It is applied to the south-west winds of the Indian
Ocean, changing to the north or north-east in the winter. This wind
produces rain, and when they infrequently fail, portions of the country are
subjected to famines.
"At an elevation of 7,200 feet the temperature is an average of 58 deg.
Fahrenheit, as I shall give all readings of the thermometer. At Madras, on
the south-east coast, it is 83 deg.; at Bombay, 84 deg.; Calcutta, 79 deg.; and in
Delhi, in latitude 29 deg. (about the same as the northern part of Florida), it
is 72 deg.. These annual average temperatures will not seem high to you; but I
beg you not to form a wrong impression, for the heat of summer is generally
oppressive, and the average temperature is considerably reduced by the
coolness of the winter months. In Delhi, quoted at 72 deg., the glass often
indicates over 100 deg..
"The rain varies greatly in different regions. In the north-east it exceeds
75 inches, and in one remarkable year 600 inches fell at an observatory in
north-east Bengal. In some of the western parts it is only 30 inches, while
it is hardly 15 on the southern shores of the Indus. I think I must have
sufficiently wearied you, ladies and gentlemen."
"No! No! No!" almost shouted the company with one voice; and perhaps there
was something so fascinating in the manner of the distinguished Hindu which
exorcised all weariness from their minds and bodies.
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