672 General Notes, [ August, 
GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS.! 
perience in 1879 was a usual one. Perhaps there the October 
rains really mark the beginning of the wet season. The rains last 
till April, sometimes even into the month of May. At Living- 
stonia, on Cape Maclear, the average rainfall is about thirty inches. 
for, and on them depends the success of the great wheat crop of 
the Punjab. Nothing corresponding to them is found in the 
Nyassa region of Africa. ‘ 
“ With the change of season a change in the direction of the wind 
occurs, or more correctly the latter is the cause of the change of 
weather. Winds from the north prevail from November to May, 
bringing with them the moisture-laden clouds from the Indian 
cean, while during the whole of the dry weather southerly winds 
prevail. The constancy of those winds is a source of trouble and 
expense to us. In May, for instance, it is easy and pleasant sail- 
ing to go to the north end of the lake, but to return in the same 
month requires a constant fight with the elements for ten days or 
a fortnight, taxing our courage as well as our seamanship. , 
“It is well known that the barometer in tropical countries is not 
subject to such rapid changes as in northern latitudes. At Living- 
stonia the annual range is only about half an inch, or from 28.20 
1 Edited by Etxis H. YARNALL, Philadelphia, 
