﻿THE MACCHIE OF THE NEAPOLITAN COAST 



REGION. 



J. Y. Bergen. 



{Continued from p. J62.) 

 CLIMATIC ENVIRONMENT. ADAPTATIONS TO CONDITIONS. 



The general character of the Neapolitan climate, with its 

 mild moist winters and long dry summers, has been mentioned 

 in a previous article. The irregular distribution of the moun- 

 tains along the coast of the Bay of Naples and upon its islands 

 produces considerable inequalities in the rainfall of localities 

 not widely separated. 



In Capri, during the summer in which I was engaged in 

 studying its flora (1902), the precipitation was less than usual, 

 ^^mm -j^ May, ending on the twentieth, and then a rainless period 

 of four months, except for a shower of 6^^ on September 13. 

 During a more nearly average year (1901) the precipitation for 

 May was 179""™, June and July 56.5""°^, August none, and Sep- 

 tember 97,2 



mm 



During the three hot, dry months (June, July, August) the 

 nights are usually moderately cool. In ig02 the minimum for 

 the three months was 10.8° C. The maximum for the same 

 period, measured under strictly standard conditions, was 31.9° C. 

 The average of daily maximum temperatures for June, July, and 

 August was 26.4° C. It is noteworthy that the heat is continuous, 

 the maximum of each day usually differing less than 2° from 

 that of the day before or the following day. The desiccating 

 effect of hot air upon vegetation is, of course, largely dependent 

 upon the relative humidity of the atmosphere. During June, 

 July, and August, 1902, the relative humidity at 3 P. M. never 

 exceeded 81 and not infrequently fell to 30 or less ; once as low 

 as 2y, The average relative humidity at 3 P. M., for the three 

 months in question, was 55. The average velocity of the wind 



km 



in summer at 3 p. m. was about 9^"" per hour. 



416 



[jL'NE 



