ME, H. F. BLANFOED ON THE WINDS OF NOETHEEN INDIA. 
571 
but at Benares and the higher stations westerly tvinds maintain their preeminence till 
the latter part of June or the beginning- of July. 
In the North-western Provinces easterly winds attain their maximum in July, the 
first month in which, as a rule, the rains become general. North-east winds are at their 
annual maximum in May at Patna, between May and June at Benares, and at Agra in 
June and July. Thus, as the Tables show, along the southern edge of the Gangetic 
plain north-east winds are more than twice as frequent in the so-called south-west 
monsoon as at the opposite season, when the north-east monsoon prevails at sea. 
At Boorkee, from July onwards, south-east winds gradually give place to those from 
north-west, up to the end of the rains in the beginning of October; but at Agra, 
Benares, and Patna the month of August is marked by a temporary check of the easterly 
winds and an incursion of winds from another quarter. This is between south-east and 
south-west at Agra, west at Benares, and south and south-west at Patna. The latter 
decline in September, easterly winds resuming their sway. This feature is not peculiar 
to these stations, but is equally well marked in Orissa, and is perceptible even in Lower 
Bengal. It appears to be due to an incursion of the monsoon current from the 
Arabian Sea. 
At stations on the southern border of the plain, the winds veer normally from west 
or north-west round through north and east to their extreme south-easterly direction 
in the summer monsoon ; the opposite change is more abrupt. At Boorkee any rotation 
that can be detected is retrograde. 
Plateau of Bajpootana and Bundelkund. — Dr. Murray Thomson’s reports for the 
years 1863-69 give meteorological registers* of the stations Beawur, Ajmere, and 
Jhansi. The two former stations are situated within a few miles of each other and 
under similar geographical conditions ; and since their registers refer to different years, 
I treat the whole as those of one station. Ajmere and Beawur are situated at an eleva- 
tion of between 1500 and 1800 feet, near the western edge of the plateau, where it 
declines to the desert plains of Bikaneer. A few miles west and north-west from the 
stations are some low hills, spurs of the Aravulli range, and an outlying spur of the 
same range to the southward forms the watershed between the Gangetic basin and the 
streams draining towards the Gulf of Cambay. 
On the average of the year, winds from the west and south-west greatly exceed those 
from any other quarters, and together amount to 52 per cent, of the observations ; of 
the remainder, 10 per cent, are calms. Winds from other quarters are about equally 
frequent, with the exception of north-east winds (8 per cent.), which are slightly in 
excess of others (5 to 6 per cent.). Calms are most prevalent in the winter months 
(October to February), during which they contribute from 15 to 20 per cent, of the 
observations ; and they are least so in May, when they amount to only 2 per cent. 
North, north-east, and east winds are at their maximum in the winter season, and 
December and January are the only months in which easterly components preponderate 
* Consisting of day observations only. The winds are recorded at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. 
MDCCCLXXIV. 4 H 
