246 On the Land IV bids of Coromandel, 



Should the sea-breeze fail, as sometimes happens, the 

 land wind decreases gradually until it dies away in the be- 

 ginning of the night, which, on account of its calmness, is 

 dismal to a degree : next morning, a little motion of the air 

 is again perceptible, but at the usual time the wind sets in 

 as strong and hot as the day before. Every thing we put our 

 hands upon is then distressing to the touch, which must 

 be the case when the temperature of the body is inferior to 

 that of the atmosphere. This we experienced for almost a 

 fortnight in the year 1799 in the Northern Circars, when 

 the thermometer at eight o'clock in the night stood at 

 108°, and at noon at 1 12°. Shades, globes, tumblers, then 

 very often crack and break to pieces, and the wooden fur- 

 niture warps and shrinks so much, that even the nails fall 

 out of doors and tables, &c. In their greatest intensity, 

 however, I have never seen the thermometer rise higher 

 than 1 15°, viz. in the coolest part of the house, though 

 some say they have observed it at 130°. 



The Ghauts, and the hills at no great distance from them, 

 are then seen lighted all night by spontaneous fires, and 

 often in a very picturesque manner. 



These illuminations appear, in general, about the middle 

 of the mountains, and seldom or never extend to the top v 

 or bottom of them. They take place especially on those 

 hills on which the bamboos grow very thick; which has 

 probably led the natives to explain this phenomenon so 

 rationally, by ascribing it to the friction of these bushes 

 against each other. 



Lieutenant Kater, of his majesty's 12th regiment, thinks 

 that the corky bark of the adenanthera pavonina is often 

 spontaneously inflamed, as he has frequently found, on his 

 surveys, its bark converted i into charcoal, and several of 

 these trees burnt clown to the roots, although they were 

 not in the vicinity of any other trees. 



In Europe 1 know these spontaneous ignitions have been 

 much discredited ; and I doubt not but should these few 

 sheets ever be published, many objections will be raised 

 against what I have related : but 1 have endeavoured to 

 state tacts only, which a luxuriant imagination might have 

 painted in more striking colours, but I am sure not with 

 stricter adherence to truth. 



The land winds are noted for the dryness which they 

 generally produce on the face of the country, as well as on 

 that of the animal creation. This sensation is particularly 

 felt in the eyelids^ which become in some measure quite 



stiff 



