NATURAL HISTORY. 03 



There are winds which may be regarded as peculiar 

 to certain coasts ; for example, the south wind is al- 

 most continual on the coasts of Chili and Peru. It be- 

 gins about the 4-6th degree of south latitude, and ex- 

 tends beyond Panama, which renders the voyage from 

 Lima to Panama much easier performed than the return. 

 The western winds blow almost continually, or at least 

 very frequently, on the Magellanic coasts, and over 

 the environs of the strait of Maire. The north and 

 north-west winds prevail almost continually on the Ma- 

 labar coast ; the north-west wind is also very frequent 

 on the coast of Guinea ; and at a certain distance from 

 that coast, in the open sea, we meet with the north- 

 east wind very frequently. The westerly winds reign 

 on the coasts of Japan, in the month of November and 

 December. 



The alternate or periodical winds, which we have 

 just been speaking of, are sea winds. But there are 

 also land winds which are periodical, and return either 

 at a certain season, or in certain days, or even at certain 

 hours. On the Malabar coast, for example, from the 

 month of September to April, a land wind blows from 

 the eastern side : it generally commences at midnight 

 and finishes at noon, and is not felt beyond 12 or 15 

 leagues from the coast, and from noon till midnight a 

 weak sea wind reigns, which comes from the west. Oa 

 the coast of New Spain in America, and on that of 

 Congo in Africa, land winds reign during the night, 

 and sea winds during the day. At Jamaica the winds 

 blow from all quaiters at once during the night, which 

 hinders vessels from either landing or setting out but in 

 the day time. 



The winds are howevej- more irregular on the land 

 than on the sea, and more irregular irr the higher lands 



