CLIMATE

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of watery vapour are driven over the surface of the heated
sea for hundreds of miles without check, till they break
on the southern edge of the Khasia hills in Eastern Bengal.
At this point the rainfall is extraordinary, so or 60 feet
being a not unusual register at Cherra Punji on the edge
of the plateau. At Shillong (which is about 40 miles
beyond the edge) the rainfall becomes normal. It is
interesting to note that with this terrific rainfall the climate
of Cherra Punji is not unendurable. All the surface soil
is washed away from the rocky substrata, and a scanty
vegetation is maintained with difficulty, but the rain descends
 in liquid sheets for a certain number of hours only,
and during the interludes the atmosphere is more free
from mist and damp than is the case at many hill-stations
with one-tenth of its rainfall, and double its surcharged
environment of clouds.
The Central and Eastern Provinces of India are but
very partially benefited by the south-west monsoon.
The storage of moisture drawn from the sea is exhausted
before it reaches them. ‘They consequently retain a good
deal of their surface heat after the north-eastern seas of
the Bay of Bengal have cooled, and when the monsoon
currents from the south-west diminish in force (which
usually happens about the middle of September) they
hecome diverted and reversed. A north-east monsoon
sets in from the opposite direction, which, although it
acts over a much more restricted area, fulfils a compensatory
 function of watering and fertilising for the
southern portions of the peninsula. Thus Madras and
‘he districts immediately north of it are subject to two
monsoons yearly, the second only lasting for two months
or thereabouts, and terminating usually in November.
Ceylon, of course, receives the benefit of both monsoons,
 and as the highest altitudes and main watersheds
of that island are situated about its centre, it enjoys two
distinct climates, one portion of it on the south-west falling
under the full influence of the south-west rains, whilst the
north-eastern section remains comparatively dry; and
vice versd when the currents of vapour set in the opposite