106 
SPICES 
CHAP. 
and Province Wellesley, and I can certainly testify that 
the temperature of the nutmeg hills in the hotter parts 
of the hot days in Penang is extremely high. At the 
same time it must be noticed that on the nights 
following these extremely hot days there is a very 
heavy fall of dew, which compensates largely for the 
loss of water which the plant must undergo in the 
hot weather. The temperature in the shade during 
these times is 84°. Then again, even during the hotter 
months, rain-storms are not infrequent, so that there 
is never a continuous dry spell of some three or four 
months, as occurs farther north. In estimating a rain- 
fall as suitable to any form of cultivation, it is not 
sufficient to take the actual number of inches which 
fall in the year. Climates may have a full rainfall for 
the tropical rain forest region, but they may be quite 
unsuited for a plant of that region, because the rain 
falls excessively heavy at one time and does not fall 
at all at another ; the result being that the climate us 
too wet at one time and too dry at another, and either 
the wet or dry spell may kill the plant. 
In 1895, Mr. Hart published a circular showing the 
influence of the rainfall on the fruiting of the plant in 
Trinidad, from observations taken for five years on the 
trees in the botanic gardens there. 
1890 
Monthly average of 
nuts per annum. 
. 262 
Rainfall. 
82-90 
1891 
. 181 
53-74 
1892 
. 257 
91-14 
1893 
. 335 
92-49 
1894 
. 234 
52-21 
This seems to show that the diminution of the rain- 
fall is accompanied by a falling off in the crop, the 
biggest crop being obtained when the rainfall was highest 
(over 90 in.), the lowest when it was under 60 in. 
He further says that the rainfall should be not less 
than 65 in. in the year, but that 80 to 90 in. are better 
for this cultivation. Certainly 65 in. is low for the 
