72 THE LAKE 



Owing to the moist climate the foliage is alv/ays green, 

 and at no time are the trees as a whole bare of leaves : 

 it is quite common to see one tree shedding all its leaves 

 while another near by is in the full glory of new foliage. 



Flowers on the islands are disappointing ; they do not 

 enter into the landscape, but there are many creepers 

 which ramble over the tops of the forest trees and are 

 covered with sweet scented white or yellow flowers : 

 many trees and shrubs also have fragrant blossom.s, 

 some of which are beautiful, often of waxy appearance. 



The colouration in the bright sunlight during one of 

 the clear days characteristic of the heavy rains is really 

 wonderful in its brilliancy. From high ground one 

 looks over the top of vividly green forest towards distant 

 purple islands set in a sparkling deep blue lake, which 

 is stirred into white -capped waves by the prevailing 

 south-east breeze. So clear is the atmosphere at this 

 time, especially in the evenings, that from Bugalla Island 

 some of the individual houses at Entebbe on the main- 

 land, twenty-five miles away, could be distinguished with 

 the naked eye, and the flagstaff at Government House 

 could be seen with glasses, though I could never make 

 out the flag itself. 



The climate of the islands is more equable than at 

 Entebbe, the water exercising its usual influence. 

 Consequently, although the average mean temperature 

 is degrees higher than at Entebbe, the maximum is 

 lower, and the nights warmer. The rainfall also is more 

 equably distributed than on the mainland, although it 

 is greater. There was no month without some rain during 

 the twelve of which I kept meteorological records on 

 Bugalla, but the greatest fall came at the same two 

 periods as on the mainland. (See Chart I.) 



A striking feature is that, with extremely rare excep- 

 tions, the rain falls between midnight and noon, often 

 between midnight and daybreak, so that afternoon rain 



