544 



PHALEN. 



April to the last of September- is one of great discomfort on account of 

 heat, humidity and rainfall, and these discomforts are the greater in 

 proportion to the amount of exposure to the weather. To those persons 

 who are in the habit of saying that the heat of Manila is as nothing 

 compared to that of certain parts of the United States throughout the 

 summer, the following table will be of especial interest. The places in 

 the United States are selected because they are the ones referred to as 

 especially hot in summer and surely most of them would not be regarded 

 as summer resorts. The following table gives the mean temperatures 

 and humidity rates for these places for the month of July and the 

 corresponding figures for Manila for the entire year. 



Table X. 



Locality. 



Mean 

 temper- 

 ature. 



Relative. Absolute 



Humidity. 



Chicago (July) 



Ne\vYork (July) „_ 



St. Louis (July) 



Washington (July), 

 New Orleans (July) 

 Jacksonville (July) 

 Manila (annual) 



°F. 

 72.3 



77.0 

 81.7 

 82.5 

 80,2 



P.et. 



70.15 

 70.4 

 67,9 

 71.0 

 72.3 

 71.8 

 79.4 



6.3 

 6.8 

 6.7 

 8.0 

 8.6 

 8.7 



It will be seen from this table that it is only in the Southern States 

 that the weather conditions of summer approximate those of the Philip- 

 pines for the entire year. It is only when the Gulf States are reached 

 that the mean summer temperatures reach the annual mean for Manila, 

 and even then the humidity remains much lower. It is in no spirit 

 of carping criticism that these comparisons are made, but only to point 

 out that no mysterious influence need be invoked to account for deteriora- 

 tion, while we have with us the high mean temperatures and humidity 

 that obtain in these Islands. 



However, in view of these ' figures, it is only just to say that it is 

 surprising how little actual discomfort is experienced from the climate. 

 The chief factor in rendering these Islands as comfortable as they are 

 is their location in the track of the seasonal winds. What the climate 

 would be without the influence of the monsoons can be imagined only 

 during the period of calm, when the monsoons are changing in April. 

 Another factor is that the resident here realizes at once that it is 

 necessary to adapt his clothing, his work and diversions, in fact his 

 whole habits of life to the local conditions of the climate. To one who 

 is unable to do this, as for instance the soldier in field duty, the climate 

 must remain one of unusual severity. 



