76 CLIMATE. 



These phenomena, however, have not yet been sufficiently 

 investigated to lead to any certain practical conclusion, and 

 a very condensed statement of the results is all that is 

 required to prepare us for a consideration of the hygrometric 

 state of the air on the hills, as regards the quantity of rain, 

 and its time of falling. 



The air during the month of January, February, and 

 March is intensely dry, the point of saturation, (or tempera- 

 ture to which the air must be reduced to deposit any part 

 of its moisture,) being occasionally as low as 13*^, the tem- 

 perature of the air being 60°. In April, it begins to fluctuate, 

 and in May, the quantity of moisture increases very percep- 

 tibly, being accompanied by rapid changes of the electrical 

 condition of the atmosphere, indicated by thunder-storms 

 and heavy showers, but of short duration. During June, 

 July, and August, it is nearly charged with moisture ; in 

 September, it is again fluctuating ; in October and Novem- 

 ber, moist ; and in December, it begins to re-assume its 

 dry state. 



In close connection with the above statement we find, 

 that there is little or no rain in the first three months, some 

 showers in April and May, a good deal of heavy rain at 

 times in June, July, and August ; the month of September 

 varies, as does that of October ; in November, there are 

 sometimes heavy falls, and in December, the weather again 

 becomes dry. This will be more distinctly seen in the table, 

 jn which is given the fall of rain in each month during the 

 greater part of four years, as observed by my friend Dr. 

 Glen, of the Bombay establishment ; the mean annual fall, 

 as deduced from this table, is 44*88 inches, or 13-58 inches 

 greater than the mean fall in England, as stated by Mr. 

 Dalton.* The following table will probably be interesting, 

 * Edinbitrgh Encyclopedia, Article Meteorology. 



