the name of a periodical wind common in the island of Cyprus, and of great service in moderating the heats of the climate, which would otherwise be intolerable.

According to the Abbé Mariti, it begins to blow at eight in the morning the first day; increases as the sun advances till noon; then gradually weakens, and at three falls entirely. On the second day it arises at the same hour; but it does not attain its greatest strength till about one in the afternoon, and ceases at four precisely. On the third day it begins as before; but it falls an hour later. On the five succeeding days, it follows the same progression as on the third; but it is remarked, that a little before it ceases, it becomes extremely violent. At the expiration of five days it commences a new period like the former. By narrowly observing the sea on that side from which it is about to blow a little before it arises, one may determine what degree of strength it will have during the day. If the horizon is clear, and entirely free from clouds, the wind will be weak, and even almost insensible; but if it is dark and cloudy, the wind will be strong and violent. This limbat wind, notwithstanding its utility in moderating the excessive heat, often becomes the cause of fevers, especially to the Europeans, from their being less habituated to the climate, more apt than the natives to suffer themselves to be surfeited by the cool air when in a state of perspiration. This wind, the falling of which happens an hour sooner or later, is succeeded by a calm, accompanied by a certain moisture that renders the air somewhat heavy. This moisture disappears in the evening, being dissipated by a wind which arises every day at that period. This wind is considered as a land breeze by the inhabitants of the southern and eastern parts of the island; but it is called a sea breeze by those in the northern and western, who indeed receive it immediately from the sea. In summer it blows till four o'clock in the morning; and when it ceases, it leaves a profound calm, which continues till the hour when the limbat commences. In autumn and winter it never falls till daybreak, when it is succeeded by other winds, which proceed from the irregularity of the sea. In spring it does not continue longer than midnight; and is then succeeded by that happy calm, during which those refreshing dews are formed that moisten the earth at furnishing. The limbat winds, which arise in the beginning of summer, cease about the middle of September; and this is the period when the most insupportable heats commence, because their violence is not moderated by the smallest breeze. They are, however, luckily not of long duration; and about the latter end of October they decrease sensibly, as the atmosphere begins to be loaded with watery clouds.