1036 General Notes. [December, 



southward, a gradual and steady increase in annual rainfall, with 

 a corresponding change in the vegetation. The coast south from 

 Valdivia, extending throughout Western Patagonia to the western 

 end of the straits of Magellan, is apparently the part of the earth 

 out of the tropics where the annual rainfall is greatest." 



At Tumbez, on the south side of the Bay of Guayaquil, are 

 frequent heavy rains and a mean temperature of about 82 F., 

 with rich tropical vegetation; whereas at Payta, scarcely a hun- 

 dred miles distant, no rain falls for two years at a time, and the 

 average temperature is much lower than at Tumbez, while the 



The mildness' of the climate, and especially of the winter 

 climate, of the straits of Magellan is also without adequate ex- 

 Mr. Joseph Thomson read a valuable paper on the Geograph- 



