66 
to be composed chiefly of disintegrated granitic rock mixed with 
a large amount of vegetable matter, forming a loamy soil usually 
of a black colour, but oat reddish from an admixture of 
iron ore. From the Prah to the Moinsi Hills the ere 
become "-— pronounced, the eiiis alternating with tra 
of low swampy ground until a height of 1,500 feet above the a 
level is ed in the Moinsi Hills. From the coast to the river 
Prah rocks seldom appear above the surface of the ground, but 
beyond that river they are frequent, and the beds * streams afe 
rocky with many boulders and much gravel and sa 
The small river at Brafa Edru, ni is situated at the foot of 
the Moinsi Hills, is said to contain alluvial En and the quartz 
in the neighbourhood appears to be auriferot 
here is nothing very remarkable in the vegetation of the 
Moinsi Hills: it resembles that of the surrounding country. The 
hills have a local elevation of about 300 foit and probably d 
of granite. The drainage of the general surface of the land i 
impeded by the undulating nature ‘of the ground which e 
the outflow, in some localities forming swamps into which 
sluggish. a streams onge themselves. 
The rahsu is about 80 yards wide and has clear 
water aid a rocky bed. In the dry season it is shallow and the 
current slow, but in the rainy time of year the water is said to 
rise 30 feet and to flow very swiftly. 
II.—CLIMATE. 
There are two well marked seasons, the ‘wet’ and the ‘dry.’ 
The former begins in April and lasts until November, with an 
intermission in August and September; the latter extends from 
December to March, during which period there are occasional 
tornados. In the forest region the climate is gee damp 
during the whole yea The phenomena now to be described 
— un oes humidity during the dry seaso 
An i vapour is nid from the 
leaves of “the large forest trees during the bright rag ay and 
soon after sunset this becomes condensed, owing to the fall of 
temperature, into athick mist which extends over the whole ee est 
region, and where ‘clearings’ have been made reaches to the 
ground and meet dispersed only when the sun is again high 
in the heave 
In addition to this, ae awe of the soil is hindered by 
the S eS awa of the ntry, and, ena aa the level of 
cies is very near the surface. Evaporation may 
be prese as a factor in Aerei in drying the land, as the 
thick vegetation impedes the circulation of air and is impenetrable 
to the sun’s rays. Consequently all the atmosphere below the 
summits of the high trees remains at saturation point and is very 
slowly replaced by fresh air. The perpetual gloom and humidity 
in the forest favour the fermentation of dead vegetable matter 
Judgi ng by the secu of the posee from which persons 
foreign to the country suffer while residing there, it is evident 
