Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1894-07-28
THE CLIMATE or MEXICO.
Interesting Report Made by the AKr
.,Iturar p.uartmept Stafistician.


interesting Report Made by tine Asri-
cultural Department statistician.
WASHINGTON, July 2i.-A report Of
the statistician OF the agricultural de-
partment contains a number Of inter
esting facts ms TO the climate of Mex
,co. The article IL complied IRON q
number OF Mexican publications and
from other official sources. Properly
speaking, there are but two seasons in
Mexico, the dry and the wet, the SUM
mer and the winter. The rainfall 10
tho principal factor In the change OF
season, and the changes between spring
and autumn are scarcely perceptiblo
OH the center table land and the north
ern frontier. There Is usually an in
corruption In the rainfall In the middle
of the season, which on tho eastern
coast is called 1.-THE little August sum
mer,' and which lasts about twenty
five days. after which the equinoctial
rains fall, which are sometimes more
violent than those of the summer.
In the hot belt the rainy season is
shorter than the dry. Electrical storms
begin in May on the gulf coast with in
dications OF rain, but none falls. The
high temperature produced by the posi-
ton Of the sun, combined with the in
~iuence Of high mountains, no doubt
prevents the watery vapor which is
held in suspension by the east winds
from falling in this zone, and IL forms
itself into rain in the temperate region.
The rain begins in June. and with the
exception of a slight interruption con.
tinues until the middle OF October. Tho
rainy season begins carly ia the tenn
perate zone because ali the tornadoes
that form on the coast in May expend
their violence upon that region. thereby
prolonging the season until November.
Then commences the dry season, but
only relatively, for each time that the
north wind blows along the coast IL
precipitates the humidity In rain. The
south winds are felt more in these
high regions than along the coast
and exert n beneficial influence in les
sening the excess of humidity in the
atmosphere and soil.
There are no data for some parts Of
the country. therefore IL Is impossible
10 say exactly which is the warmest
point in the republic. In the hot zone,
along the gulf OF Mexico, IL rains
copiously in the rainy a and not
at all in the dry. In the temperate
one there is abundant rain during the
rainy season, and frequently during
the dry. though there the rain falls i'm
showers, which become moro frequent
and heavy AS n approaches the cold
belt. 1t happens sometimes that It
rains during the winter in the hot
lands in places In which thick groves
exercise a p~erceptibly cooling action by
interceptiug the n y of the sun and
preventing the heating of the ground.
thus increasing the surface susceptible
to cooling by radiation, causing an
evaporation from the surface of the
leaves, which constantly the
heat. But above all IL is the case at
the beginning of the temperate
lands" where the first declivities of
the mountains oppose "a barrier to the
progress OF the wind which cools on
coming in contact with the rocks and
woods, that saturation is effected and
where water vapor is precipitated in
more or less copious showers during
the winter.
In the city of Mexico the wind pre-.
walls during the year from the north
west. In February and March IL alter
mates with IA wind from the southeast.
hiready freed from the greater part OF
their watery vapor. which was lost in
their passage through low regions,
these winds come to the valley and rem
der condensation more rare and winter
rains more sparing and less frequent. la
the hot lands the average humidity
varies from So to II degrees. in the
temperate from ~ to 60 degrees aud in
the cold from 6s to 4s degrees. IL APP
pears that the air on the gulf coast
contains more moisture than that Of
the Pacific, since in the first less than
50 degrees are thrown of, while Ina the
other less than 80 degrees. Mexico may,
with respect to humidity. be classified
rs moist in the hot lands, moderately
so IN the temperate regions. and dry in
the cold. The temperate regions,
which are on the eastern and western
delivities OF the eastern Cordillera, are
humid than are the hot lands.