Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/31

 FIJI. 11 eases are not so numerous or malignant as in other climes, especially such as lie between the tropics. The air is generally clear, and in the spring and autumn months the climate is delightful. In December, January, and February, the heat is oppressive : the least exertion is followed by profuse perspiration, and no ordinary physical energy can resist the enervating influence of the season, begetting a fear lest Ham- let's wish should be realized, that — " Solid flesh would melt — Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew." The temperature is nearly uniform ; the greatest extremes of heat and cold being experienced inland. My meteorological journal kept at La- kemba in 1841, and ten years later at Vanua Levu, shows 62° as the lowest and 121° as the highest temperature noted. The low tempera- ture here recorded I ascribe, in part, to a river running close by my house. The mean temperature of the group throughout may be stated at 80°. Very hot days are sometimes preceded by very cold nights. No resident in Fiji having ever possessed a rain-gauge, it is impossi- ble to speak with accuracy about the quantity of water which falls. I find the following entry in my journal : " 1850, March 14th. "We have had forty-five days in succession rainy, more or less. These were pre- ceded by four or five dry days : before these again we had twenty-four rainy ones. On many of these days only a single shower fell, and that but slight ; so that the real depth of rain might not be unusual." Against the number of rainy days here given, must be placed the long duration of uninterrupted dry weather, often extending over two or three months. At times the burdened clouds discharge themselves in torrents. The approach of a heavy shower, while yet far away, is announced by its loud beating on the broad-leaved vegetation ; and when arrived, it resembles the bursting of some atmospheric lake. This glance at the discovery and general aspect of the Fiji Islands may be fitly closed by a few remarks on their division and classification, as described on some maps and globes of modern date. The division of the group, as laid down in the account of the U. S. Exploring Expedition, viz., into seven districts, under as many principal chiefs, is objectionable, as disregarding the divisions made by nature, and those recognised by the natives, while it excludes Lakemba and its dependencies, which form a district very much more important than either Mathuata or Mbua. The peculiar character and relative rank of the several authorities in Fiji render an accurate political division impossible.