The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-06-28
cuBALlrTLH KNOWN,
lsfsrmatIon About th~ islands Ttss>
peraturs and Rainfall


tocupy no les than is. 900, 900 ncrcA
hnd nre said 20 DO so dense as to be nl-
most impenctrablo. But perhaps the
most extraordinary feature Ia regard TO
this general ignorance concerning that
fsland lathe lack Of exact knowledge of
the climate. Pdssimists ccntend that IL
Is in high degree deadly to tho white
man whilc optimists are as strenuous
In asserting that. provided needful pre-
cautions are takcn, tho air Is quito ga
lubrious We havo always boon Of tho
opinion that tho climate Of the icland,
Mt least cb tao coast and Ia the low
lands during tho wet season from May
to October, IS decidedly unhealthy. Ger
tain it is that it's effects on tho Spanish
soldicry have been most disastrous, al
though much CT this excessive ratio OF
mortality has been duo to tho inefficient
systcsu Of llygicna 10 bad diet, unsuita-
bio clothing aud tho carelessncss uni
versally prevailing among tho military
authorities with regard to tho health OF
the rank and ale OF the army.
However. thore 10 10 cvading the fact
that tho landing Of G large body OF more
on less raw, unacclimatized men in tho
lowlands Of reputed unhealthy coast
at tho beginning of the rainy season is
nn experiment that must from the very
nature CT things be attended with much
risk. Therefore any accurate infcrma-
ton on tho subject 10 now Gpropos.
A pamphlets has recently been issucd
by the weather bureau of the United
States department. of agriculture, pre-
pored from information collected by w.
+. r. Phillips, ia charge OF tho section
Of climatology, end which contains in
Its pages all that Is ut present known
concerning the climates Of Cuba and
Manila. Mr.. Phillips snys: "Rnmon do
la Sagru, in his Histoire Physique dc
Cuba, quotes as the earliest record he
had consulted years observations OF
the barometer and thermometer made
III Havana in 1874. Tho thermometer
readings, however, appeared to be in
error from some cause or other not
known and were considered too inaccu-
rate to use. At only one station have
Systematic meteorological observations
been made aud published for any con-
siderable tirac, and that Is ut tho OBJ
servatory of Belen college, Havana.
ss* Tho climate Of the Wcst Indies
presents. with respect to both tcmpera-
turo aud rainfall, considerable varia.
tions from the generally conceived idea
Of tropical uniformity. These varia-
tions arc largely il not entirely caused
by differences in altitude and position
with respect to tho prevailing winds of
the Helae.
''Tho average annual temperature of
Havana, as determined from observa-
tions et Bslcn college made during the
decennium lSS8-97 may DO stated in
round plumbers as n dcgrees'F. In this
dccennitiin tho highest nnnunl ternpera-
trre was ia degrees f., and this oc-
Cured upon three occasions, and tho
lowest annual temperature was as. /
Z degrees r., and happened upon only one
occasion, showing In the ten years an
extreme range in annual averages of but
Ill degrees 1t would therefore seem
probable that the mean temperature for
the dcccnnial period lSSS97 is about q
true average fer Havana for any long
period. The warmest mouth at Havana
~ July, with an average temperature
Of 60. 1 degrees +. The coolest month is
January, with an average temperature
Of ~. 3 degrees II. The highest temper
ature recorded was 100 O degrees F. in
July, 1901, md the lowest 80 o degrees
r. in February, 1906.
'sFor Matanxns, on the coast about 90
n,ilcs east of Harann, there In record
for two years From this tho mean am
nual tcnpcrature at Mntanzas appears
to be abort rs degrees II. At Santiago
it is apparently higher than on the
northern and western coasts, and from
the ineagcr data available appears to be
about so degrees +.
N'"fhc relative humidity Of the atmos-
piere appears to 10 fairly constant. as
far az can .be determined from tho oh.
scrvations available, and averages about
70 per cent Of saturation. Tho absolute
humidity II very great. At Havana tho
average is about 10 grains of vapor to
tho cubic foot Of air. The average rain
fall for havana is about cs inches for
the year. On an average tho greatest
rainfall occurs in October and the next
greatest In Juno. The description of the
raiufall OF Cuba virtually receives itself,
SO far rs prescott Information goes. into
TINT Of rainfall At Havana. The number
Of days upon which rain falls is upon
the whole considerable, about one day
out Of three nt Havana. The prevailing
winds of the West Indies Gro the north
east trades The average velocity OF
tho wind at Havana is about 40 riilcs
an hcur, In climates having such high
temperatures and humidit:cs as shown
for tho West Indies tho velocity of tho
wind and It's constapcy nre of tho groat-
est Importance to both comfort and
health"
Asmayte gathered from the portions
Guntcd, Mr.. Phillips report is highly
interesting aud should servo 10 remove
certain misapprebensions which now
exist respecting tho temperature and
rainfall OF Culn Tho belief is wide
srrrad that ths heat and rainfall ore in.
fiiitcsy greater than in cry part Of the