Central The following stations in Assam have also a very high average rainfall:-Silchár, 12107; Sylhet, 153.80; Dibrugarh, 116:43; and Turá, 115.76. The lowest recorded averages in Assam are at Samaguting (52.58 inches) and Gauháti (69.23 inches), both on the northern side of the hills separating Cáchár from Assam. In the Central Provinces, the highest average falls are at Provinces. Pachmarhi, 82.20 inches, and at Bálághát, 64'11; lowest averages, Khandwa, 32:26, and Bednúr, 41°21 inches. Bombay. In Bombay, three stations on the Gháts are recorded as having an average rainfall of over 250 inches, viz. :-Matherán, 25675 inches; Malcolmpet (Mahábleshwar), 252-25; and Baura (Fort), 251.80. Next in order come Lanauli, with 15963 inches; Honawár, 13753; and Igatpuri, Kárwár, Vingorla, and Ratnagiri, with 118.53, 11007, 105'94, and 102.31 inches respectively. The lowest average rainfalls recorded in Bombay are:-12.99 inches at Mandargi; 17:25 at Dhulia; and 1993 at Gokak. The average rainfall in Bombay is 67 inches. Sind. Madras. British Port Blair. Sun-spot cycles. In Sind, the average rainfall is very low, varying from 16:31 inches at Nagar, and 1178 at Umarkot, to 5'09 at Shikárpur, and 4'28 at Jacobábád. coast. In Madras, the highest averages recorded are:-135'60 inches at Cannanore; 13191 at Mangalore; 12563 at Tellicherri; 11362 at Calicut; and 112'15 at Cochin-all on the west The lightest falls recorded are:-at Bellary, 1606; Tuticorin (sheltered by the Gháts), 18.50; Guti (Gooty), 20.85; and Coimbatore, 20 ̊90. All these stations lie low. The average fall at the stations on the east coast is about 41 inches. An average rainfall for Madras Presidency is 44 inches. The rainfall along the coast of British Burma is heavy, as might be expected, the following averages being recorded:Sandoway, 218.58 inches; Tavoy, 195'47; Maulmain, 191*34; Akyab, 189:23; Khyouk-hpyu, 170°76. The smallest rainfall is at Thayet-myo (5104) and Prome (56.46), sheltered by the Yoma range. The rainfall at Port Blair, in the Andamans, is also heavy, the average being returned as 116.25 inches. SUN-SPOT CYCLES.-The results arrived at by the Indian Meteorological Department on the subject of the sun-spot cycles, which have recently been engaging the attention of scientific men, are thus summed up in the Report for 1877 :'The following are the more important inferences that the meteorology of India in the years 1877 and 1878 appear to suggest, if not to establish. There is a tendency at the minimum sun-spot periods to prolonged excessive pressure over India, to an unusual development of the winter rains, and to the occurrence of abnormally heavy snowfall over the Himalayan region (to a greater extent probably in the Western than the Eastern Himalayas). This appears also to be usually accompanied by a weak south-west monsoon. The characteristics of a weak monsoon are, great irregularity in the distribution of the rainfall over the whole of India, and the occurrence of heavy local rainfalls, which tend, by a law of rainfall and of air-motion, to recur over the same limited areas. The irregularity of rainfall distribution is often shown by persistent and prolonged absence of rain over considerable areas. These areas of drought and famine are partly marked off by nature, depending to a certain extent on the geographical features and position of the district. Thus the rains are more likely to fall below the amount necessary for cultivation in the dry region of the Deccan or in Upper India, than over the Malabar coast area or the Province of Bengal.' CHAPTER XXIII. ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY. Lion. Mammals. WILD ANIMALS.-First among the wild animals of India must be mentioned the lion (Felis leo), known to have been not uncommon within historical times in Hindustán Proper and the Punjab. At present, the lion is supposed to be confined to the Gir, or rocky hill-desert of Káthiáwár. A peculiar variety is there found, marked by the absence of a mane; but whether this variety deserves to be classed as a distinct species naturalists have not yet determined. The former extent of the lion's range, or the degree to which its presence impressed the imagination, may be inferred from the common personal names, Sinh or Sing, Sher, and Haidar, which all signify 'lion.' Sher, however, is also applied to the tiger. Tiger. The characteristic beast of prey in India is the tiger (F. tigris), which is found in every part of the country from the slopes of the Himalayas to the Sundarban swamps. Sir Joseph Fayrer, the highest living authority on this subject, believes that 12 feet is the maximum length of the tiger, when measured from nose to tip of tail immediately after death. The advance of cultivation, even more than the incessant attacks of sportsmen, has gradually caused the tiger to become a rare animal in large tracts of country; but it is scarcely probable that he ever will be exterminated from India. The malarious tarái fringing the Himalayas, the uninhabitable swamps of the Gangetic delta, and the wide jungles of the central plateau, are at present the chief home of the tiger. His favourite food appears to be deer, antelope, and wild hog. When these abound, he does not attack domestic cattle. Indeed, the natives of certain Districts consider the tiger as in some sort their protector, for he saves their crops from destruction by the wild animals on which he feeds. But when once he develops a taste for human blood, then the slaughter Man-eat- he works becomes truly formidable. The confirmed maneater, which is generally an old beast, disabled from overtaking A third caused his usual prey, seems to accumulate his tale of victims in sheer The leopard or panther (F. pardus) is far more common than Leopard. the tiger in all parts of India, and at least equally destructive to life and property. The greatest length of the leopard is about 7 feet 6 inches. A black variety, as beautiful as it is rare, is sometimes found in the extreme south of the Indian peninsula, and in Java. The cheetah or hunting leopard (Gueparda Cheetah. jubata) must be carefully distinguished from the leopard proper. This animal appears to be a native only of the Deccan, where it is trained for hunting the antelope. In some respects it approaches the dog more nearly than the cat tribe. Its limbs are long, its hair rough, and its claws blunt and only partially retractile. The speed with which it bounds upon its prey, when loosed from the cart, exceeds the swiftness of any other mammal. If it misses its first attack, it scarcely ever attempts to follow, but returns to its master. Among other species of the family Felida found in India may be mentioned the ounce or snow leopard (F. uncia), the clouded tiger (F. macroscelis), the marbled tiger cat (F. marmorata), the jungle cat (F. chaus), and the common viverrine cat (F. viverrina). Wolves (Canis lupus) abound throughout the open country, Wolf. but are rare in the wooded districts. Their favourite prey is Fox. Jackal. Dog. Hyæna. Bear. sheep, but they are also said to run down antelopes and hares, or rather catch them by lying in ambush. Instances of their attacking man are not uncommon. In 1827, upwards of 30 children were carried off by wolves in a single parganá or fiscal division; and the story of Romulus and Remus has had its counterpart in India within recent times. The Indian wolf has a dingy reddish-white fur, some of the hairs being tipped with black. By some naturalists it is regarded as a distinct species, under the name of Canis pallipes. Three distinct varieties, the white, the red, and the black wolf, are found in the Tibetan Himalayas. The Indian fox (Vulpes bengalensis) is comparatively rare; but the jackal (C. aureus) abounds everywhere, making night hideous by its never-to-be-forgotten yells. The jackal, and not the fox, is usually the animal hunted by the packs of hounds kept by Europeans. The wild dog or dhole (C. dhola) is found in all the wilder jungles of India, including Assam and British Burma. Its characteristic is that it hunts in packs, sometimes containing 30 dogs, and does not give tongue. When once a pack of wild dogs has put up any animal, whether deer or tiger, that animal's doom is sealed. They do not leave it for days, and finally bring it to bay, or run it down exhausted. These wild dogs have sometimes been half domesticated, and trained to hunt for the use of man. A peculiar variety of wild dog exists in the Karen Hills of Burma, thus described from a specimen in confinement. It was black and white, as hairy as a skyeterrier, and as large as a medium-sized spaniel. It had an invariable habit of digging a hole in the ground, into which it crawled backwards, remaining there all day with only its nose and ferrety eyes visible. Among other dogs of India are the pariah, which is merely a mongrel, run wild and half starved; the poligar dog, an immense creature peculiar to the south; the greyhound, used for coursing; and the mastiff of Tibet and Bhután. The striped hyæna (Hyæna striata) is common, being found wherever the wolf is absent. Like the wolf, it is very destructive both to the flocks and to children. occur. Of bears, the common black or sloth bear (Ursus labiatus) is common throughout India wherever rocky hills and forests It is distinguished by a white horse-shoe mark on its breast. Its food consists of ants, honey, and fruit. When disturbed it will attack man, and it is a dangerous antagonist, for it always strikes at the face. The Himalayan or Tibetan sun |