the morning
of February 4th, but this is full ten degrees higher than usual. The
minimum in February must, however, be several degrees lower than is
shown by this table, for ice and snow were not unfrequent; indeed,
opposite the 16th of February in the column of remarks, I find
written down _a very frosty morning_. This discrepancy no doubt
arises either from a bad thermometer being used, or from its being
placed in a sheltered verandah. We may, therefore, safely mark the
minimum as 32 deg. instead of 44 degrees.

The month of June appears to be the hottest in the year. I observe
the thermometer on the 5th, 6th and 7th of that month stood at 92
deg. at 3 P.M., and this was the highest degree marked during the
year. The lowest, at this hour, during the month was 76 deg., but
the general range in the 3 P.M. column of the table is from 80 deg.
to 90 degrees.

_The wet and dry seasons_ are not so decided in the hills as they
are in the plains. In January, 1861, it rained on five days and ten
nights, and the total quantity of rain which fell, as indicated by
the rain gauge, during this month, was 5.25 inches; in February,
3.84 fell; in March, 2.11; in April, 2.24; in May, none; and in June
6.13. In June there are generally some days of heavy rain, called by
the natives Chota Bursaut, or small rains, after this there is an
interval of some days of dry weather before the regular "rainy
season" commences. This season comes on in July and continues until
September. October and November are said to be beautiful months with
a clear atmosphere and cloudless sky. After this fogs are frequent
in all the valleys until spring.

In comparing the climate of these provinces with that of China,
although we find some important difference, yet upon the whole there
is a great similarity. My comparisons apply, of course, to the best
tea districts only, for although the tea shrub is found cultivated
from Canton in the south to Tan-chowpoo in Shan-tung, yet the
provinces of Fokein, Kainsee and the southern parts of Kiangnan,
yield nearly all the finest teas of commerce.

The town of Tsong-gan, one of the great black tea towns near the far
famed Woo-e-shan, is situated in latitude 27 deg. 47 min, north.
Here the thermometer in the hottest months, namely in July and
August, rarely rises above 100 d