South Australia : its history, productions, and natural resources . falls from 90° or 100° to70° or 60°. Our summer months are characterised bv great heat, hot winds, anddryness. Not a drop of rain falls often for six or eight weeks, and it isduring this time that not only the acclimatised but the indigenous vege-tation suffers materially. The ground becomes so hot and cracked thateven the occurrence of a fall of rain serves only to clear the leaves fromdust, as it again evaporates in a very short time. During this period the country wears a desolate, sunburnt appear-ance, and is destitute of
South Australia : its history, productions, and natural resources . falls from 90° or 100° to70° or 60°. Our summer months are characterised bv great heat, hot winds, anddryness. Not a drop of rain falls often for six or eight weeks, and it isduring this time that not only the acclimatised but the indigenous vege-tation suffers materially. The ground becomes so hot and cracked thateven the occurrence of a fall of rain serves only to clear the leaves fromdust, as it again evaporates in a very short time. During this period the country wears a desolate, sunburnt appear-ance, and is destitute of all green herbage ; but after the setting in ofthe rains, there is, I may say, a magic appearance of grasses andherbage. The autumn season includes in Australia the months of March,April, and May, and is one of our genial and beautiful parts of the temperature falls rapidly, only reaching 70° to 80° in the shade, themean being 64° 6, and in the month of May it is only 58° 2. Thenorthern winds become cooler, the solar radiation is considerably re-. CDbo Ojn o CDCD M CO o w ITS FLORA. l;-><) duced, and heavy dews begin to fall at nif;lit. The indigenous vegetationwhich has suffered through the summer awakes to new life, and trees,shrubs, and herbage put forth fresh growth, while the leaves of theEuropean deciduous ti*ees get the autumnal tints, and drop. June, July, and August constitute our winter—our rainy season—which is usually marked by frequent rain and strong winds ; but it alsooften happens that we have to contend with remarkably dry winters, themean temperature during the three months 54° to 56° 7. Hoar frostsand heavy frosts often appear during the night, which have since the lastfour years increased in severity, and the lowest temperature experiencedwas 28° at least in the Botanic Garden. Sucli heavy frosts have mostdisastrous effects upon the tropical and subtropical plants in the garden. The spring season—the most genial and most beaut
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidsaustraliait, bookyear1883
