**<0V S7 1901 



SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



i6i 



METEOKOLOGICAL NOTES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 

 By Major II. A. Cummins, C.M.G., R.A.M.C. 



T AST year I trekked from near Orange River to 

 -•— ^ Pretoria rid Jacobsdal, Paardeberg, and 

 Bloemfontein. Living during tlie greater part of 

 tlie time in the ojien air, I liad an opportunity of 

 observing- tlie local climatic conditions and various 



Photo hill 



Narval's PuX' 



lUr. A. M. Ji.ul.l 

 BEronn Hk.vnv Tul-ndhrstoum. 



other matters, a short description of which may 

 be of interest. 



My attention was particularly arrested by the 

 character of the local storms, and 1 noted there as 

 they occurred. While at De Aar, towards tbe end 

 of January, strong breezes and 

 whirlwinds were, I may say, con- 

 stant, carrying the dust and sand 

 from the ground which had been 

 worn by excessive traffic, and 

 covering our food and kit. It 

 was almost impossible to see with- 

 out the aid of a pair of goggles 

 to protect the eyes from the dust. 

 At Modder River, on February 



4th, we encountered a sand storm 



wdiich lasted from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. 



This storm, unaccompanied by 



rain, must have been a couple of 



miles in diameter — in fact a glori- 

 fied " dust devil." The term 



"dust devil" is used in South 



Africa to denote a whirlwind, 



from one yard to twenty yards 



or so in diameter, which carries 



a pillar of dust or sand in its 



vortex. At Euslin on the 10th there was a dust 



storm followed by rain, on the 13th at De Kiel 



Drift, and on the 14th dust storms with thunder, 

 November 1901.— No. 00, Yoi.. Vni. 



lightning, and rain. On February 22nd and on 

 the night of the 23rd we experienced heavy 

 thunderstorms with wind and rain ; on the 24;th' 

 thei-e was another thunderstorm accompanied by 

 heavy wind and rain ; on March 1st there was 

 heavy rain at midday ; on the 2nd 

 terrible thunder, lightning, and rain 

 at night; from 7 p.m. on the fth to 

 2 a.m. on the 5lh terrific thunder, 

 lightning, and rain. 



During these storms at Paardeberg 

 the ground was flooded, as the sur- 

 face water was unable to run off with 

 sufficient rapidity ; but soon after the 

 cessation of the rain the water dis- 

 appeared and ■ the sun dried the 

 ground. This gives an idea of the 

 exposure undergone jby the soldiers 

 lying in the flooded trenches and in 

 bivouac. It is surprising how one 

 can sleep in the open air in the 

 South African climate and be little, 

 if anything, the worse, except for 

 the extreme discomfort of the occa- 

 sional deluges of rain. As a rule 

 the soldiers seemed the better for the open-air 

 life. 



Paardeberg district, where C'l-onje and his men 

 were driven to surrender, comprises an expanse 

 through which the Modder River flows. Between 



J'liolo hil} 



Ehexoster r.ivEii, siiowixG Large Watercour.-e. 



the hills there is a large plain, almost level, prob- 

 ably forty square miles in area. Storms frequently 

 travelled up the course of the river bed, which 

 G Publislied October 25tb, 1901. 



