Tropicalities

I HAD been away the whole of the previous day from the mission station on a launching visit to another Island outpost (writes a missionary) and the following morning happened to be hover ing in the neighbourhood of the medicine room, when Mary, our faithful old ser vant, made her way across the verandah to me. ‘‘Me, me want ’im some black medi cine,” she said, “face belong me ’e sore.”

Reaching for the iodine bottle, I was about to rub a little on the sore spoc when she stopped me, saying, “Not that feller medicine, black medicine.”

I told her that I didn’t know any other black medicine suitable for her complaint, but she was far from satisfied and said, “Yes, one feller black medicine where Mobi ’e been find ’im yesterday.”

Now, Mobi was my rouseabout, and milked the cows pretty well, but he had no right or qualification to be dispensing drugs, so with rising interest I said, “Here, Mary, you come show me that medicine.”

On the way to oblige, she completed her story. “Yes,” she said, “one man ’e been come, ’e been get ’im sore neck, Mobi ’e been find ’im black medicine, e’ rub ’im along sore place.” With that she pointed to the high shelf where the dangerous things were; “’lm ’ere,” she said, triumphantly recognising the Lysol bottle.

I could never find out who the victim was, as he did not return for a second dose of the embrocation. But I felt quite relieved that Mobi had not been called upon to supply cough medicine. * * * THIS happened recently in Fiji. Some of the parties are well known.

The District Officer wrote to a Euro pean storekeeper and asked him if he could dispose of a few “Haig’s Fund Poppies” at 3d., 6d. and 1/- each.

As the storekeeper was reading the letter, a half-caste, who can read and write a little English, came in. “Here, Bill,” said the storekeeper. “Wouldn't you like some of these?”

Bill read the letter carefully, and then took it away with him. He said he would advise later if it were possible to sell any.

Next day he came back. “Them Haig puppies are cheap, alright,” he said.

“But nobody wants any more dogs just now. But I’ll take a couple of the six penny ones myself if they are any good for pighunting when they grow up.”

A neighbour, that day, watched curiously while the storekeeper came out at the back of his store, and apparently proceeded to have a fit.—Tui Natovo. * * ♦ THE transfer of G. J. A. Moore from Rabaul to Port Moresby, as B.P. manager, brings to mind an amusing in cident of the administration of General Griffiths. A steamer arrived in Rabaul from South with measles aboard, and the medical officers took their usual stern measures to keep the disease away from

the natives. It was found necessary to quarantine a number of passengers.

There was no quarantine station; and General Griffiths, with that kindness that is so characteristic of him, gave up Gov ernment House to the unfortunates, and took up quarters elsewhere. So to Nama nula went four women, four babies—and G. J. A. Moore! They were kept isolated there for some weeks. Some men might have been happy, nursed the babies in idleness, and been gallant to the bored mothers, but it was hell for Mr. Moore.

He is a conscientious, hard-working man, and he used to stand on the hill, and look down at the huge B.P. establishment, and curse. Even to-day, Mr. Moore shivers when he sees a packet of Baby Powder or a tin of Trufood —they re mind him too poignantly of those weeks of deadly isolation. * * * T ITTLE black mosquitoes, of persistent, devilish habits, still remind the so journer in Port Moresby that he is in the tropics, in a land of mangroves and sorrow; but Port people point out proudly that these little black torturers are not Anopheles, and that nowadays one does not get fever in Papua’s capital city.

Credit for this happy state of affairs is given unhestitatingly to Dr. W. E.

Giblin, who was Health Officer there for many years, and who carried on a long, patient war against the Anopheles, and finally drove the beast out of Port. Prior to Dr. Giblin’s campaign, there were in credible swarms of mosquitoes in Port Moresby—“in the evenings, they rattled against your face like rain,’* said one old resident. The doctor employed all the usual methods against the pest, but es pecially did he make use of the Gam busia fish. One would meet him at all

sorts of odd hours, tramping around the environs of Port Moresby, with jars of Gambusia slung around his shoulders, and examining every bit of stagnant water where the mosquitoes were likely to breed. At the faintest sign of larvae, he would release a few of the larvae eating Gambusia. In the end, the Ano pheles disappeared: and nowadays, if you want a really good dose of malaria, you must travel 20 or 30 miles away from Port. Grateful residents still toast “Giblin and Gambusia .”

Good work has been done also in New Guinea with Gambusia; but there are official fatheads in Australia who have never heard of them. A drum of Gam busia was brought down to Cairns (a mosquito-infested place) on the Montoro, on which I travelled, and I heard that, as it did not comply with section 46a of the Dog and Goat Act, or something, offi cialdom insisted that it be emptied over board.— R.W.R. * * * \ KING’S Regulation, issued by the Western Pacific High Commission on April 15, applies the following law to the Solomon Islands: “ 11. Any person who shall keep any dog without causing the ownership of such dog to be registered shall be liable on summary conviction to pay a fine not exceeding five pounds for every such dog so kept in addition to the amount of any fee that should have been paid in res pect of such registration.”

If this means what it seems to mean, officials in the Solomons are in for an exhausting time. It is privately estimated that the dogs, half-dogs, and near-dogs, living in native villages in the Solomon Islands, number 3,622,457.

Mr. R. St. G. Ryder, of Messrs. Morris, Hedstrom Ltd., at Apia, arrived in New Zealand recently from Western Samoa to spend a few months’ holiday.

Colonel R. F. Baird, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., D.T.M., 8.A., who recently was appointed Chief Magistrate of Norfolk Island, assumed office in April.