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154 
NATURE 
[Dec. 15, 1881 
2700 feet, with a rainfall of about 120 inches and a mean 
annual temperature of 70° Fahr. This is perhaps the 
lowest elevation for the more valuable cinchonas at the 
Government plantations; the same species flourishes 
at 5000 feet, with an annual rainfall of 136 inches 
and a mean annual temperature of 60° F. The trees at 
this elevation do not seed freely, and it may be taken as 
the highest at which it would be advisable to cultivate 
the red bark in Jamaica. The range of cultivation for 
the valuable crown bark (Cinchona officinalis) is between 
4500 and 6300 feet of elevation. It may here be conve- 
nient to refer to the department—that of Public Gardens 
and Plantations—which was newly organised in 1879. 
This department has under its control the Botanic Gar- 
dens at Castleton and Bath, the Park at Kingston, the 
Cocoanut Plantation at Kingston Harbour, and the Hope 
and Cinchona Plantation. The staff is directed by Mr. 
Daniel Morris, M.A., who had been assistant at the 
Ceylon Botanic Gardens. To an island dependent as 
Jamaica is for its prosperity on the produce of its soil, 
the importance of such a department is undoubted, and 
we trust that the new director will receive all due en- 
praaeernrent in developing the botanical treasures of the 
place. 
The concluding parts of this most interesting hand- 
book are devoted to the political constitution and 
parochial boards of the island; to the details of the 
various departments and colleges; to the statistics of 
population, crime, &c.; to the laws of quarantine, &c.; 
together forming a most useful volume of reference. 
There seems little doubt that if the capabilities of 
Jamaica were better known, it would attract the attention 
of settlers. There are surely as great attractions in bark 
or coffee-growing as in wool-growing, and Jamaica is 
nearer to us than the Australian colonies, and, with due 
precautions, as healthy a climate to live in. 
OUR WINTER REFUGES--THE SOUTH OF 
ENGLAND: 
G5 
Aé regards temperature and rainfall the South of 
England, from Dover to Portland, presents a 
unique and well-marked winter climate, quite distinct 
from that of any other tract of the British Islands. The 
tract in question embraces the comparatively narrow belt, 
varying in width from two to ten miles, stretching be- 
tween these two places and backed on the north by the 
sheltering range of the South Downs. 
The rainfall in the east of England, from the Humber 
to Ramsgate, varies in the average annual amounts from 
22 to 254 inches ; but on reaching Dover it rapidly rises 
to 30 inches, and from this point westward to Portland 
the rainfall varies only from 28 to 30 inches, the amounts 
differing within these narrow limits according to the flat- 
ness or boldness of the coast, and the character of the 
country in the immediate neighbourhood. To the west 
of Portland, along the coast, the rainfall rises consider- 
ably, and after passing Prawle Point, more rapidly to 44 
inches at Penzance. Further, on striking inland from the 
coast towards and up the slopes of the Downs, the annual 
amounts increase to about 34 or 36 inches, on the high 
grounds separating the valley of the Thames from the 
lands sloping south to the channel; and from this ridge 
northwards it gradually falls to about 25 inches round 
London. Thus the Downs, as regards the rainfall and 
the winds, have important bearings on the meteorology 
of the south of England. 
Equally decided are thetemperature characteristics which 
mark off, climatically, these districts of England from each 
other. We may accept January as fairly representing the 
temperature peculiarities of the winter months. _ In this 
month the mean temperature of the whole of the eastern 
* Continued from p. 34. 
slope of Great Britain, from Wick to Dover, varies only 
from about 37°°5 to 38°'5, the temperature of the coasts 
being a little higher than that of the interior, But on 
arriving at Dover we encounter a January mean tempera- 
ture of 40°°0, and from this point westward there is a 
steady increase, first slow as far as Worthing, where the 
mean is 40°'4,and then more rapid to Bournemouth, 
where the mean is 41°°2. On advancing inland upon the 
Downs, temperature falls much more rapidly than what 
is due to mere height, and this fall is continued in pro- 
ceeding northwards towards London, the mean of which 
is 2°5 and 1°5 lower than that of Bournemouth and 
Brighton respectively. West of Portland the increase of 
temperature is still more rapid, the mean being 42°°9 at 
Torquay, 44°°6 at Falmouth, and 462 in the Scilly Isles, 
the last temperature being the mean of London in the 
beginning of April. 
Hence if the invalid requires a winter climate charac: 
terised by the combined qualities of mildness and dry- 
ness, such a climate must be sought for on the shores of 
the Channel from Dover to Portland. In the south-west 
a much higher temperature may be had, but the climate 
is there damper, and raw weather is of much more fre- 
quent occurrence ; and in the eastern counties the climate 
is as dry, or rather drier, but the temperature of the 
air is from 20 to 30 colder. 
The south coast possesses another climatic advantage 
of no small importance. The prevailing winds in the 
south during the winter months are west-south-westerly, 
and thus the winds which blow over the Isle of Wight 
pass on in the direction of London. Now we have seen 
that in passing from the Isle of Wight to London the 
mean temperature gradually falls 3°°o—the depression 
being due to the more rapid rate at which the land, as 
compared with the sea, is cooled down by terrestrial radi- 
ation. From this steady and continued lowering of the 
temperature of the south-westerly winds as they advance 
inland from the coast, it follows that haze and cloud are 
formed with greater frequency and of greater denseness as 
the winds successively advance into the colder districts. 
Hence the skies of the south coast are clearer and 
brighter than in the valley of the Thames—a considera- 
tion of the highest climatic significance in the cure of 
many diseases. 
The generally light and porous character of the ‘soil 
and subsoil along the south coast is a strong recommen- 
dation in favour of the sanataria of that region ; because, 
as it affords a ready escape for the rain, the roads are 
quickly dry, and out-door exercise may be safely indulged 
in shortly after the rain has ceased. The generally bold 
character of the coast and sloping character of the sur- 
face is also advantageous as offering facilities for carrying 
out an effective system of drainage. 
We have referred to the Downs as affording more or 
less shelter to the south coast from northerly winds, and 
to the Undercliffas a protection to Ventnor from north-east, 
north, north-west, and west winds (NATURE, vol. xxv. p. 
33). Indeed the chief source of the advantages possessed 
by one of these watering-places of the south over another 
is the degree of protection it holds out from the deleterious 
effects of the easterly and north-easterly winds, and in 
some degree also to its distance from those parts of the 
Continent from which the east wind blows. Of the strictly 
local peculiarities which give one place a decided prefer- 
ence over another is the extent to which the district is 
planted with well-grown trees, by which the force of the 
winds, particularly east winds, is broken up and dissi- 
pated. In this respect the firs which have been planted 
in and around Bournemouth strongly recommend this 
sanatarium to the invalid, since, if fair overhead, he can 
almost always take outdoor exercise along the walks and 
promenades which are so completely sheltered by these 
evergreens. Bournemouth has the additional advantage 
of being to some extent protected from the full violence 
