474 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TKAVFX 



point of view ; but the rainfall is uncertain and variable 

 both as regards time and quantity. The total annual 

 rainfall at Suva probably averages about 110 inches, 

 but it is undoubtedly much greater in other parts, 

 and may be considered heavy even for a tropical 

 country. Since 1862 the thickly-wooded hills around 

 Levuka have been cleared, as they afforded shelter to 

 mountaineers who in those days often plundered the 

 town, and in consequence the number of rainy days, 

 though not the total rainfall, has been materially 

 reduced. Formerly the rain came in gentle showers 

 which sank into the ground and refreshed the vegeta- 

 tion, whereas it now descends in torrents, and runs 

 off the ground, carrying away the loose soil and doing 

 great damage to both soil and vegetation. It is to 

 be hoped that the Government will strictly regulate 

 the forest growth of these islands, and thus avoid the 

 irreparable deterioration both of soil and climate which 

 has been caused in many parts of India and Ceylon 

 hy indiscriminate clearings. The easterly winds are 

 fairly steady from April to ]^ovember, but during the 

 remainder of the year north and north - west winds 

 frequently blow. A drawback to the islands, much 

 dreaded by the planters, are the cyclones, which are 

 most severely felt in the western part of the group. 

 They occur generally either in January or February, and 

 are sometimes accompanied or followed by a " tidal 

 wave," causing considerable damage, though never pro- 

 ductive of the appalling results characteristic of similar 

 phenomena in the Philippines. 



The Fiji Islands afford a world-famous example of the 

 virulence which may be acquired by a disease when 

 transplanted to a virgin soil. In 1875 measles was 

 accidentally introduced for the first time into the 



