196 



The head-quarters of the Federal Government are at 

 Kuala Lumpur, which is also the capital of the State of 

 Selangor. It is distant from Penang by rail 12 hours, 

 while the sea journey from Singapore or Pahang varies 

 from 15 to 24 hours. 



SITUATION. 



The Federated Malay States occupy the central and 

 broadest part of the Malay Peninsula, washed by the 

 Straits of Malacca on the west and the China Sea on the 

 east, and lying between North Latitude 2.24 and 6.10 and 

 East Longitude 100.23 to 103.60. 



The area included in the four States is estimated at 

 26,380 square miles, or 17,000,000 acres, of which a very 

 considerable proportion, especially in Pahang, is still un- 

 explored. 



CLIMATE. 



The following note is taken from the official * ' Manual 

 of Statistics relating to the Federated Malay States for 

 1906:" 



"The climate of the Federated Malay States is very 

 uniform, and can be described in general terms as hot and 

 moist. The annual rainfall, except in places close to the 

 mountain ranges, is about 90 ins. In towns such as Taiping, 

 Tapah, Selama, etc., close to high mountains, upwards of 

 50 per cent, more is registered, the average of ten years at 

 the first-named being 164 ins. There is no well-marked 

 dry season. Generally speaking, July is the driest month, 

 but has seldom anywhere a less rainfall than 3^ ins. The 

 wettest season is from October to December, and there is 

 another wet season of slightly less degree during March 

 and April. Rain rarely falls before 11 a.m., so that six 

 hours of out-door work can generally be depended upon all 

 the year round. 



"The average maximum temperature occurring be- 

 tween noon and 3 p.m. is in low country under 90°, and the 

 average minimum occurring just before sunrise is just over 

 70°. The general noon temperature is just about 80°. 

 There is very little change in the mean monthly temper- 

 ature (lin ing the year, the average of ten years' reading in 

 Taiping ox hi hi ting a difference of only 3° between the mean 

 of May, the hottest, and December, the coldest month of 

 the year. The variation of temperature with altitude may 

 be taken roughly as a decrease of 3° for every 1,000 ft. in- 

 crease of altitude." 



