Ceylon; an Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and: Topographical with Notices of Its Natural History, Antiquities and; Productions, Volume 1Tennent, James Emerson, Sir
History
Ceylon; an Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and: Topographical with Notices of Its Natural History, Antiquities and; Productions, Volume 1
Tennent, James Emerson, Sir
Natural history -- Sri Lanka; Sri Lanka
_Paleness_.--At the same time it must be observed, that the pallid
complexion peculiar to old residents, is not alone ascribable to an
organic change in the skin from its being the medium of perpetual
exudation, but in part to a deficiency of red globules in the blood, and
mainly to a reduced vigour in the whole muscular apparatus, including
the action of the heart, which imperfectly compensates by increased
rapidity for diminution of power. It is remarkable how suddenly this
sallowness disappears, and is succeeded by the warm tints of health,
after a visit of a very few days to the plains of Neuera-ellia, or the
picturesque coffee plantations in the hills that surround it.
_Ladies_.--Ladies, from their more regular and moderate habits, and
their avoidance of exposure, might be expected to withstand the climate
better than men; and to a certain extent the anticipation appears to be
correct, but it by no means justifies the assumption of general
immunity. Though less obnoxious to specific disease, debility and
delicacy are the frequent results of habitual seclusion and avoidance of
the solar light. These, added to more obvious causes of occasional
illness, suggest the necessity of vigorous exertion and regular exercise
as indispensable protectives.
If suitably clothed, and not injudiciously fed, children may remain in
the island till eight or ten years of age, when anxiety is excited by
the attenuation of the frame and the apparent absence of strength in
proportion to development. These symptoms, the result of relaxed tone
and defective nutrition, are to be remedied by change of climate either
to the more lofty ranges of the mountains, or, more providently, to
Europe.
_Effects on Europeans already Diseased_.--To persons already suffering
from disease, the experiment of a residence in Ceylon is one of
questionable propriety. Those of a scrofulous diathesis need not
consider it hazardous, as experience does not show that in such there is
any greater susceptibility to local or constitutional disorders, or that
when these are present, there is greater difficulty in their removal.
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