Climate and Health in Hot Countries and the Outlines of Tropical Climatology: A Popular Treatise on Personal Hygiene in the Hotter Parts of the World, and on the Climates That Will Be Met Within Them.Giles, George Michael James
Science
Climate and Health in Hot Countries and the Outlines of Tropical Climatology: A Popular Treatise on Personal Hygiene in the Hotter Parts of the World, and on the Climates That Will Be Met Within Them.
Giles, George Michael James
Hygiene -- Popular works; Medical climatology; Tropical medicine
In the first place, it may be laid down as an absolute rule, that tents
with single “flies” or roofs, are quite unsuitable to any climate, and
should never be used except under the absolute compulsion of restricted
transport. Such tents are insufferably hot in warm climates, bitterly
cold in chilly ones, and damp and unwholesome in rainy weather in
either. On the other hand, the use of waterproofed material is, as a
rule, a mistake, and should at any rate never be adopted for the inner
fly, as to do so would make any tent of moderate dimensions intolerably
“stuffy.” In very rainy climates, there might be no harm in selecting
light milrained canvas as the material for the outer fly; but there is
no real necessity for this, as a tent should be so planned as to throw
off the water by virtue of the slope of the roof, and not by the
character of its materials.
A second point to be remembered, is that two or more layers of
comparatively light material will afford far greater protection against
either heat or cold than the same weight of material woven as a single
heavy cloth, and on this account the canvas universally used in Europe
for work of this sort is absolutely unsuited for the purpose.
Each fly of an Indian tent is usually formed of two or three layers of
cloth, the outer layer being formed of what is generally known as
“American” cotton drill, though it is usually of local manufacture; and
it would be hard to find a material better suited for the purpose. Where
only two layers of cloth are used, the inner layer should be a deep red,
as this colour cuts off the largest proportion of the chemical rays of
the sun, which exercise such a powerful effect on the human economy.
With three layers the middle one should be red, and the undermost deep
indigo. In the case of the inner fly, for the middle layer of cloth,
where there is one, a deep red should also be selected, but the inner
lining should be a pale yellow chintz, as a sombre cloth makes a tent
uncomfortably dark. The poles should be so constructed that a space of
free air, of not less than a foot, should intervene between the two
flies, even in the smallest tents, and if the outer fly be properly
planned, it should be impossible for rain to reach the inner fly, even
under the worst conditions of weather; though this proviso need not
extend to verandahs and bath-rooms, which are not intended for prolonged
occupation, and so may be formed by the outer fly only. When weight is a
serious consideration, as in the case of exploring parties, it would be
difficult to find a better form than that known as the “Kabul tent,”
which, with poles, mallet and pegs, weighs but 80 lbs., while the
somewhat larger “Field Officer’s Kabul,” weighing, with verandah and
bath-room complete, 120 lbs., forms about as comfortable a little
residence as can be desired for such purposes. For Indian family use,
and for permanent encampments, where a tent has to serve in place of a
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account