THE WEATHER CYCLE 77 



The Indian rainfall, having two maxima 

 during the course of the one sun spot cycle, has 

 also two minima, which occur one on either side 

 of that secondary maximum which corresponds to 

 the minimum of Mauritius. Now the Indian 

 famines have no 1 1 years period, and thus have 

 hitherto appeared independent of sun spot 

 influence, The Lockyers point out that all the 

 Indian famines have occurred at the time of 

 the minimum beside the secondary maximum. 

 The relations of the Indian and Mauritius 

 rainfalls from the south-west monsoon, and the 

 position of the famine years are diagrammatically 

 shewn in fig. 18. The agreement between the 

 Lockyers' results and the distribution of famines 

 in India, is so remarkable that it is claimed to 

 be " clear from the above table that if as much 

 had been known in 1836 as we know now, the 

 probability of famines at all the subsequent 

 dates indicated in the above tables, might have 

 been foreseen." This great meteorological 

 advance promises great assistance in the future 

 administration of India. Sir John Eliot, the 

 Meteorological Reporter to the Indian Govern 

 ment, has expressed his opinion^ that the results 

 4 'accord closely with all the known facts of the 

 large abnormal features of the temperature, 

 pressure, and rainfall in India during the last 

 25 years, and hence that the indications already 

 arrived at will be of great service in forecasting 

 future droughts in India." 



* Lockyer, op. cit., p. 411. 



