INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 251 



those of larger size are navigable for small vessels to a consi- 

 derable distance. 



The northern part of the peninsula is now subject to the 

 kingdom of Siam, which has extended its limits to the souths 

 so as to occupy the state of Kedah. Further south, inde- 

 pendent Malays possess the whole of the country, except the 

 three British settlements of Penang, Malacca, and Singapur. 



From its proximity to the equator, and from the peculiarity 

 of its shape, — a long, narrow strip of land, nearly enclosed by 

 sea, — the Malayan Peninsula enjoys a very mild and equable 

 climate. The monsoon winds, which are influenced by general 

 causes at a great distance, prevail here with as much regula- 

 rity as elsewhere in India, the south-west monsoon continuing 

 while the sun is north of the equator, and the north-east 

 monsoon from October to March, while the sun is in the 

 southern hemisphere. Local causes, however, modify these 

 winds very much, and regular land and sea breezes blow along 

 the coast. Both these monsoons are rainy, as they traverse 

 a great extent of sea, and the mountain ranges everywhere 

 condense the vapours. The north-east monsoon is, however, 

 more rainy than the other, because the mountains of Su- 

 matra, which receive the first supply of moisture from the 

 south-west monsoon, are considerably more elevated than 

 those of the peninsula itself. The most rainy months are, 

 therefore, from November to January, and February is the 

 coldest month of the year. In the Straits of Malacca the 

 rain-fall is nowhere excessive. On the hill of Penang it was 

 in one year 116'6 inches, and on the plain at its base only 

 65 '5 inches, while in the province of Wellesley, on the oppo- 

 site coast, the amount was 79'15 inches. At Singapur the 

 fall is 98 inches, and at Malacca the same. On the south 

 coast of Sumatra, and on the north-eastern face of the Pe- 

 ninsula, the fall is probably much greater. The mean tempe- 

 rature of Singapur is 797°, and the temperature of the difle- 

 rcut mouths difl'ers very little from the mean of the year. 



In the equable and humid climate of Malaya, we have a 



