Page 345 - PERSIAN 1 1873_1879 Admin Report1_Neat

tEAR 1870-77. 07
roMTICAL AOENCT FOJl THE
AND MUSCAT
m full of date proves and large patches of cultivated land. All the
hilln and greater portion of the plain in and around Muscat arc devoid
of vegetation. The surface soil in the town is composed chiefly o
,7.ul limestone, whilst the subsoil is formed of detritus below which
t'h,. conglomerate exists. In the valley of fuyan the surface soil,
excepting in the cultivated patches, is comjwsed principally of detritus,
tin.* Huhsoil living formed principally of the conglomerate. Herbage and
date trees are limited to the few small patches of cultivated land in
Tuvan, whilst no brushwood exists either in or near Muscat. I'rom the
colour and nature of the rocks, and from the composition of the surface
soil, it will l>c readily seen how great is their power for absorbing and
retaining heat, and how slowly the teat is radiated from them, especially
during the summer months.
Climate.—The climate of Muscat may he considered to be extreme
and equable, that whilst the amplitude of the yearly fluctuation is great,
the non-periodic variations are very slight, in which respect it is ail
exception to the general rule of an extreme climate being at the same
time an excessive one. The reason of this is that during the greater
part of the year the temperature runs high or low according to the season,
gradually and steadily, without any special conditions, such as clouds,
rain, evaporation and great and rapid radiation from the earth, to
influence its normal course. In the months of June and July, how­
ever, when the hot, dry wind blows occasionaly from the west, there
is a rapid change of temperature in a few minutes, the difference some­
times amounting to as many as 15° of Fahr.
The solar thermometer indicates an annual variation of about 3G*5
deg. of i\, the highest mean jwint between 170 and 175° F. being generally
nached in the month of September or October, and the lowest mean
point between 113° and loU°F. in the month of January or February.
The diurnal variation is slight, excepting when the sky is cloudy and the
direct rays of the sun have little or no effect on the thermometer. The
effects of this excessive heat of the solar rays on the human body can­
not be easily estimated, as with it generally exist two other conditions
which may seem to have a neutralizing iuflucnce. The highest tem-
j>oraturc in the sun has always been registered with a hot dry wind,
when the rapid movement and constant change of air surrounding the
body, and the rapid evaporation from the surface must to a certain ex­
tent counterbalance the pernicious effects likely to follow an exposure
to such a high temperature. The Sedee and other boatmen who ply their
canoes between Muscat and Muttrah, fully exposed to the direct rays of
the sun, with hardly any protection to their heads or backs, have not been
known to suffer from insolafio, nor am I inclined to believe that the mild
cases of fever which present themselves at the hospital daring the hot
season arc essentially different from those of a malarial nature; in some
he cold stage is absent, but this is not a very uncommon occurrence even
in marked cases of ague, and quinine acts as beneficially in them as in
>e case of malaria. These cases are not to he confouoded with another
c ass of cases with almost the same febrile symptoms, but which occnr
4 1 d1,‘rio^ t,,e prevalence of the hot and dry winds; this I am in-
j 00^ uP°n M a premonitory stage of insolatio, and I have found
*md repeated doses of quinine of great service daring this stage.

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