THE WINDS. 
217 
CHAPTER XIIL 
THE WINDS. 
Plate VIII., ^ 461. —Monsoons, 462.— Why the Belt of Southeast is broader than the 
Belt of Northeast Trade-winds, 463.— Effect of Deserts upon the Trade-winds, 466. 
— At Sea the Laws of Atmospherical Circulation are better developed, 470.— Rain 
Winds : Precipitation on Land greater than Evaporation, 473.— The Place of Sup- 
ply for the Vapors that feed the Amazon with Rains, 473. — Monsoons : How 
formed, 474. — Monsoons of the Indian Ocean, 475. — How caused, 476. — How the 
Monsoon Season may be known, 478.— The Distance to which the Influence of 
Deserts upon Winds may be felt at Sea, 479. — Why there are no Monsoons in the 
Southern Hemisphere, 482. — Why the Trade-wind Zones are not stationary, 483. 
Thb Calm Belts : Doldrums — a Zone of constant Precipitation, 486. — The Horse 
Latitudes, 488.— The Westerly Winds, 490. 
461. Plate VIII. is a chart of the winds, based on information 
derived from the Pilot Charts, one of the series of Maury's Wind 
and Current Charts. The object of this chart is to make the stu- 
dent acquainted with the prevailing direction of the wind in every 
part of the ocean. 
The arrows of the plate are supposed to fly with the wind ; the 
half bearded and half feathered arrows denoting monsoons or pe- 
riodic winds ; the dotted bands, the regions of calm and baffling 
winds. ^ 
462. Monsoons, properly speaking, are winds which blow one 
half of the year from one direction, and the other half from an 
opposite, or nearly an opposite direction. 
Let us commence the study of Plate VIII. by examining the 
trade-wind region; that, also, is the region in which monsoons are 
most apt to be found. 
463. The belt or zone of the southeast trade-winds is broader, 
it will be observed, than the belt or zone of northeast trades. 
This phenomenon is explained by the fact that there is more land 
in the northern hemisphere, and that most of the deserts of the 
earth — as the great deserts of Asia and Africa — are situated in the 
rear, or behind the northeast trades ; so that, as these deserts be- 
come more or less heated, there is a call — a pulling back, if you 
