RAINFALL AND MOISTURE, 45 
instances of such irregular distribution and its consequences 
te given in a volume entitled Hydrology of South 
rica,* 
Along the whole coast of Norway it is the autumn 
which furnishes the greatest quantity of rain 3 at Chris- 
tiania it falls in the month of August. In the central part 
of the country the rainfall is least in spring. 
The number of rainy days is generally proportionate to 
the quantity of the rainfall. Still the rainy days are 
relatively numerous in northern Norway, and likewise at 
Christiania. On the Dovrefjeld the days of rain in the 
course of the year are 90; on the coast of the Skager Rack 
the number is from 90 to 100; at Bodoe, Tromso, and 
Vardo, about 120; at Skudesnaes, at Christiania, on the 
coast of the Romsdal, and of Heligoland, about 140; at 
Bergen and in the fiords to the north of that town, and 
also at Vesteraolen, about 160; at the Lofoden Islands, 
180. Thus it appears that in the interior of the country 
one day of rain in four may be counted on; while at the 
Lofoden Islands one day of rain in two, taking the whole 
course of the year, may be reckoned on. 
Connected with this, there is another point deserving 
attention. In point of fact, though it may not be gener- 
ally remarked, the light is one of the important influences 
promoting vegetation, as well as heat and moisture. And 
the number of cloudy days is closely related to the num- 
ber of days on which rain falls. 
It is found the effect of the so-called rainfall on the 
* Hydrology of South Africa ; or, details of the former Hydrographic condition of 
the Cape of Good Hope, and of causes of its present aridity, with suggestions of appro- 
priate remedies for this aridity.—In which the desiccation of South Africa, from pre- 
Adamic times to the present day, is traced by indications supplied by geological forma- 
tions, by the physical geography or general contour of the country, and by arborescent 
productions in the interior, with results confirmatory of the opinion that the appropriate 
Temedies are irrigation, arboriculture, and an improved forest y ; or the 
of dams to prevent the escape ofa portion of the rainfall to the sea,—the abandonment 
or restriction of the burning of the herbage and bush in connection with pastoral and 
agricultural operations,—the conservation and extension of existing forests,—and the 
adoption of measures similar to the reboi t and g carried out in 
France, with a view to prevent the formation of torrents and the destruction of property 
occasioned by them.—London: Henry §. King & Co. 1875. 
