388 



TEA DISTRICTS OF CHINA. 



Chap. XXII. 



this table, for ice and snow are not unfrequent ; 

 indeed opposite the 16th of February, in the column 

 of remarks, I find written down u a very frosty 

 morning." This discrepancy, no doubt, arises either 

 from a bad thermometer being used, or from its 

 being placed in a sheltered verandah. We may, 

 therefore, safely mark the minimum as 32° instead 

 of 44°. 



The month of June appears to be the hottest in 

 the year. I observe the thermometer on the 5th, 

 6th, and 7th of that month stood at 92° at 3 p. m., 

 and this was the highest degree marked during the 

 year. The lowest, at this hour, during the month 

 was 76°, but the general range in the 3 p. m. column 

 of the table is from 80° to 90°. 



The wet and dry seasons are not so decided in the 

 hills as they are in the plains. Id January, 1851, 

 it rained on five days and ten nights, and the total 

 quantity of rain which fell, as indicated by the rain- 

 gauge, during this month, was 5*25 inches ; in 

 February, 3*84 inches fell; in March, 2*11; in 

 April, 224 ; in May none; and in June 6*13. In 

 June there are generally some days of heavy rain, 

 called by the natives Chota Bursaut, or small rains ; 

 after this there is an interval of some days of dry 

 weather before the regular " rainy season " com- 

 mences. This season comes on in July and con- 

 tinues until September. October and November 

 are beautiful months, with a clear atmosphere and 

 cloudless sky. After this fogs are frequent in all the 

 valleys until spring. 



