As to the time of year at which sea-baths should be taken, that of course depends upon the locality visited. On the east coast, in situations which are exposed to winds from the north and east, bathing is only advisable during the three summer months of June, July, and August. On the west coast it is possible to begin a little earlier, and continue a little later; and in some situations in the south, the season may be said to extend from the middle of April to November. In these latter places, the temperature at midsummer is often unpleasantly high, and the bathing season falls into abeyance for a time. There are many considerations which influence people in their choice of a bathing station, such as the size of a town, or whether it be gay or quiet; its distance from London, its accessibility, the accommodation, the expense, &c. A more important point, perhaps, is the nature of the bottom, whether it be sandy or shingly. The great popularity of the bathing resorts on the north coast of France and the Belgian coast is due to the great expanse of fine sand of which the bottom is composed. In selecting a bathing place it is advisable, if reliable information is not forthcoming from those who know it well, to look at the Ordnance map of the town and district, and learn from an inspection of it, not only the direction in which the locality looks sea-ward, but the nature of the immediate surroundings of it; the position and height of cliffs and hills, and the amount of protection against cold or heat. The nature of the soil should also be ascertained, and the prevailing character of the vegetation, and, if possible, the amount of rainfall and the mean temperature of summer and winter. Many watering places possess, in a very restricted area, many climates. Let us look at such a watering place as Bournemouth, and we shall be able to explain what we mean. Bournemouth is a town of some six or seven thousand inhabitants, built on a sandy soil, surrounded by pine woods. It faces the south; the average rainfall is 30 inches per annum; the temperature is equable, and frosts are comparatively rare, the mean night temperature in the month of January being 35·6. The town is built upon two bold cliffs, with a dip between them, and the surface of the soil being very uneven, it is thus possible to get almost any climate. In the dip between the cliffs are situations exposed only to the south, and protected from all cold winds; and others facing only to the north. On the east cliff one may live in a pine-wood, with the advantages of moderate elevation, a southern aspect, and the protection of trees which have the double advantage of being evergreen, and possessing a foliage which does not rot and decompose in autumn. On the west cliff, again, one may live in a house exposed to every wind that blows, in a climate which may very justly be spoken of as bracing.