DISCOVERY 



305 



annual rainfall exceeding the west side of Kamerun peak, 

 which is next wettest, by 46 inches. It is really wet at 

 Cherrapunji. Its mean annual rainfall is 458 inches, 

 and in one year 905 inches actually fell ! 41 inches, 

 twice as much as the mean rainfall for the whole year in 

 the east of England, has fallen in a single day. 



Where is the best climate to be found ? This question 

 is not specially discussed by 'Mr. Kendrew, but from his 

 material and from known preferences one may arrive at 

 a provisional answer. Of course by " best climate " one 

 usually means the best place to live in, and that depends 

 on several things besides climate — accessibility, natural 

 scenery, the kind of people in the neighbourhood, and so 

 on. But keeping to climate as closely as we can, let us 

 inquire if there are any places outstandingly better than 

 others. Quito has a good name. High up on the Andes 

 plateau in Ecuador it has a remarkable uniformity in 

 temperature and weather generally, from day to day. 

 and from season to season. The temperature throughout 

 the year is much the same as in the south of England in 

 May ; a perpetual spring in fact. Its rainfall, however, 

 is nearly twice that of London. It has, moreover, some 

 of the unpleasant features of spring — violent changes from 

 hot sun to chill wind, for e.xample. Another distant 

 place that gets great praise and has been suggested as a 

 suitable permanent home for English settlers is Kashmir. 

 Ellsworth Huntingdon, the geographer, says of that 

 country : 



" We are apt to think of Kashmir as part of India, 

 and therefore as necessarily warm. As a matter of fact, 

 it lies 34 degrees north of the Equator, in the same latitude 

 as the northern part of South Carolina. In altitude it 

 stands over 5,000 feet above the sea. Consequently the 

 climate is comparatively cool. From November to 

 March it is so cold as not only to be bracing but even 

 to be rigorous. The spring and autumn are mild and 

 delightful, and the summer is warm. The great amount 

 of water spread over the plain for irrigation, and the 

 summer storms on the mountains make that season 

 damp, though little rain falls on the plain. . . . The 

 temperate climate of the region, combined with the 

 beautiful scenery, makes Kashmir a most attractive 

 summer resort for the people of India, especially the 

 English." 



But we must not consider these places seriously. 

 Kashmir is 5,000 feet above the sea, Quito over 9,000 feet. 

 These elevations do not suit everybody — children, for 

 instance. We must keep near sea-level and also we 

 must keep near the sea. For if we get too far inland we 

 have dreadful e.xtremes between winter and summer, 

 and even great changes within twenty-four hours or even 

 great contrast between sunshine and shade. Sir Martin 

 Conway wrote of the neighbourhood of Lake Titicaca in 

 Peru : 



In the winter when the wind blows the frosts are yet 

 more severe, the dry cold is so trying that even the 

 natives cover up their faces in thick woollen masks, and 

 wrap shawls about their heads and ponchos over their 

 belHes. But as soon as the sun is a little way above the 



liorizon, its direct rays scorch the traveller with their 

 great heat, so that he soon begins to pray for the night, 

 as the lesser evil of the two." 



We must also examine critically the statements of 

 enthusiasts for particular areas. There are seasons when 

 the south of France or the north of Italy is perfect, 

 but the whole year must be considered. A winter in 

 northern Italy is nearly always the " coldest winter that 

 Italy has ever experienced." In The Times we read the 

 following about Capri : 



" To-night I shall dine under an orange tree hung with 

 lamps ; afterwards I shall sit in a loggia and listen to 

 Casella playing Cesar Franck, or to Marinetti reciting 

 ' Baudelaire.' The planet Mars will roll slowly down the 

 southern sky, and the fishing-boats will twinkle until 

 dawn." 



But there is another side. In Mr. Kendrew's book we 

 read about the exceedingly hot and dry wind coming 

 from the Sahara which blows over Sicily and southern 

 Italy in the summer. When it arrives " the air is misty, 

 the sky yellowish to leaden, filled with heavy vapours 

 through which the sun can be seen only as a pale disk 

 if at all. Man feels languid and oppressed, and disinclined 

 for mental activity, and animals suffer also from these 

 hot winds. Everyone stays at home as much as possible 

 and does nothing. When the sirocco is especially hot, its 

 scorching breath does great injury to the vegetation ; 

 the leaves of the trees curl up and fall off in a few days. 

 If the sirocco sets in when the olive trees and vines are 

 in blossom, a whole year's harvest may be lost. It is 

 usually heralded by a mist which rises over the southern 

 horizon and overspreads the sky. At first the air is 

 quite calm and the sea lies smooth like a mirror, till 

 suddenly with mad gusts the wind bursts and the sea 

 is lashed into waves." 



Who indeed shall say where the best climate is to be 

 found ? Is it in Java on the Equator where the climate 

 is good and where in addition one always knows when it 

 is going to rain or what the temperature or humidity is 

 going to be ? Or in southern California with its four 

 months of almost rainless summer, where the moving 

 picture films are made. Might not even a claim be made 

 for parts of our own country. Many travellers say the 

 climate of the south of England is the best in the world. 

 Charles the Second said so ! South-westerly breezes for 

 the most part, very mild winters, cool summers, damp air, 

 much cloud, most rain in autumn ; no high levels, no 

 earthquakes, no tornadoes, no insect-pests — perhaps 

 somewhere this might be bettered, but one need not go far 

 from the south of England to fare worse. 



A. S. Russell. 



Greek Biology and Medicine. By Ch.^rles Singer, M.A., 



M.D. Illustrated. (Oxford : The Clarendon Press, 



2S. 6d.) 



This excellent little book forms the first volume of a 



series of Chapters in the History of Science of which 



Pr. Singer is editor. It contains a reprint of his contri- 



