Clhnate and McU'oroloijij. 17 



Climate. 



The climate of ChnHtiiias fwland in both phjasnnt anfl healthy, 

 Duriri;^ tho ^roator pait of tlio y«;jir Uk; wouthor in iriiicli like that 

 oi' u hot, 'liy, j'^rif^iihh hiiiuifier, teiiip<:n;'l nearly ulwayn hy a 

 Hteady »ea-hree;{e from the K.H.E,, which Ih generally fairly cool, 

 ari'l kreps the t«;nijjeraturr; very even <lay an'l nif.^ht. 'J'lie 

 luaxiMiiiiii t«;mpejatiire (in the Khiwle) recorded during my htay wan 

 89'-' Fahr. on November 20th ; the minimum ''night) wan 70^' Fahr. 

 on February l.'itli, wlien it wan raining heavily, The great<*Ht 

 range in twenty-four hourH was \\'\ The average daily maximum 

 and minimum may be taken an about 84'^ Fahr. and 7.0' Fahr. 

 rcHpectively, the former occurring an hour or two aft<5r midfhiy, the 

 latter shortly befon; hunrisf;. The averagt; t<;mj;erature of the 

 Hurface of the nea, rleduced from weveral obHOvationH, is about K'>''. 



The prevalent wind iu the S,F,, or rather K.B.P!., tra/le-wind, 

 ■which blowH the greater pari of the year (about .'500 dayH or/ an 

 average). From ilay to December it i» almoKt uninterrupted, but 

 during the earlier montliH of the year, which are the rainy ya'/omdw. 

 in tlie inland, the wind occaKionally hhiftH round to the X. and N,K,, 

 and w^metimcH blowH hard froni then*; directiouH, accom[ianied by 

 heavy rains. At such times Flying Fish Cove, which during the 

 prevalence of the tra/le-wind f'orniH a 8heltere<l anchorage, \m> 

 exposed t^j a heavy sea, which breaks on the reef with great 

 violence, the sjjray filling the whole valley and drifting \\\> the 

 high cliff like smoke. The beach is piled up till it is nearly 

 vertical, and at high tide a little water is sometimes spilled over 

 its edge ou in the platform behind. DiiHng these peri'^ls many 

 birds of passage, such as wagtails, whimbn,-!, swallows, etc,, reach 

 the island, often in a very exhaiist^;d condition, and several new 

 kinds of moths and butt/;rfiies, not w-en at other times, ^i:,\i: 

 obtained. Even if the northerly wind only lasts a few hours 

 swanns of dragon-flies nearly always arrive ; after two or three 

 weeks they disappear again. 



Except for showers at night on the higher parts of the i«lan/I, 

 almost the whole rainfall occurs from December \/i ifay inclusive ; 

 during these months there are s^^metimes he-avy downpours lasting 

 Wjveral 'lays, but as a rule the rnojnings are fine. At thes<; times 

 the rain nearly always comes when the wind shifts round t^^wards 

 the north. In the* dry seawm f May-December; the vegetation is 

 kept fresh by very heavy dews and occasional showers at night, 

 Thew; Uttt^-T oft^>'n occur on the uphmrls of the island, and seem 

 t^> be caused by the chilling of the E.S.E. wind, which results in 

 the formation of clouds over the high land. 



The raet<;orological peculiarities of the island no doubt depend on 

 its situation close Xjh the s<^^uthem limit of the raonK<^»on, From 

 towards the end of the year till ^lay the northern horizon is nearly 

 always marked by a cloud-bank, even when the tra/ie-wind is 

 blowing on the island, and, as shown above, it b only occasionally 



