Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/151

 ClilMATE OF TUNIS. 128 enjoys a much more equable clirnuto than Algeria. Being, moreover, destitute of lofty mountains or extensive plat^Miux, whilst its upland regions terminate in wide valleys well exposed to the sea breeze, the t^jmiwrature far inland is much milder than that of the central regions of the Maghreb. As yet no exact meteoro- logical observations have been made for the inland regions of Tunis. Neverthe- less, from the nature of the vegetation it is easy to determine the general charac- teristics of the climate, and observe the contrasts that it presents with that of the conterminous regions. Thus it is that the east winds, which are hot and dry in the Algerian portion of the Sahara, carry a certain quantity of moisture into the Tunisian part of this desert, and nourish plants which are never found in the western solitudes. Although on the average higher than that of Algeria, the temperature of Tunis is at the same time moister and less variable. Nevertheless, the northern and coastland regions are more exposed to the scorching southern winds than the Algerian Tell, and it occasionally happens that, under the fiery breath of the sinioora, the thermometer rises to ll-i^ and even to 118° F. in the streets of Tunis. On the other hand, the atmospheric currents which in winter bring down the cold air from the Apennines, have occasionally produced weather as cold as any experienced in Southern Europe. Ferrini states that in the month of February, 1854, snow fell in Tunis for the space of one whole day. The seasons in Tunis succeed each other with extreme regularity. The winter, which coincides with the rainy season, and which bears the same name of csh-s/ifa, usually commences in January and lasts not quite two monlhs. This is followed by the " green " or spring season, which is also very short, whilst the summer lasts six months, from May to October. The autumn is ushered in by the normal return of the rains, although showers are common throughout the whole year ; on an average the Tunisians calculate that rain falls on J)0 days out of the 365. The winds usually blow from off the sea, i.e. from the north-east to the north-west. The north-cast current, which is the normal jwlar wind, usually prevails during the summer months ; whilst the north-west wind, a continuation of the beneficent " mistral," predominates for the rest of the year. These sea breezes are the most salubrious, and are those which are accompanied by rain ; but they are not so regular as the trade winds, and are often subject to sudden changes. At the period of the equinoxes, violent atmospherical disturbances often arise; towards the middle of September the Gulf of Tunis is almost always thrown into a commotion by a violent gust, which the Christians of the first centuries called " the Cyprian wind," because it generally upptnired on the anniversary of the death of Cyprian, bishop of Carthage. The full fury of the winds is usually moat to be dreaded around Cape Bon ; several aerial currents meet at this angle of the continent and struggle furiously for the supremacy. Hence the name of " Bon " or " good," which the Carthaginians gave this promontory, with the intention of flattering the genius of the cape, and thus securing his goodwill. The Arabs often call it R&s Ghaddar, or " the Treacherous Promontorj'," instead of R&s Add&r, or " the Good Cape." The marine currents also meet at the base of this cape, and form as violent a disturbance below as the %nud8 cause above. So power-