Page:Physical Geography of the Sea and its Meteorology.djvu/188

Winds with Nothing and Winds with Southing in each Hemisphere, expressed by Average Number of Days for which they blow annually.

Bands.	Northern Hemisphere.			Southern Hemisphere.
	Northing.	Southing.	No. of Obs.	Northing.	Southing.	No. of Obs.
Between	Days.	Days.		Days.	Days.
0° and 5°	78	268	67,829	84	269	72,945
5° and 10°	158	182	36,841	73	283	54,648
10° and 15°	278	73	27,339	82	275	43,817
15° and 20°	272	81	33,103	91	266	46,604
20° and 25°	246	101	44,527	128	227	66,395
25° and 30°	185	162	68,777	146	208	66,635
30° and 35°	155	195	62,514	150	204	76,254
35° and 40°	173	178	41,233	178	177	107,231
40° and 45°	163	186	33,252	202	155	63,669
45° and 50°	164	188	29,461	209	148	29,132
50° and 55°	147	204	41,570	208	151	14,286
55° and 60°	141	213	17,874	224	132	13,617
			504,320			655,233
	Total Observations 1,159,553

crossing, between 35° and 40°. In the southern hemisphere, the conflict between the polar and equatorial indraught, as expressed by winds with southing and winds with northing, is more decided. There the two curves march, one up, the other down, and cross between the parallels of 35° and 40° S., thus confirming what from other data we had already learned, viz., that the condition of the atmosphere is more unstable in the northern than it is in the southern hemisphere.

354. The rainless regions and the calm belts.—Such, for the winds at sea, is their distribution between the two halves of the horizon in the several bands and in each hemisphere. Supposing a like distribution to obtain on shore, we shall find it suggestive to trace the calm belts of the tropics across the continents (Plate VIII.), and to examine, in connection with them, the rainless regions of the earth, and those districts of country which, though not rainless, are nevertheless considered as "dry countries," by reason of the small amount of precipitation upon them. So, tracing the calm belt of Cancer, which at sea lies between the parallels of 28° and 37° (Plate VIII.), but which, according to Sir John Herschel,^[1] reaches higher latitudes on shore, it will be perceived that the winds that flow out on the north side blow

1. § 273, p. 614, vol. xvii. (Phys. Geog.), Encyclopaedia Britannica.