474 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
point of view; but the rainfall is uncertain and variable 
both as regards time and quantity. The total annual 
rainfall at Suva probably averages about 110 inches, 
but it is undoubtedly much greater in other parts, 
and may be considered heavy even for a tropical 
country. Since 1862 the thickly-wooded hills around 
Levuka have been cleared, as they afforded shelter to 
mountaineers who in those days often plundered the 
town, and in consequence the number of rainy days, 
though not the total rainfall, has been materially 
reduced. Formerly the rain came in gentle showers 
which sank into the ground and refreshed the vegeta¬ 
tion, whereas it now descends in torrents, and runs 
off the ground, carrying away the loose soil and doing 
great damage to both soil and vegetation. It is to 
be hoped that the Government will strictly regulate 
the forest growth of these islands, and thus avoid the 
irreparable deterioration both of soil and climate which 
lias been caused in many parts of India and Ceylon 
by indiscriminate clearings. The easterly winds are 
fairly steady from April to November, but during the 
remainder of the year north and north - west winds 
frequently blow. A drawback to the islands, much 
dreaded by the planters, are the cyclones, which are 
most severely felt in the western part of the group. 
They occur generally either in January or February, and 
are sometimes accompanied or followed by a “ tidal 
wave,” causing considerable damage, though never pro¬ 
ductive of the appalling results characteristic of similar 
phenomena in the Philippines. 
The Fiji Islands afford a world-famous example of the 
virulence which may be acquired by a disease when 
transplanted to a virgin soil. In 1875 measles was 
accidentally introduced for the first time into the 
p 
