John McCosh

“ EXERCISE.— If early rising were considered a proof of industry, certainly no people would be thought more industrious than Europeans in India. Few indeed (ladies excepted) are in bed so late as sunrise, and most are upon their legs at gun-fire or break of day, and ready for their walk, their ride, or their drive, or their duty as circumstances admit. ”

“ When white ants abound, every article should have a plate of metal,—copper is best,—between them and the ground.
Immense flocks of locusts appear at certain times darkening the very sun like a heavy fall of snow in a very wonderful manner. Great consternation is caused among the natives by such a visitation, and with just cause, for if they settle even for a night, every blade of grass, and every leaf is devoured by them. On their appearance,the whole population turns out against them, firing off guns, beating drums, burning fires, shouting and beating to drive them off. ”

“ It is one of the anomalies of India that Europeans think it infra dig to take exercise on foot; to walk they are ashamed, even to preserve their precious health; yet many of the ills they complain of might be avoided by well regulated pedestrianism. A few sturdy independent characters, men in high office, who can afford to laugh at the fetters that society rivets upon its own ankles, may be seen enjoying their morning and evening walks ”

“ Much bad wine finds its way to India; and, therefore, most messes get their wine direct from the vineyards of Europe. Though I would recommend as sparing a use of liquors to the stranger as animal food and highly-spiced dishes, yet I am not an advocate for meagre fare and water-drinking. I have seen many a man drowned by pouring cold water into him, and am, therefore, not a hydropathist. ”

“ SMOKING.— Tobacco-smoking is a very common habit; so much so that two-thirds of the European population indulge in it; nor is the vice contracted in India only. A large proportion of cadets acquire the habit in England, and are not a little proud of their accomplishment, Young men think it manly to be able to blow as big a cloud as their commanding officer. Their breath not only smells of an old pipe,but everything that comes out of their house—a book, a newspaper, or a letter—does the same ”

“ When idleness and inactivity are so common, and apathy and ennui, like the dry rot in a ship of the line pervades the community, and entails disease, both bodily and mental, any rational amusement that would ventilate society, and give a fillip to the languid pulse of passing events, that would break the monotony of time, and set the moral elements into circulation, ought to be hailed as a public good. ”

“ The mosquito is the most annoying. In Calcutta they swarm all the year round; but in the upper provinces they disappear during the cold weather. They insinuate their proboscis through one or two folds of cloth, even through a woollen sock; their sting is as pungent as a nettle's, and is immediately followed by a lump as large as a coffee bean,and intolerably itchy. Strangers are liable to scratch this, and often cause very serious sores. Mosquitoes are fond of novelty, and new comers may be recognised by the attentions paid them by the mosquito. ”

“ If a general order were issued, rendering smoking compulsory, how the fathers of youthful heroes would protest against so very expensive a habit being imposed upon their sons, what an outcry there would be amongst the married ladies for having such an intolerable nuisance forced upon their domestic economy. ”

“ Shooting engages the leisure hours of many. Of all sorts of this sport, snipe shooting is the most dangerous. These birds are found only in marshy miry bogs, the very hotbeds of fever, and can only be got at by plunging up to the knees in mud, with a burning hot sun overhead. Many sportsmen thus contract fever, and sacrifice their health, or even their lives, in pursuit of this worthless game.
Boating is a good deal practiced, but from want of skill many accidents attend it, and many are drowned in consequence. ”

“ ICE.— In the hot weather, every dinner is closed with ice, and the greatest luxury in India is a glass of cold water. Every larger station in India has its ice pits for the manufacture of ice, and its ice houses for storing it up for the hot weather. Though the temperature of almost no station in Bengal is so low at any season as to cause water to freeze in the natural way, yet an artificial process is contrived to produce congelation. ”

“ FURNITURE.— The furniture of houses in Calcutta is of a very superb and even ostentatious description; and the different component parts are constantly circulating through society. Upon any change in the members of the family, or change of appointment, the whole goods and chattels are brought to the hammer; and it is found good economy to have every thing of the best description, thus insuring a ready sale. ”

“ In India all washing is done by men, by beating the clothes against a stone or grooved plank, and the destruction caused by the dhoby is much greater than the ordinary tear and wear. So great is this that in families a tailor is constantly entertained to repair his damages, yet we submit to the mischievous practice. ”

“ Mattrasses are rare things in India, and feather beds unknown, the general substitute being a lace-work of stout tape stretched on the bed frame, with a quilt over it. Every bed has its mosquito curtains,composed of thin gauze, which is useful in keeping off insects, in moderating the current of wind when sleeping with open doors, affording protection against damp,and even against miasma, when that exists, and no one should pass through a feverish belt of jungle without being encaged in mosquito gauze. ”

“ If the two accomplished ladies, now at the head of Calcutta society, would condescend to set the example and make pedestrianism fashionable, they would effect a reform that would contribute materially to the improvement of the public health in India. Riding is by far the most common mode of exercise,and many take their morning and evening ride as commonly as their meals. ”

“ Great smokers blow away money enough during their career in India to purchase them a moderate annuity; they waste more good health than their pensions can redeem; and shorten the period of their lives several years by this filthy habit.
Hookah smoking, though to appearance less hurtful than cigar smoking, is in reality more so. By it the smoke of the tobacco is inhaled into the very lungs, and, generally, a large proportion of carbonic acid gas with it. Hookah smoking is now gone out of fashion. ”

“ The one cultivates trees for the sake of their beauty and their cooling shade,the other forbids their growth, believing them to generate malaria, and afford shelter for mosquitoes. Much may be said on both sides. On the whole,I should prefer living in a house without trees to one surrounded with many. At the same time, I should like two or three, if judiciously placed. A few shady trees, in front of a house, is a great comfort to the whole establishment, and a favourite place of resort for both master and servant.
Trees exert a much more important part upon climate than is generally believed ”

“ The bills of mortality clearly show that the inhabitants of dark lanes and alleys are more unhealthy than those in well lighted streets, and nice investigations have proved, that the tenants of the shady sides of streets are less healthy than those of the sunny—moreover, practical experiments have demonstrated that tadpoles do not become mature frogs if kept in the dark.
The indigo planters are good examples of the truth of this theory. They are the most healthy looking people in India, though exposed all day, at all seasons, to the sun ”

“ Cold bathing is one of the most healthy pieces of discipline practised in India, and no small part of its advantages is a free use of soap all over, and the brisk friction in drying the skin with a huckaback towel. The cold bath is the best protection against sudden changes of temperature, the tepid against internal chronic affections. ”

“ The mosquito is generated in stagnant water; his first appearance is in form of a maggot, zig-zagging about, and when he gets his wings he deserts his native element, and soars aloft. One may watch the transformation in a glass of water. ”

“ He will see many an individual deeply impressed with the advantages of a morning walk padding along with their horses led behind them, or their buggy at their heels; not that they have any intention of using either, but that they dread being seen by vulgar eyes shorn of their establishment or being taunted with niggardliness for trudging through the dust like a coolie to save their horses shoes or their buggy wheels. ”

“ If earthern jars, filled with water, be kept out of doors all night, and brought in at daylight, the water will be as cool as can be desired. Not a few use the tepid bath, but I do not recommend it to one in good health,it is too relaxing, and not to be compared with the cold douche. Few bathe oftener than once a day, and most continue bathing during the coldest weather, when they shriek aloud at the shock. ”

“ The red ant abounds in myriads in every house; but he is too honest and independent to draw upon the most tender morsel of humanity. He finds sick flies, and broken legged beetles, and wounded mosquitoes, and invalid spiders, and gouty flies, enough to supply his wants.
Scorpions and centipedes seldom take up their quarters unless in very old and filthy houses. Lizards abound in all houses; but they are encouraged rather than disturbed, and are very active in destroying mosquitoes. ”

“ Mangoes,though the best fruit in India, he must eat with great circumspection, and gourds, water-melons, and cucumbers he will do well not to taste. Most English vegetables grow very well in the cold weather, potatoes, turnips, cauliflower, beans, peas, carrot, and beet-root. The agricultural society has conferred a great boon on the public by their expense and exertions in providing seeds from Europe, and distributing them throughout the country. ”

“ Of all the domestic plagues, the white ant is the most destructive,and as they do all their mischief in the dark or under cover either by mining below ground or by tunnelling their paths with clay when above ground, much watching is necessary to prevent their attacks. ”

“ EFFECTS OF CLOSED DOORS.—It is a common custom in the hot weather to shut up every door and window soon after sunrise, and not to open them till an hour or two after sunset; nor is the exclusion of all fresh air thought enough, but every Venetian is also closed, and the darkness is so great, that visitors on first entering a drawing-room cannot see the inmates. ”

“ Most people wear flannel under their clothes, and a very prudent practice it is, and the best protection against sudden alternations of weather. When flannel irritates the skin, as it does, and is not endurable to some, silk is an excellent substitute. ”

“ Every pot should be cleaned and dried immediately after being used, and those who consult their health will do wisely in making occasional visits to their cook room. Enammelled iron cooking-pots are admirably adapted for India ”

“ The stranger will find few pedestrians to keep him company, but, as it is probable that his pay will not admit of his keeping a horse, let him not give way to the absurd prejudice of thinking walking infra dig, and injure his health by remaining in-doors. ”

“ Too much attention cannot be paid to the state of the skin, for its functions are no less important than those of the intestines or lungs. Many persons in good health are apt to neglect these apparent trifles, nor do they think of attending to them until their health is broken. ”

“ The evening is the grand season of recreation; every one who can set a couple or two of wheels in motion turns out to his constitutional drive; the course is crowded with carriages of every description ”

“ Almost all the cooking utensils are made of copper, tinned on the inside. It is customary to have the tinning renewed once a month, but from the native custom of scouring the vessels with sand in cleansing them, the tin is often worn off before the month is over, and the food cooked is apt to be tainted by copper to a hurtful extent. Acid preparations are not the only things that act rapidly on copper if allowed to remian in them, but oily ones also, and none more so than oleaginous messes. ”

“ That darkness is injurious to the healthy growth of vegetables is well ascertained; plants that live in darkness remain pale, flaccid, and feeble, and those accustomed to sunshine, if removed to a dark situation, rapidly lose their health and droop and die. ”

“ Some young men render themselves a nuisance at a mess table by their pertinacity in offering bets. I need not say that gambling of all sorts is stringently prohibited by the authorities, and that a fortunate gambler, though a notorious character, is a very unenviable one. ”

“ But no small share of the comfort of a house depends upon its being freely pervaded by the wind, and as the north-east and south-west winds are the prevading ones, I am of opinion that the front should be towards the north-east. ”