EAST NEPAL AND THE SIKKIM HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS. 129 



is sometimes very dry; it was unusually so in 1837, when Dr. 

 Chapman's register was ke^it: his reduced wet bulb obser%a- 

 tions are those from which I have worked the dew-points. Hoar 

 frost is of almost nightly occurrence in December, but the cold is 

 never extreme. About Christmas a storm is experienced, and 

 a great quantity of snow falls in the upper regions, at as low 

 elevations as 9000 feet, where I have seen 3 feet : much of this 

 melts, however, owing to the warmth of the soil. 



January. — Mean temperature (7000 feet) 40° ; of maxima 

 47'2°, and minima 32-8°; daily range 14-4°; sunk thermo- 

 meter 45°. Extremes of temperature 56° and 29° ; of radiating 

 thermometers — solar 119°, terrestrial 16°. Extreme differences 

 from temperature of air — solar 72°, terrestrial 12*7°; mean 

 dew-point 34*3°; saturation 0-84°. Kain-fall 1-718 inches; 

 mean of three years 0'30 and 4*27. January is generally a 

 stormy month, with bitterly cold, often violent winds, hail, sleet, 

 and sometimes snow at Darjiling, and as low as 6000 feet, 

 never lying beyond a few hours at the latter elevation, and it is 

 rare for 3 inches to remain as many days at 7000 feet. Much 

 snow falls about the middle of the month in the upper regions, 

 the ground being covered several feet deep at 13,000 feet, and 

 the snow-line is lowered to about that elevation, and does not 

 recede from that till April or May. I found the soil at this 

 elevation frozen for 16 inches, but warm below that, and as high 

 as 34*5° at less tlian 3 feet deep. 



February. — Mean temperature (7000 feet) 42-1° ; of maxima 

 50°, and minima 34'2° ; daily range 15-8° ; sunk thermometer 

 47°. Extremes of temperature 57° and 25*5°; of radiatino- 

 thermometers — solar 124*0°, terrestrial 23*°. Extreme differ- 

 ences from temperature of air — solar 78°, terrestrial 15-3°. 

 Mean dew-point 36*7°; saturation 0-85°. Eain-fall 0916; 

 mean of three years 2-047. 



This is also a stormy and cold month, with a good deal of 

 thunder and lightning, hail, and sometimes snow. Turnips, car- 

 rots, beet, and cabbage are the ciiief garden vegetables ; peas 

 blossom freely in spite of the weather ; tender plants are pro- 

 tected by matting ; artichokes and rhubarb are manured ; lupines, 

 marigolds, and stocks are still in flower. Snow that falls at 

 11,000 and 12,000 feet remains till April : there are no plants 

 of any consequence in flower above 6000 feet. 



I append a meteorological register of the separate months for 

 convenience of reference, but at the same time must remind the 

 reader that it does not pi-etend to strict accuracy. It is founded 

 upon observations made at Darjiling by Dr. Chapman in the 

 year 1837, for temperature and wet bulb only ; the other data and 

 some modifications of the above are supplied from a very careful 



