In part, health improved as many new plantations expanded upstream into locales with fresh running streams, away from the stagnant lowlands, which favored malaria, dysentery, and typhoid fever. Gradually, the Chesapeake farms also developed apple orchards, and cider was healthier than well water tainted with salt or bacteria. In addition, over time, a growing proportion of the population became “seasoned” by surviving bouts with the local diseases.
