In Persia winter begins in November and lasts till March: the cold is intense enough to form ice: much snow falls on the mountains, and often a little in the plains. From March to May the winds blows with great violence, and bring heat with them. From May to September, the sky is serene, and the heat moderated by fresh breezes, which rise every evening and remain till morning. In autumn they have violent winds, like those of the spring; nevertheless, although these winds are very violent they scarcely ever produce tempests or hurricanes; but in summer there often arises along the Persian Gulph a very dangerous wind, called by the natives Samuel; it is still hotter and more terrible than that of Egypt. This wind is mortal, and acting like an inflamed vapour, it suffocates every person unfortunately enveloped within its vortex. In summer there also rises a wind of the same kind along the Red Sea, which suffocates men and cattle, and which conveys so great a quantity of sand that many persons conceive this sea will in time be choaked up with what falls therein. There are often clouds of sand in Arabia which darken the air and form dangerous whirlwinds. At Veru Cruz, when the hot north winds blow, the houses of the town are almost buried under the sand. In summer hot winds rise also at Negapatam, in the peninsula of India, likewise at Petapouli and Masulapatan. These burning winds, which destroy people, are fortunately of short duration, but they are very violent, and the greater swiftness they come with the more dreadful are their heats, whereas all other winds refresh so much the more as their velocity is greater. This difference proceeds from the degree of heat in the air, for while the heat of the air is not so great as that of the body of animals, the motion of the air is refreshing; but if the heat of the air exceeds that of the body, then its motion heats and burns. At Goa the winter, or rather the rainy and tempestuous season, is May, June, and July, and without which rains the heat would be perfectly unsupportable in that country. The Cape of Good Hope is famous for its tempests, and the singular cloud which produces them. This cloud appears at first like a small round spot in the sky, called by the sailors the Ox's Eye. Probably its appearing so minute is owing to its exceeding great height.