Brown's "Guide to South Africa," published by the Union-Castle
Company, 1902.
"South African Studies." Dr. Alfred Hillier.
"The New South Africa." Bleloch.
COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS
BY WILLIAM EGLINGTON
_Editor and Proprietor of "The British and South African Export
Gazette"_
It is somewhat of an anomaly that of the scores of books which have been
published of late years in connection with South Africa, not one has
contained any direct reference to its commerce. This is the more
remarkable when it is remembered how little is known, outside the circle
of those associated with the trade, of its actual extent and importance.
It is true that here and there in the daily press statements, more or
less accurate, from time to time appear as to its trend, and of late
quite a number of technical journals, somewhat tardily, appear to have
only just awakened to the fact that the huge demands made upon British
industries by South Africa's consumptive requirements are worthy of
further investigation. But however admirable their intentions, the
process of enlightening the public to which they set themselves would
seem to have failed of its object, for the reason that, while each has
done its best in its own particular groove, collectively they reveal
nothing but what interests their own immediate circle of readers.
In view of the wide publicity given to South African affairs in recent
times, the ignorance of the average man as to the remarkable expansion
which has taken place in South African trade since the Majuba scuttle is
not a little astonishing. He doubtless has a hazy idea that it runs well
into millions, but there his knowledge ceases. He has had it dinned into
his ears that British manufacturers have been asleep and sacrificed the
trade to the greater activities of their rivals, and while he may
deplore this fact, and bewail the decadence of our erstwhile commercial
supremacy in oversea markets, there his interest ceases. It is with the
view of enlightening a wider public as to the extent and scope of our
present trade with South Africa, together with its future prospects,
that this article has reference, and it will also serve to show, despite
erroneous assertions to the contrary, that we have nothing to fear from
foreign competition. However lax our manufacturers may have been in the
past in allowing their rivals to secure so firm a footing in a market
where, until a few years ago, they were supreme, after a perusal of the
facts herein adduced it will be conceded that their present position is
one from which it will be a matter of extreme difficulty to dislodge
them.