THE CLIMATE OP JAPAN 41 



city. In the last half of September, the oppressive heat of summer 

 passes away and the air becomes cool. When the rice fields lose their 

 green, and the singing of insects is heard from out the foliage of the 

 bushes, autumn is already present. 



October is the most agreeable month of the year on account of 

 the fine weather and moderate warmth. At the beginning of Novem- 

 ber hoar-frost is generally experienced. The forests begin to put on 

 colour. The gingko turns yellow and the maple-leaves become scarlet. 

 The beauty and variety of the tints are beyond description. Those 

 who have never seen the maple leaves in Japan in the autumn cannot 

 possibly imagine the beauty of the spectacle. But in the middle of 

 November all the trees are bare with the exception of few species of 

 evergreens, and piercing cold winds prevail. 



In southern Japan the transition of the seasons one into another 

 is gradual. Spring and autumn, the most agreeble seasons in the year, 

 are comparatively long at the cost of winter. In southern Kiushiu 

 the cherry trees blossom late in March. On the average the earliest 

 hoar-frost occurs at about the end of November. 



We give below the mean and extreme air temperatures at the 

 princii)al places for each month and year : — 



Table III. Mean air temperature, (in '^C) 

 Table IV. Mean maximum air temperature, (in °C) 

 Table V. Mean minimum air temperature, (in ''C) 

 (See pp. 42—44.) 



5. liainfall. By rainfall is meant the amount of atmospheric 

 water precipitated, i.e., the quantity of rain, snow and hail, the 

 two latter being measured after melting. The word precipitation 

 is used technically in this sense. Generally speaking, winter is 

 the wettest season for the provinces facing the Japan Sea, the 

 Riukiu islands and northern Formosa. On the Japan Sea side, 

 snow falls every day in this season and fine days are the excep- 

 tion. As we have already mentioned in the introductory para- 

 graphs of this short note, snow lies on the ground two or three metres 

 deep in the valleys of the Shinanogawa, Tetorigawa, Jintsugawa and 

 uiany other large rivers. When a severe storm passes over these 

 districts, heavy snow a metre or more in depth covers the ground 

 in a single night, and ties up traffic on all the railroads for two or more 



