Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/30

 10 FIJI AIsD THE riJIANS. case. I am myself acquainted with reefs to the extent of several thou- sands of miles, all of which are regularly overflowed by the tide twice in twenty-four hours, and, at high water, are from four to six feet below the surface ; all being a few inches above low-water mark, but none reaching to the high-tide level. But whatever may be the origin of the reefs, their great utility is certain. The danger caused by their existence will diminish in proportion as their position and outline become better kno^Yn by more accurate and minute survey than has yet been made. To the navigator possessing such exact information, these far-stretching ridges of rock become vast breakwaters, within the shelter of which he is sure to find a safe harbour, the calm of which is in strange, because so sudden, contrast with the stormy sea outside. In many cases a perfect dock is thus found ; in some large enough to accommodate several vessels, with a depth of from three to twelve fathoms of water. Besides these, a number of bays indenting the coast of the large islands, afford good anchorage, and vary in depth from two to thirty miles. Into these the mountain streams disembogue, depositing the mud flats found in some of them, and ren- dering the entrance to the river shallow. Still the rivers, furnishing a ready supply of fresh water, increase the value of the bays as harbours for shipping. By these Fiji invites commerce to her shores ; and in these a beneficent Creator is seen providing for the prospective wants of the group, ready built ports for the shelter of those " who go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters." To such persons the winds are a subject of prime interest. During eight months — from April to November — the prevailing winds blow from the E. N. E. to the S. E., when there is often a fresh trade wind for many successive days, mitigating to some extent the tropical heat. Tliese winds, how- ever, are not so uniform as elsewhere. During the rest of the year there is much variation, the wind often blowing from the north, from which quarter it is most unwelcome. This — the toTcalau — is a hot wind, by which the air becomes so rarified as to render respiration difficult. The months most to be feared by seamen are February and March. Heavy gales sometimes blow in January ; hence these three are often called " the hurricane months." The morning land breezes serve to modify the strong winds in the neighbourhood of the large islands. Considering the nearness of these islands to the equator, their cli- mate is neither so hot nor so sickly as might be expected, the fierceness of the sun's heat being tempered by the cool breezes from the wide sur- face of the ocean around. The swamps are too limited to produce much miasma ; and fever, in its several forms, is scarcely known. Other dis-