SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
ee 
70 degrees wet bulb is the limit of comfortable living for white families, 
then the following table is not encouraging as regards our northern 
coast lands. (See Fig. B.) 
ScaLE oF DiscoMFortT, BASED ON AVERAGE Wer Bucs. 
Based on the Graphical Study of Climate in Meteoro!ogical Bulletin No. 14. 
Doar Oe Over 75° BF, 
’ 45°-55° FB. 55°-65° 65°-75 , i 
most occasionally often Satie 
comfortable. | uncomfortable|uncomfortable. uncomfortable, 
a Se ah 
Months. Months. Months. Months, 
Melbourne 
Sydney 
Hobart* 
Coolgardie 
Perth tke 
Alice Springs 
Brisbane 
Townsville 
Nullagine 
Wyndham : 
Darwin — ae 
‘Thursday Island 
AAnDSoSCCoCOCSCSoOSO 
| 
Wellington (New Zealand) 
London* cs AA 
New York* 
Batavia 
Madras . - ee 
Sierra Leone .. oe a8 
= 
SASNes!] Qawrntsarscoscsco 
_ 
SoOoNwe SCOWNwMRANN WA 
Nanwnoce 
SSSR BD! SCSSCSCCOMNKNIAANS 
* Some months below 45° ; i.e., cool, but comfortable. 
However, in this, as in other controversial points, the last word is 
not yet said. But obviously our tropical problem is a climatological 
one, and it would seem obvious that money might well be spent on an 
investigation along these lines. 
In no other portion of the world, so far as I am aware, is there a 
settlement of northern Europeans resembling our sugar-growers jin the 
Cairns district. In Brazil, near Rio, are sonie Spanish and Portuguese 
—but they belong to a much warmer clime originally. All honour, 
therefore, to the Australians, who are very practically fighting Nature 
in their attack on the luxuriant wealth of the tropics. 
I must not neglect to point out that we have been favoured with an 
almost complete absence of the worst tropical diseases. Malaria is cer- 
tainly diminishing under adequate sanitary treatment. Yellow fever 
and beri-beri have-never been of any great importance. These diseases 
have been the greatest enemies in other tropical regions, so that the 
paucity of our aboriginal population would seem to be a distinct advan- 
tage as lessening the risk from such contagious diseases. J 
I have now traversed rapidly most of the ground indicated by the 
title of the paper. In conclusion, it has seemed to me possible to make 
a first approximation to a map showing the habitability of the earth. 
470 
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