183 



From the i8th January to the 19th March, 30 days only, 2/lOOths 

 of an inch were registered. The rain I registered in March was as 



follows 



17th 





.01 



20th 





.52 



24th 





.04 



25th 





.61 



26th 





.02 



29th 





.32 



31st 





.02 





Total 



1.54 



During this time there was much thunder almost daily, obviously 

 the storms were very partial and doubtless the registers in various 

 stations differed a good deal. 



I should say the heat during the recent drought was probably 

 unprecedented for the time of year. 



I have a table of droughts of 7 days and upwards from i860 to 

 1910, founded, of course, on my own record, I have been hunting up 

 complete records of those years and may find time to look up for 

 some more. Meanwhile, I may mention a few cases. 



Thus, 1877 seems to have been the driest year on record. 1 was 

 absent for the greater part of the year but I believe the register was 

 kept except in one month (July). 



April I to May 5, (35 days) only .51 

 September I to 20 (20 days) .31 

 September 22 to Oct. 21 (30 days) .28. 



In 1883 from February 6th to, March I2th (35 days), there were 

 only three slight falls, totalling 19 inches. 



In other years, there were numerous shorter droughts, 1885 and 

 1888 were remarkable for this, and were years of short rainfall, and 

 1895 and 1896 were similar, and in the former year from January 13 

 to February 21 (40 days), there was only .40 inch, in six falls." 



In Buckley's Anecdotal History of Singapore drought in these 

 months are recorded in the years 1841, 1864 and 1883, approximately 

 at periods of twenty years. It the clearing of forests extensively was 

 the cause of these droughts one would expect to find one or more 

 associated with the extensive felling and opening up of the forests when 

 the Chinese developed the gambier and pepper cultivation in Singapore 

 and Johore. We read that in 1836 the jungle had been extensively 

 felled all over Singapore and even at that time firewood was running 

 short, so that the denudation of the country m r,t: have been very great, 

 and certainly a bad drought occurred about five years later than this 

 record, viz., in 1841. One would have thought that if this denudation 

 had influenced the rainfall in 1841 the injury would have continued 

 at least till the abandoned pepper and gambier plantations had grown 



