BORNEO 229 



west-south-west wind, and is steady from December to 

 IVIareh, when it blows more northerly. The south-east 

 monsoon is prevalent from April to October, and brings 

 the greatest amount of rain, though thunderstorms — of 

 which there are on the average about fifty in the year — 

 occur most frequently in December or at the change of 

 the monsoon. There is, strictly speaking, no dry season 

 on the island, although droughts — some of which have 

 been severe — sometimes occur. 



In British North Borneo the wet season is from 

 October to February, and April and May are the driest 

 months. Eain occurs, however, at all seasons, and even 

 during the severe drought which affected Borneo, 

 Sumatra, and the Peninsula in 1885, the longest rain- 

 less period registered in Sandakan was twenty-two days. 

 The mean annual rainfall of that town is 124 uiclies, 

 and the showers are sometimes extremely heavy. Thus 

 in June, 1884, over 2 inches fell in forty minutes, and in 

 January, 1886, 9 inches were registered in twenty-four 

 hours. Mr. Whitehead, who spent eight mouths on 

 Mount Kinabalu, records that the weather was extremely 

 wet. Sometimes rain fell for three days without ceasing, 

 and the general average was six hours per diem, generally 

 from 1 P.M. to nightfall. The maximum temperature on 

 this coast is considerably higher than that of Java, vary- 

 ing from 81° in February to 93° Fahr. in April. In 

 point of healthiness, Borneo must, on the whole, l^e con- 

 sidered more trying to European constitutions than any 

 country hitherto described, although it is probably 

 superior to ^ew Guinea and to some parts of Sumatra. 

 The large area of low and marshy land, suljject to alter- 

 nate flood and drought, the heavy rainfall, and, in the 

 new settlements, the disturbing of the soil, combine to 

 generate malarial fevers, which, though not nearly so fatal 



