Evening star., 1904-03-22

and bring from those who have a surplus
The export of grain and other products
from India continues regularly in the lean
as we'll as the fat years, but the country
is so large, the distances are 50 great, the
facilities for transportation are so made
quate. that one province may be exporting
food to Europe because it has to spare
while another province may be receiving
ships loaded with charity from America be
cause its crops have failed and its people
hungry.
The health and happiness of three hun
dred million human souls in India and that
of their cattle, their oxen, their sheep. their
donkeys, their camels and their elephants
are dependent upon certain natural phe-
nomena over which neither rajah ma
haraja nor viceroy, nor emperor, nor cOun-
Gil of state has control, and before which
even the great mogul on his bejeweled
throne stood powerless. 1t is possible to
ameloriate the consequences, but it is not
possible to prevent them.
The Monsoons.
Whether the crops shall be fat or Iean
whether the people and the cattle shall be
We'll fed or hungry, depends upon the mon
soons." they are called, the alienation
of wind currents. which bring rain in it's
season All animal and vegetable life is de-
pendent upon them. In the early summer
the broad plains are heated by the sun to a
temperature higher than that of the water
OF the great seas WHICH SURROUND tfiSm.
In parts of northern India, around Delhi
and Agra, the temperature in May and
June is higher than in any other part of
the empire. and is probably exceeded in no
other part of the world This phenomenon
remains unexplained. The elevation is
about 2,1O0 feet above the sea, the at
mosDhere is dry and the soil is sandy. But
for some reason the rays of the sun are in
tensely hot and are fatal to those who are
exposed to them without sufficient protec-
ton. But this exreme heat is the salvation
of the country. and by its own action brings
the relief without which all animal and
vegetable life would perish. 1t draws from
the ocean a current of wind laden with
moisture which blows steadily for two
months toward the northwest and causes
what is called the rainv season. The guam
tity of rain that falls depends upon the con-
figura tion of the land. Any cause which
cools the winds from the sea and leads to
the condensation of the vapor they carry:
any obstacle which blocks their course
causes precipitation Through all the north
ern part of India there is a heavy rainfall
during April May and June the earth is
refreshed and quantities of water are drain
ed into reservoirs called tanks" from
which the fields are irrigated later in the
summer.
The quantity of rainfall diminishes as the
winds pass over the foothills and the noun
tains, and the enormous heights of the Him
alayas prevent them from passing beyond
their suow-cIad peaks and ridges. Hence
the tablelands of Thibet. which lie beyond,
are the dryeSt and the most arid region In
the world This wind current which brings
rain for the summer crop IS called the
southwest monsoon.
AS the sun travels south after midsum-
mer the temperature falls. the vast dry
tract of the As.atic continent becomes
colder, the barometric pressure over the
md increases. and the winds begin to blow
from the northeast, which are called the
northeast monsoon. and cause q second
rainy season from Octe' or to December.
artpI fac hn fat. of TpIia IN ORC
two crops. and they are entirely dependent
upon their regular appearance.
Live From Hand to Mouth
Over so per cent of the population are
engaged in farming. They live from hand
to mouth They have no reserve whatever.
and If the monsoon fails them nothing will
grow. and they have no money to import
food for themselves and their cattle from
more fortunate sections. As a rule the
monsoons are very reliable. but every few
years they fail. and famine results. The
government has a meteorological depart
ment with observers stationed at several
points in Africa and Arabia and in the
islands OF the sea. to record and report the
actions of nature. Thus 1t has been able
Of late years to anticipate the fat and the
lean harvests. 1t is possible to know al
most precisely several months in advance
whether there will be failure of crops.
and a permanent famine commission has
been organized to prepare measures of re-
lief before they are needed. In other
words. Lord Curzon and his subordnatcs
reducing famine relief 10 a system
which promotes economy as wen eff
cheney
1t is an interesting fact that the monsoon
currents which cross the Indian ocean from
South Africa continue on their course
through Australia after visiting India, and
recent famines there have eoineided with
the droughts which caused much injury to
stock n Australia. Thus 1t has been DEM