34 



Chapter V. 

 THE CLIMATE AND ITS RELATION TO FOREST DISTRIBUTION. 



The meteorological records available that have been able to be 

 considered for this purpose are, Rainfall records for forty-six stations, 

 and Temperature and Relative Humidity records for thirteen stations. 

 For these thirteen stations, all three kinds of records have been ob- 

 tained and the result arrived at from a consideration of fifteen years' 

 data. For the other Rainfall record stations, data for periods of two 

 to fifteen years have been consulted, as available. 



The distribution of these thirteen stations is as follows : — Five in 

 the coastal Sudanese Zone, two in the Evergreen Forest, two in the 

 Deciduous Forest, two in the inland Sudanese Zone, and two in transi- 

 tion areas. 



There are unfortunately no records of cloud observations or wind 

 velocity. 



Also there are no records of periodic phenomena such as leaf-fall, 

 growth, or sexual periods. It is not expected that sufficient data 

 will be available for some years on these subjects. The forests in the 

 Sudanese Zone are chiefly controlled in these factors by the Harmattan, 

 fires, and rainfall periods and show marked seasonal reactions to 

 these. The Deciduous Forest is less affected, and, in the case of the 

 Evergreen Forest the rainfall factor alone appears to exercise any 

 determination of periodic phenomena. 



Rainfall. 



The general trend of the rainfall is a maximum fall in June, a 

 second increase, though to a lesser extent, in September to October, 

 whilst the driest period is in January, with an abatement of rain also 

 in August. 



The heaviest annual fall occurs on the coast in the south-west of 

 the colony where Half Assinie has an average of 88"05 inches a year 

 for 114 wet days, and Axim 8274 inches for 100 wet days. The Ever- 

 green Forest inland generally shows a smaller return, averaging 7i'6i 

 i nches for 130 wet days. 



The smallest falls are recorded from the coast towns in the Sudanese 

 Zone in the east of the Colony, Quittah showing the lowest annual 

 average with 25-42 inches for 47 wet days, and the whole of this area 

 only an average of 36'5o inches for 58 wet days. 



