October is a month of heat and drought.
In November the first cold occurs.
December is the coldest month.
NOTES on TRAVELLING IN LOWER EGYPT.
September is very bad—all should escape
who can. Fruits everywhere; sun hot; air damp
with irrigation water, white fogs and other horrors.
October is a good month, the weather being neither
too hot nor too cold.
November is the month of the “second water”
irrigation about Cairo.
December is pleasant.
January is cold and sometimes wet.
February is stormy, and even foggy with sand-mist.
March is windy, but on the whole a good month, except
for Khamsin, which begins about March 20th.
April begins to feel warm (April 29, 1878, Shamm el-Nasim).
The winter presents a marvellous contrast to that
of England, which can often show one hour and five
minutes’ sunlight in the twenty-four, or 2.8
per cent. of its possible duration.
In El-’Akabah are like Suez: first of month,
flood, 6—12 a.m. and p.m.; ebb, the rest.
But at Suez the tides rise one metre, and at times
two metres; at El-’Akabah (February 7), one
foot.
For the instruments NOT used in this Expedition, see
Chap. I. p. 11.
The barometre aneroid sold by M. Ebner was partially
repaired by M. Lacaze, and served for Mr. David Duguid’s
observations.
My pocket set by Casella (maker to the Admiralty and
Ordnance) consisted of—
One watch aneroid (compensated, 1182).
Two sets wet and dry bulb thermometers (one broken).
One set maxima and minima thermometers, Nos. 12,877
and 12,906.
Two pocket hygrometers not numbered.
December 19, 1877, compared ship’s (Mukhbir)
mercurial barometer, 758 millimetres, with my aneroid
by Casella (29.85) = 765 millimetres; difference in
ship’s, + 007 millimetre.
January 31, 1878, returned on board Mukhbir at Makna.
Ship’s mercurial barometer, 773 millimetres;
my aneroid by Casella, 764 millimetres; difference
in ship’s, + 009 millimetre.
Date. Time. Aneroid Aneroid Ther.
Dry Wet Hygr. Remarks.
Inches.
Milli. (deg.)Bulb. Bulb.(deg.)
Dec. 19. 7a.m. 29.85 765 76 — —
58 On deck of gunboat
Mukhbir,
at Sharm
Yaharr,
steaming to El-
Muwaylah.
Morning ugly.
Strong
land-breeze,
turned
to Azyab ("south-
easter").
Waves rising.
Dark-blue
clouds to
windward.
