Sept. i, 1 886.1 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTtJRiSf, 



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about a score of miles from the " cloud-com- 

 pelling " Peak and its " rain-capturing " ranges, 

 running down to 1,000 i'eet above sea level. You 

 have no doubt, ere now, heard from Maskeliya, 

 Dikoya and Ambagamuwa, that at places less than 

 half our elevation, but in the teeth of the south- 

 west monsoon, they have experienced rain deposits 

 surpassing ours by two, three, four times. The 

 rainiest station in the world, in the forefront of 

 the Himalayas, Cheerrapoonjee, is only 4,000 feet 

 above sea level, and the rainfall decreases as thence 

 the vast Himalayas are ascended until at 11,000 

 or so no rain at all falls. Not giving due weight to 

 this principle, I at one time calculated that if the 

 late Mr. Heelis got an average of 100 inches per 

 annum at 4,600 feet on Langdale, we might calculate 

 on 110 at an elevation 1,200 higher on Abbotsford. 

 I am now perfectly satisfied that the true average 

 rainfall here is better represented by 100 inches 

 (the figure also established for Nuwara Eliya by 

 16 years observations) than by our old estimate of 

 110. The truth is that if we commence with 

 Theberton in Maskeliya, there is a descending scale 

 of rainfall against an ascending scale of elevation, 

 until the Nuwara Eliya tableland is reached. My good 

 but thirsty friend Mr. Grigg, is not contented with 

 absorbing less than from 200 to 250 inches of rain 

 per annum. He Icindly allows some of the rain 

 clouds to pass on and so they get loO in i>ikoya, 

 140 in the Kotagaloya Valley, 120 about Talawakelle, 

 106 at Langdale, and 100 at 5,800 in the face of 

 the south-west on Abbotsford. Nuwara Eliya is 

 440 feet more elevated and a rampart of mountains 

 shelters it from much of the south-west wind and 

 rain. But it is midway between the two monsoons, 

 receiving an appreciable tribute from each, the 

 result being, with striking inequalities between 

 individual years, an average of 100 inches. This 

 average, both for Abbotsford and Nuwara Eliya. 

 requires the inclusion of the enormously exceptional 

 rainfall of 1882. But the record for that year at 

 Abbotsford being imperfect, (although we have good 

 reason to believe that the rainfall was at least 130 

 inches,) I have taken the figures for the three years 

 following, during which, of course, there was a 

 reaction from the excessive fall of 1882, while in the 

 case of Nuwara Eliya, so utterly exceptional a year 

 as 1884 gave only 76-42 inches. The averages for 

 the past three years of reaction from the abnormal 

 rainfall of 1882, are considerably below 100, but for 

 any period like 5 or 10 years that is the average, 

 or perhaps 99 for Nuwara Eliya and 102 for Ab- 

 botsford. The figures for the 3 years ending 1885, 

 were ; — 



1883. 1884. 1885. Averages 

 inches, inches. indies, inches. 

 Nuwara Eliya.. 99-62 76-42 83-68 86-57 

 Abbotsford ....100-10 851o 89-70 91-64 

 In both places the rainfall is well-distributed over 

 ihe year, no month shewing a lower average than 

 2-11 for January in the case of Abbotsford and 

 2'46 for the same month at Nuwai-a Eliya. The 

 highest average figures are 15-15 for Jupe at 

 Abbotsford and 12-78 for July at Nuwara Eliya. 

 But t) shew the capriciousuess of seasons, which 

 must be calculated on, we need merely mention 

 that while June 1884 gave only 4-88 at Nuwara 

 Eliya and 9 at Abbot;<ford, the reaction in 1885 

 was to '23-43 at Nuwara Eliya and 28-54 at Abbots- 

 lord. Tliis year June went down at both places 

 to 12-49 at Nuwara Eliya and 814 at Abbotsford. 

 Allowing for the fact that the north-east monsoon, 

 as might be expected from the position of Nuwara 

 Eliya, gives that place, appreciably more rainfall 

 (3^ inches) in November and December than 

 Abbotsford gets, the bulk of the year's rainfall at 

 both places falls between ftlay and OptoVer ; about 



65 out of 91-64 in the case of Abbotsford and 

 57-05 out of 86-57 at Nuwara Eliya. For the 3 

 years, 1883-1885, the Nuwara Eliya average was 

 5 inches below that of Abbotsford. It is curious to 

 notice how in the first 6 months of this year, an 

 attempt was apparently made to raise the rainfall 

 of Nuwara Eliya and lower that of Abbotsford, so 

 as to equalize the averages. The rainfall ®f Nuwara 

 Eliya for the first half of thia year was 39-09 

 inches or G-96 above the average of the past 3 years, 

 which was 32-13. The rainfall at Abbotsford, on 

 the ether hand, for the first six months of this 

 year was only .30-52 inches, being 5-46 below the 

 average for 3 years, viz : 35-98. It seems quite 

 probable, therefore, that by the end of 1886, the 

 average for both places will stand about 95 inches, 

 another (the fifth) year bringing the figure for average 

 up to the round 100. In February, March and April 

 this year, (north-east monsoon months), Nuwara 

 Eliya got 8-66 inches of rain, instead of the wretched 

 5 inches which fell at Abbotsford ; Feb. and March 

 getting little mote than three inclies between them, a 

 quantity not eq\ial to supply the evaporating 

 effects o£ the north-east winds of those months. 

 We have already noticed that the bulk of the rain- 

 fall both at Nuwara Eliya and Abbotsford falls 

 between May and October. If, on the other hand 

 wc divide the year into halves, by far the larger 

 portion falls in the second portion of the year. At 

 Nuwara Eliya 32-13 inches only fall on an average 

 between January and June, against 54-44 between 

 July and December. For Abbotsford the similar 

 figures are 35-98 in the first half of the year, 

 against 55-66 in the second half. Of all the years 

 on record, 1884 was probably that most distin- 

 guished by deficient rainfall at both stations. In 

 that year the Sanatorium received only 76-42 inches, 

 or very little more than three-fourths of its average 

 supply ; the proportion for the first half of the 

 year being actually two decimals below 18 inches, 

 so that the average for each month was only three 

 inches. Abbotsford was better served by 8-71 inches, 

 but the total 85-13 inches was fully two inches 

 below the average of Colombo, while for the first 

 half of the year the fall was only 23-59. The direct 

 distances between the rain gauges at Abbotsford and 

 Nuwara Eliya is less than three miles ; but while 

 Abbotsford faces the south-west, Nuwara Eliya is pro- 

 tected from that monsoon by the One Tree Hill 

 and Kikilimaaua ranges, is more exposed to the 

 influences of the north-east monsoon, so that while 

 Abbotsford receives somewhat more rain than Nu- 

 wara Eliya does in the south-west monsoon months, 

 Nuwara Eliya receives compensation in the nortli- 

 east monsoon months, which tends to equalize the 

 average figures. As regards mean temperature, that 

 of Nuwara Eliya is 58^, with minima going down 

 to frost, the cold on the plain being intensified by 

 evaporation of moisture and by radiation of heat 

 into space, in the clear weather of the north-east 

 monsoon. This refers to " thp: plain " proper, which 

 is undoubtedly the grass-covered bed of an ancient 

 lake. On forest land or land redeemed from forest, 

 on the hills around, the temperature is much warmer, 

 frost on such places being practically unknown. 

 The mean at Langdale, 4,600 feet above sea 

 level in the Dimbula Valley, being ijo'' against 

 58° at Nuwara Eliya, the difference is 7", 

 that being the fall of temperature for a rise 

 in altitude of 1,640 feet. Were the conditions 

 equal, this would mean a fall of 1" for every '235 

 feet elevation. At this rate the mean temperature at 

 5,800 on Abbotsford would be 60'. But as the 

 estate has been entirely opened in forest and is 

 surrounded by growing forest, the true figure is 

 probably about 62\ As the lower portion of the 

 estate is 4,600 feet altitmle and the higher reaches 



