TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



CHAPTER I 



TROPICAL CLIMATE AND ITS EFFECTS ON MAN, FARM 

 ANIMALS AND CROPS 



Informal observations concerning the weather often serve 

 as a prelude or introduction to discussions of serious moment 

 concerning affairs of religion, science, or business. It is per- 

 haps well to begin the present volume with a brief account 

 of tropical climate. Questions concerning the nature and 

 effects of the tropical climate are among the first which are 

 asked by those who are planning to visit the Tropics for the 

 first time. Among persons who have never lived in tropical 

 countries, a vast deal of incorrect notions exists as to the 

 nature of the climate in these countries. A part of the miscon- 

 ception regarding weather conditions in the Tropics is perhaps 

 due to the unfortunate use of the term "temperate climates" 

 for the intermediate zones north and south of the Equator. 

 If one has regard to the real meaning of the word temperate, 

 this word should be applied to tropical climates rather than to 

 the climates commonly called temperate, for it is in the temper- 

 ate zones that the greatest extremes of weather conditions, 

 particularly temperature, occur. In the temperate zones, for 

 example, are recorded temperatures ranging from 40° or 50° 

 below zero to 110° or 120° F. This would give a total annual 

 range of temperature of 150° to 170°. In the Tropics, on the 

 other hand, the temperature seldom rises above 90° and rarely 

 sinks below 75° at sea level. This is truly a temperate climate 

 since it is devoid of both extremes and shows a range of only 

 15° of temperature. 



I 



