CLIMATE.
XXV
grows rapidly and to an astonishing height), the Orange, the
Lemon, and a large variety of Palms also flourish.
The geological character of the Riviera is also of sanitary signi¬
ficance. The prevailing formation is limestone, which absorbs the
sun's rays with remarkable rapidity and radiates it with equal speed,
thus forming an important factor in making the most of the winter-
sunshine. On account of its softness it is also extensively used
for road-making, and causes the notorious dust of the Riviera, which
forms the chief objection to a region frequented by so many per¬
sons with weak lungs. The authorities of the various health-resorts,
however, take great pains to mitigate this evil as far as practicable.
After heavy rain the roads are apt to be very muddy.
The advantages that a winter-residence in the Riviera, in contra¬
distinction to the climate of northern Europe, offers to invalids and
delicate persons, are a considerably warmer and generally dry at¬
mosphere, seldom disturbed by storms, yet fresh and pure, a more
cheerful sky, and comparative immunity from rain. The 'invalid's
day', or the time during which invalids may remain in the open
air with impunity, lasts here from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The general
effect of a prolonged course of open-air life in the Riviera may be
described as a gentle stimulation of the entire physical organism.
It is found particularly beneficial for convalescents, the debilitated,
and the aged ; for children of scrofulous tendency ; and for the mar¬
tyrs of gout and rheumatism. The climatic cure of the Riviera is
also often prescribed to patients with weak chests, to assist in the
removal of the after-effects of inflammation of the lungs or pleurisy,
or to obviate the danger of the formation of a chronic pulmonary
discharge. The dry and frequently-agitated air of the Riviera is,
however, by no means suitable for every patient of this kind, and
the immediate vicinity of the sea is particularly unfavourable to
cases of a feverous or nervous character. The stimulating effects of
the climate are then often too powerful, producing sleeplessness
and unwholesome irritation. The dry air of the Riviera di Ponente
is also prejudicial to many forms of inflammation of the wind-pipe
and bronchial tubes, which derive benefit from the air of Nervi,
Pisa, or Ajaccio. Cases of protracted nephritis or diabetes, on the
contrary, often obtain considerable relief from a residence here.
One of the advantages of the wintering-places on the Riviera
is the presence of good English and German physicians, most of
whom have themselves undergone the beneficial results of a resi¬
dence here, and are consequently able to use their own personal ex¬
perience in giving advice as to the choice of a dwelling, the proper
diet, and the amount of time to be spent in the open-air.
The season on the Ligurian coast lasts from about the beginn¬
ing of October to the middle of May. In September :it is still too
hot, and in March it is so windy that many patients are obliged to
retire farther inland, e. g. from Cannes to Le Cannet, or from Nice
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