402 Scientific hitelligence — Meteorology. 



it is possible to find any race of men similarly situated. Even 

 those who may be considered as peaceable clans, since they 

 occupied themselves on their farms or estate as supervising 

 cultivators, carried with them the thieving propensities for 

 which they are notorious, and thus acquired for the inhabi- 

 tants of Sindh generally a proverbially dishonest title, though 

 in reality it appears to be this class which alone merited it ; 

 but we shall refer to this point more particularly in discuss- 

 ing the character of this people. 



{To be concluded in our next Numher.) 



SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 



METEOROLOGY. 



1. Climate of Kordof an. — The climate of Kordofan, says Ignatius 

 Pallme in his travels, is very unhealthy, especially during the rainy season; 

 no hut is then, indeed, to be met with, in which there are not, at least, 

 several sick. In the dry season, again, aU disease disappears ; at this 

 time, however, not only man, but all living creatures, suiFer from ex- 

 treme heat. The eye then rests with melancholy on the desolate and 

 parched plains, trophies of the victory of the heat over animated nature, 

 where nothing is to be seen but bones of men and animals bleached by 

 the burning sun. During the whole of this season, which endures about 

 8 months, the sky is clear and cloudless, and the heat is insupportable, 

 especially in the months of April and May. From 11 o'clock a.m. to 3 

 p.M,, when the thermometer stands in the shade at 38° or even at 40° 

 Reaumur (117° to 122° Fahrenheit), it is impossible for any breathing 

 creature to remain in the open air. Every living being, both men and 

 cattle, with equal eagerness, seek the shade to protect themselves from 

 the scorching rays of a fierce sun. Man sits, during these hours, as if 

 in a vapour bath ; his cheerfulness of disposition declines, and he is al- 

 most incapable of thought ; listless, and with absence of mind, he stares 

 vacantly before him, searching in vain for a cool spot. The air breathed 

 is hot, as if it proceeded from a heated furnace, and acts in so enervating 

 a manner on the animal economy, that it becomes a trouble even to move 

 a limb. All business ceases, every thing is wrapped in a sleep of death 

 until the sun gradually sinks, and the cool air recalls men and animals 

 again into life and activity. The nights, on the other hand, are so 

 sharp, that it is necessary to be more careful in guarding against the 

 effects of cold in this country, than in the northern parts of Europe; for 

 the consequences frequently prove fatal. During the dry season, every 

 thing in nature appears desolate and dismal ; the plants are burnt up ; 

 the trees lose their leaves and appear like brooms ; no bird is heard to 

 sing ; no animal delights to disport in the gladness of its existence ; 



