Note 209-2 — Chapter I

Ritter, Erdkunde VIII, 895; Burger, Reise in Oberitalien, I, 7. The monuments of Nubia have suffered much less from the hand of time than those of Upper Egypt, because the air of the plateau is drier. The effects of climate have been most severely felt in Lower Egypt, where the air is most moist. (Ritter, I, 336, 701.) In the case of wood, on the other hand, dryness may be a great agent of destruction. Thus, in Thibet, wooden pillars, balconies, etc., have to be protected with woolen coverings to keep them from splitting. (Turner, Gesandtsreise, German translation, 393 ff.)