The Art of Living in Australia: Together with Three Hundred Australian Cookery Recipes and Accessory Kitchen Information by Mrs. H. Wicken

being 71 per cent. In the summer it falls to 65, and on hot days is generally very low. The characteristic of our hot weather is that it is usually extremely dry; the exceptions are very few, and occur in the late Spring and early autumn during thundery, muggy weather. On the hottest days, with north winds, the dryness makes the heat much more endurable, and the humidity frequently falls to between 30 and 40 per cent. South Australia.--Attention has already been drawn to the fact that the hot, dry air met with on the Adelaide plains is far more endurable than a lower temperature in which the atmosphere is surcharged with aqueous vapour. A damp atmosphere is a rare thing in South Australia during the summer, though in March there are at times some warm and humid days. In the winter the air for the most part is dry, although the nights are often damp. The Mount Lofty Ranges, close to Adelaide, afford a cool retreat; they have a very large rainfall, in some years over 50 inches. The climate at Mount Gambier, in the south-eastern part of the colony, is cooler and damper; it has also a much heavier rainfall than the Adelaide plains. OF WHAT DURATION ARE THE DIFFERENT SEASONS, AND TO WHAT MONTHS WOULD YOU APPORTION EACH SEASON? New South Wales and Victoria.--Spring--September, October, November; Summer--December, January, February; Autumn--March, April, May; Winter--June, July, August. South Australia.--Spring--September, October; Summer comprises the five months from November to March inclusive; Autumn--April, May; Winter--June, July, August. Practically, in South Australia the year may be divided into two seasons, namely, Spring, the seven months from April to October inclusive; and Summer, the five months from November to March inclusive. Queensland.--With regard to Southern Queensland, the seasons may be provisionally apportioned as follows: Spring--August, September, October; Summer--November, December, January, February, Autumn-- March, April, May; Winter--June, July. WHAT ARE THE PREVAILING WINDS, AND WHAT PARTICULAR ROLE DO THE HOT WINDS PLAY? New South Wales.--A general statement is not sufficient, for the winds vary much at different places; but taking the colony as a