W. MCRAE 221 



To this total has to be added a small number, not above 200 acres, to 

 allow for a slight amoimt of rounding off of fields, and also about 2,000 acres 

 for small patches of Hevea here and there that do not come into the figures 

 representing estates, besides which about 10,000 acres are owned by Indians. 

 Thus the total area of Hevea in South India is very nearly 60,000 acres. 



RninfaU. The annual rainfall is always high, being about 120 to 140 inches 

 on most estates while reaching as much as 240 inches on some, and about 

 two-thirds of this comes in the four months from June to September. The 

 South-West Monsoon bursts early in June after which it rains more or less 

 continuously for the next three months, sometimes uninterruptedly for 20 or 

 30 days at a time, while the amoimt of rain in the fourth month may or may 

 not be great. " It may rain any day and it sometimes rains every day." 

 During October and November a fair amomit of rain falls under the influence 

 of the returning North-East Monsoon, the precipitaition occurring as heavy 

 showers that continue at most a few days at a time. From December to 

 March very little rain falls and the weather is dry and hot. During April 

 and May there are occasional showers which are connected with cyclonic 

 disturbances. On the whole the climate is warm and moist with the exception 

 of a spell of hot weather when the humidity is comparatively low. The monthly 

 rainfall for 3 estates in the north, middle, and south of the main rubber-growing 

 area is given below, as well as the daily rainfall for estate B during the South- 

 West Monsoon (June to September) to show the character of the rainfall during 

 that period ; the temperature record for one estate is also shown. 



