Starlings arrive. Oranges and lemons again, as in all the winter months. Balsam and heliotrope.

January.-There is often a cold south wind from the desert, and though the days are not really cold, the evenings require a fire indoors and an overcoat abroad. Lung invalids ought not to be out after sunset. Temperature like the last week of September in England. Quail return to Upper Egypt from the Soudan. Roses bloom all the year round in Cairo, but they are now at their best. Hyacinth, camellia, mignonette, ranunculus, cyclamen, verbena, gypsophila, and orange-flowers.

February.-Temperature like a dry English September, chilly at the beginning of the month, but warm and pleasant at the end, so that fires and overcoats are hardly wanted at night. Invalids return from Luxor to Cairo at the end of February to escape the south winds, which begin earlier there. Quail breed in Upper Egypt, and appear again in Lower Egypt; starlings take their flight. Oranges, lemons, and loquats. Violets, petunias, phlox, bougainvillia, and roses.

March. Temperature is a little like London in July, but the great feature of this month is the south wind, which is almost certain to blow at least twice for two or three days at a time. It is at first welcomed as a pleasant change after the cold weather, but soon becomes disagreeable. The last

week of the month is often hot, but previous to that, during a south wind, the shade temperature at noon is about 80°; indoors it is 64°; the barometer falls from 30 to 29-7, and there are 10° difference between the wet and dry bulbs. Tourists tire of Egypt at the first hot wind, and make for Palestine, Constantinople, etc. Snipe, ducks, and geese leave for Europe; excellent quail, spur-winged plover, and dove shooting. Dianthus, pansy, China aster, marguerites, delphinium, fuchsia, gladiolus, lobelia, sweet pea, and wall-flowers. Acacia trees in the boulevards shed their leaves and remain bare for about a month.

April. The days are warm like the hottest days in an English summer, but are not felt so oppressive because of the dryness of the air. The houses and habits of the country are also specially adapted for the hot weather. Rooms are now occupied which face towards the north and catch the cool wind, and on hot days it is wisest not to go out immediately after luncheon. European houses

and hotels are built so that the rooms are sixteen feet high, thus providing for plenty of cubic space when the windows are obliged to be closed to keep out the heat and the flies and mosquitoes, which now begin to be troublesome. The khamseen wind occurs at intervals of about ten days, and great care ought to be taken not to relinquish all winter

clothing, though the temperature is often above 90° Fahr. for a few hours at a time. Invalids leave for Ramleh, or for Italy and the south of France. Strawberries and apricots. Oleander, pelargonium, and sunflowers.

May. We are still liable to occasional khamseen winds, and each week the weather is becoming warmer; but Cairo is now very lovely; the trees in the streets have their new foliage, and the gardens are bright with many subtropical flowering trees and shrubs. On May 6 I once saw the exceptional event of a thunder and lightning storm, with hailstones as big as dried peas, and a shade temperature of 85° Fahr. Quail leave Egypt for Europe. Sweet melons and water-melons. Balsam, magnolia, lotus, jessamine, convolvulus, and passionflowers.

June, July, August.—These are the three hottest months of the year, and in August the climate is already becoming a little damp in consequence of the rising Nile. Rich natives spend these months in Alexandria, Syria, or Constantinople. Europeans in Cairo take a siesta after luncheon. Government offices are closed at 1 p.m., but after 4 p.m. every Englishman goes out to ride, drive, golf, or lawn-tennis, and the British soldier plays cricket and football. The nights are always cool, so that it is possible to dine out of doors without

insects, and afterwards to sleep well. The families of European officials usually leave for Europe at the beginning of June, but some ladies only leave Egypt every other summer. Sand-grouse and bec figues (fig-eaters). Grapes, almonds, peaches, figs, and melons in June; and in August, in addition, there are mangoes, dates, and custard-apples. Dahlias, zinnias, periwinkle, tuberoses, and the perennial hibiscus.

September. This is a hot, damp month, the most trying of the year. The temperature is decidedly lower than in the three preceding months, and there is no rain; but the Nile flood and inundation produce a state of dampness which, together with the comparative heat, is trying for Europeans. Judged by the thermometer alone, the month is not unlike May in Cairo, but the raising of the humidity from 48 to 62 per cent. makes all the difference. Grey quail reach Egypt. Cotton-picking begins. Prickly pears, bananas, and summer fruits and flowers.

CHAPTER IV.

CAIRO (continued).

Public health in Cairo.-There has been no census since 1882, and it is doubtful whether the statistics then gathered are sufficiently accurate. There are believed to be about 375,000 inhabitants, of whom 21,650 are not Turkish subjects, and are mostly Europeans. The deaths among Europeans during the last seven years, including the cholera year, have averaged 473, or 21.8 per 1000 per annum, which compares favourably with any town in Europe or America. But the figures ought probably to be higher, as it is difficult to conceive that the lowest classes of Maltese, Jews, Greeks, and Levantines, who are all included among the foreigners, must not considerably deteriorate the mortality rate. The death-rate among the natives is shockingly high, 46.5 per 1000, and this is principally due to the mortality (800 a month) of infants under one year of age during the four