SUN-SPOT, STORM, AND FAMINE. 41 



Mr. Meldrum predicted future meteorological phenomena, 

 though without specifying the exact extent to which Mr. 

 Meldrum's anticipations were fulfilled or the reverse. "A 

 drought commenced in Mauritius early in November," he 

 says, "and Mr. Meldrum ventured (on December 21) to 

 express publicly his opinion that probably the drought would 

 not break up till towards the end of January, and that it 

 might last till the middle of February, adding that up to 

 these dates the rainfall of the island would probably not 

 exceed 50 per cent of the mean fall. This opinion was an 

 inference grounded on past observations, which show that 

 former droughts have lasted from about three to three and 

 a half months, and that these droughts have occurred in the 

 years of minimum sun-spots, or, at all events, in years when 

 the spots were far below the average, such as 1842, 1843, 

 1855, J 856, 1864, 1866, and 1867, and that now we are 

 near the minimum epoch of sun-spots. It was further stated 

 that the probability of rains being brought earlier by a 

 cyclone was but slight, seeing that the season for cyclones 

 is not till February or March, and that no cyclone whatever 

 visited Mauritius during 1853-56 and 1864-67, the years of 

 minimum sun-spots. From the immense practical importance 

 of this application of the connection between sun-spots and 

 weather to the prediction of the character of the weather of 

 the ensuing season, we shall look forward with the liveliest 

 interest to a detailed statement of the weather which actually 

 occurred in that part of the Indian Ocean from November 

 to March last [1876]." 



It was natural that the great Indian famine, occurring at 

 a time when sun-spots were nearly at a minimum, should by 

 some be directly associated with a deficiency of sun-spots. 

 In this country, indeed, we have had little reason, during 

 the last two or three years of few sun-spots, to consider that 

 drought is one of the special consequences to be attributed 

 to deficient solar maculation. But in India it may be 

 different, or at least it may be different in Madras, for it has 

 been satisfactorily proved that in some parts of India the 



