A Note from an Estate Medical Practice in Malaya

a general gradient of 1 in 30. The west coast is covered to a depth of some miles with mangrove swamps, with a few stretches of sandy beach. The force of the north-east monsoon of the China Sea has for the most part kept the east coast free from mangrove. Islands are numerous on both coasts. The peninsula has been described as one huge forest intersected by numberless streams and rivers which form the most lavish water-system in the world. Over 70 per cent, of Malaya is still virgin forest. This forest is a dense impenetrable mass of tree trunks and creepers. It has been described as so dense that a newspaper cannot be read in its depths at mid-day. Much of it is swamp underfoot to a depth of several feet. The characteristics of the climate of Malaya are: uniform temperature, high humidity, and copious rainfall. By uniform temperature is meant the absence of extreme variation throughout the year; the actual daily range is large, being from 20 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit. The excessive temperatures of the continental tropical countries are never experienced and an air temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit is unknown. The nights are everywhere reasonably cool and oppressive heat rarely prevents refreshing sleep. Hill stations exist where a temperature just 10 degrees Fahrenheit above freezing has been recorded. There are no real seasons throughout the year, although the greater rainfall is generally experienced between certain months which vary rather with the part of the peninsula. In the west, e.g., Selangor, the wettest months are usually March and April, and October and November. Real droughts are not common and the