158 



DEW. 



followed by a burst of rain. Colonel Sykes (loco 

 cit.) remarks, philosophically explaining the 

 why, 'Another peculiar feature in the climato- 

 logy of Zanzibar is that there is seldom any dew 

 experienced.' The reverse is the case, as might 

 be known by the strength of the nightly radia- 

 tion. Captain Guillain (i. 2, 72) declares that 

 the ros^es which accompany the rains are suffi- 

 cient for watering the ground, and observes (p. 

 94), I presume concerning those who remain in 

 the open air, c Hester a terre entre huit heurs du 

 soir et le lever du soleil c'est s'exposer a une 

 mort tres probable, sinon certaine.' The sunset, 

 never followed by twilight, is accompanied by a 

 sudden coolness which, as in equatorial, and 

 even sub-tropical regions generally, causes a rapid 

 precipitation of vapour. The dews are cold and 

 clammy, and the morning shows large beads in 

 horizontal streaks of moisture on perpendicular 

 surfaces. I often remarked the deposition of 

 dew when light winds were blowing ; of course 

 it did not stand in drops, but it wetted the cloth- 

 ing. This I believe is an exception to the 

 general rule. At sunset the old stager will not 

 sit or walk in the open air, although, as in Syria, 

 he will expose himself to it at nine or ten p. m., 

 when the night has acquired its normal temper- 



