New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-05-04


constantly expressed in British Guiana a. 80 o,S.n
elsewhere, that tho seasons have ehaDeea /" 40"
years, and that the alterations oil wei anu U'y
by no means 40 uniform and regular Is 'ofmoiV'
But lere does rot seem to be any gooo iounuaNyD
for this opinop. It probably originates In Inc Gnu
ls,, v,r;.tss IN which the climate sueJec' IN 'n'S
-. 80 ,,h;eh no exact observation has been
~ or ,scord kept, and as to whicn Ine unas'
-, ;.1n,nent or memory is not 10 be trusted.
tn, AL RAINY season is expected to oegn IN tne
-. ~ November, and to last till the end OF
- The rain at this season comes from the
oa-.h-esst. The showers, though often very heavy,
are on The whole less so than those OF the dreas
Ranv season. and frequently the sea breeze coatin'
mes TO prevail while they are falling. From the
middle of February TO the middle Of April is re-
esrded 90 the regular period of the short dry sea-
son; but as in the rainy there are occasional
intervals of dry weather. lasting for days together,
so the dry season, especially the shorter one, will
be diversified BY occasional showers. This is the
weather most desired by the Planters to whom
lone. continued rains and long continued drouths
are alike unavoidable
After the sun paeses the zenith of the colony on
ts iourney north, the refreshing trade, which
had blown steadily during the dry weather, suffers
a diminrtion of its force, and yeers round to the
south Of east. As the breeze becomes light aud
variable, 30 the atmosphere becomes sutry and dis
agreesble Clouds Of dust are whirled upward by
according strata of heated air. and dark discolora-
tiops toward the south of the hitherto clear and
clordless sky, forbode the opening Of the Great
RAINY season. The rains are expected to COM
msnce about the middle ofApril, and to last till the
end of July, with showers, sometimes frequent and
heavy, in August. During this season, the rams
come from the southeast sometimes accompanied
by heavy thunder and lightning, though, on the
whole these electrical phenomena are perhaps less
marked than with us. In the intervals OF the
showers the atmosphere, loaded with vapors, aud
unrefreshed by the breeze from the sea, is often
very oppressive the sensation being something like
that of being immersed in vapor bath. differ
ence however, has been noted in the characteristics
of the rain in relation to these results. Some
showers descend in large, heavy drops, leaving the
.ky clear and blue, and the air dry and pleasant.
Other showers fall in small, elongated drops; they
may pour down in equal times equal quantities OF
rain but after the rain is over the air continues to
feel damp and foggy Even in the hight Of the rainy
season, an entire rainy day is very uncommon.
The rain comes for the most part in successive
showers, often very violent aud very heavy but for
the most part of short continuance, the sun break
ing ont in the intervals. According to the regular
alienation, the Great Dry season follows, which
includes the months of September, October, and
part of November. The latter portion OF this
period, after the north winds are thoroughly re-
established constitutes the pleasantest part of the
year. The sky is cloudless, and, according to the
thermometer, this is the hottest season. But it is
also the dryest and under the refreshing influence
Of the sea.breeze cool without being chilly, and the
free Precipitation resulting frsm the comparative
dryness Of the atmosphere, greater buoyancy and
elasticity is felt and the heat of the sun is less op
pressive than at any other season of the year Any
person visiting British Guiana for pleasure or
health, should choose this season.
The rains are sometimes so protracted and oon-
tiDuous that in some years the Little Dry season can
hardly be said to occur. On the other hand, pro-
tracted drouth occasionally occurs troublesome to
the inhabitants who put TO distress for water,
and disastrous to the crops. These however, are
but rare exceptions to the usual order of things
According to meteorological tables kept in George
town, tie average annual fall Of rain in the eleven
wears from 1916 TO 1876, inclusive was ninety-slX
inches. The greatest fall in any one year, that Of
| lSi9, was hundred and thrty-two inches. The
smallest, that of 1853 was about seventy-seven
inches. But according to the export returns these
variations DO not appear TO have materially affected
the crops either Of these or Of the succeeding years.
Accurate observations have never been made, but it
is commonly supposed that some parts of the ceas'
| are much more rainy than Others The lighter
showers which occur during the dry season are
| generally very limited extent.
| Tire tables above referred to show that in the
eleven years which they embrace, there never was
| month entirely without rain. October was the
dyest month, having had in 1854 only three-hund-
redths Of Oh inch OF rain, and in the years, 1916,
1850, and 1862, little more than half an inch. The
greatest quantity for that month recorded in this
table, vas in lSi5 when there fell six inches and
half February is also in general, comparatively
| dry month Yet in that same year of 1854, which
furnished in October the dryest month Of the whole
eleven years, there fell in February upward Of
| fifteen inches of RAIN which is near the extreme
limit for any month. The most that fell in any ont
month of the eleven years was less than twenty
inches and hall, and only thirteen months in tht
| whole eleven years exceeded fifteen incbes. May
and June, according to these tables, are the twt
rainiett months, and next to these July, August
1 o,dn h. r..