Climale.—The commencement of the rainy season varies between the let of April and 1st of June, and its termination is between the let and 31st of December. The rains in July and August are heavy, and are frequently accompanied by violent gusts of wind, called tor nadoes, attended with thunder. In September the rains are generally slight, and tornadoes with heavy rains are comparatively rare. Tor nadoes occur at the beginning and termination of the rainy season. The prevailing winds during this season are from the south-west to the west and north-west; towards the end of November from the north-east and east, and they immediately produce a great change in the face of the country. The grass soon becomes dry and withered; the rivers subside rapidly, and many of the trees shed their leaves. About this period the ‘hainattan ' is generally felt, a dry and parch ing wind which blows from the north-cast, and is accompanied by a thick smoky haze, through which the sun appears of a dull-red colour. This wind passes over the sandy plains of the Sahara, where it acquires an extraordinary degree of dryness, parching up everything which is exposed to it.. It is however considered healthy, especially by Euro peans. During the long rainy season the air is loaded with moisture. The hamattan quickly changes this etate of things, and many persons who have fallen ill during the rains recover in a short time. But it produces chaps in the lips, and afflicts many of the natives with sore eyes. The easterly winds of the dry season extend to the shores of the sea as far south as Cape Vcrd. But south of it westerly and north-westerly winds prevail, except in some places where there is a regular alternation of land- and sea-breezes.
Senegambia has long been noted for the great degree of heat to which it is subject all the year round. But it does not appear to be subject to a greater degree of heat than other countries situated in the name latitude, except those tracts which lie along the banks of the river Senegal, and consequently in the vicinity of the Sahara. At the French settlement of Bake!, on the river Senegal, about 300 miles from the sea in a straight line, the thermometer occasionally rises to 110° in April and May, which are the hottest months of the year, and sinks in December to 56.25°. lu the parts of Senegambia which are remote from the coast, the hottest part of the year is during the last months of the dry season and at the beginning of the rains; but on the coast the rains immediately depress the temperature several degrees. On the coast the range of the thermometer generally varies between 65° and 95°, and rarely attains 100°. The mean annual emperature is 791°.
Productions.—A country with such a climate and extensive tracts of great fertility must be capable of producing all kinds of tropical vegetable products. Hemp is cultivated to a considerable extent, and made into ropes and cords, in which etate it is brought to the European settlements. The grains which are chiefly cultivated are
rice, maize, and millet. Besides these grains there are cultivated for food the ground-nut, mandioc, yams, bananas, and a variety of vege tables. Cotton and indigo are grown in many places; the latter grows wild. The forests, which are very extensive, contain several trees, the fruits of which are used as food. The most remarkable is the butter tree. Among trees used for commercial purposes are the African teak, the mahogany-tree, the . mangrove, and others. The mimosa from which the gum is obtained is common on the table-land of the Jaloofe, though less so than north of the SenegaL There are some • trees which yield caoutchouc. Cassia, cardamoms, and orchil are obtained from the interior. Along the seacoast, and also on the islands, and in the low flat country between the Rio Nunez and the Gambia, different kinds of palms are found in great abundance; palm oil and palm-wine are important articles of domestic economy.
The domestic animals do not differ from those of Europe, except that a few camels are kept in the desert of the Jaloofs and in the countries near the Sahara. Horses are numerous and the breed is good. Black cattle are numerous and of great size. Butter in a melted state is a considerable article of inland trade, and hides and horns are largely exported. Sheep and goats are confined to some tracts, but pigs and fowls are reared everywhere, the negroes being generally fond of pork. Among the wild animals the elephant occupies the first place, and supplies nearly all the ivory which is exported from the English and Portuguese settlements on the Gambia, Rio Grande, and Nu?iez. The hippopotamus abounds in all the rivers, especially in the Senegal. There are lions, leopards, and panthers. The striped hymns is very common. The wild animals which are used for food are the buffalo, the wild bear, which is of prodigious size, deer of different kinds, antelopes, the hare of the Cape, and porcu pines. Alligators frequent all the rivers, and the boa is found in the lower marshy country. Among the birds the white heron is one of the most beautifuL Guinea-fowls, turtle-doves, and wood-pigeons are abundant. Turtles are numerous on some of the islands. There are several kinds of large ants; their hills resemble the huts of the negroes.
Little is known of the mineral wealth of Senegambia ; but it would seem that the greater part of the mountains are mainly composed of ironstone, and that iron exists there in inexhaustible quantity. The natives are also acquainted with the art of extracting the metal, and there are furnaces in some parts. Gold is found in those parts which lie between the affluents of the Upper Senegal, as in Bambook, Fooladoo, Mending, &c. It occurs mostly in the form of small grains in an alluvial soil.