land above enjoys a fine temperate air; and the summits of its mountains resemble the polar regions. Buenos Ayres has a fine climate.

748. In the elevated regions of the southern United States, lying among the Allegany Mountains, the Temperate Region of the Middle States extends as far south as 31°. From this circumstance, Tennessee enjoys a temperate, delightful climate; and the neighbouring parts of Georgia, and the Carolinas which lie on the sides of the mountains, are also free from the exces sive heats and violent diseases of the low country.

749. South Africa and New-Holland, which are the only portions of the eastern continent, lying within these regions in the southern hemisphere, have been little explored. The mean annual temperature is the same as in the northern hemisphere, so far as has been ascertained. From their insular situation, their climate is more moist; and is liable to great irregularity from the effects of winds and currents in the oceans which surround them.

TEMPERATE REGIONS.

750. Temperate Regions extend from the northern limit of the olive and fig, to that of the wine-grape; and the mean temperature varies from 50 degrees on the northern border, to 59 degrees on the southern. The transition from winter to summer is here gradual, and the four seasons are distinctly marked. The winter is usually from 3 to 4 or 5 months, in the northern parts, attended with a considerable quantity of snow; and the waters are frozen a part of the time. In the southern parts, the winter does not exceed 2 or 3 months, and the quantity of snow is small. Grain, vegetables, and many fine fruits are pro

duced in abundance.

751. The countries included in this region on the continent of Europe, are France, Southern Germany, Austria, and Southern Russia. They are exempt from the excessive heat of summer. They also enjoy mild and open winters, with little snow, and rarely have their rivers frozen. The weather is more uniform than in the United States, and remarkably salubrious.

Switzerland, which lies in this region, has every degree of cold beyond this, to that of perpetual snow. Many of the valleys are excessively hot in summer, and the climate universally depends more on the elevation and exposure, than on the latitude.

752. The maritime climates of England, Ireland, and the Southern Netherlands, which are included in this region, are

The heat of the

distinguished by a great degree of moisture. vapours tempers the cold of winter. The harbours of England are rarely frozen. In Belgium, in latitude 52°, and even in Edinburgh, latitude 57°, the winters are milder than in most parts of Lombardy. The cloudiness of the sky and the frequency of showers, also diminish the heat of summer.

Though not liable to extremes of heat and cold, they are subject to frequent changes, especially in those parts which are exposed to winds from the ocean. The spring commences early and [129] opens gradually; and in England, it is the most delightful season of the year.

753. The moisture is so great in these islands, and in the Nether lands, as to swell the furniture brought from dry countries, and to produce rust very speedily on metallic instruments.

Such

climates are adapted to the production of pasturage, and the fields are distinguished by their beautiful, and continued verdure. Fruits ripen with difficulty; and harvests are often injured by the moisture and rains.

754. In North America, the Temperate Region includes the southern part of New-England and the Middle States, with the more elevated regions of Maryland and Virginia, and the Western States on the Ohio. Tennessee, and the western parts of the Carolinas, partake of the same climate from their elevation.

The mean annual temperature is the same as in this region in Europe; but it is differently distributed. In the Atlantic states, the climate is marked by extremes of heat and cold, resembling the south of Europe in summer, and the middle regions in winter. But the weather is variable, and neither lasts long at a time. Philadelphia has summers as hot as Montpelier and Rome, while its winters are like those of Vienna. New-York has the summer of Rome, and the winter of Copenhagen. Quebec is as warm as Paris in summer; and as cold as Petersburgh in winter.

755. The eastern coast of Asia appears to be characterized by equal or greater extremes of temperature. Pekin is hotter than Cairo in summer; and as cold as Upsal in Sweden, in winter.

756. The Atlantic states are sheltered by no ranges of mountains on the north, east or south, and hence the climate is variable. The cold of the northern regions, the heat of the southern --the moisture of the sea air, and the dryness of the mountainous regions, are alternately transported to them by the winds. The changes are frequent and sudden; and give rise to many diseases from which more settled climates are exempt. The winters are short, and often wet. The spring is damp and chilly; the sum

mer has excessive heat, during the day, and usually cool nights. The autumn is a serene, delightful season, often extending to the latter part of December.

757. From the influence of the great lakes, the Temperate Region extends farther north in the interior, than on the coast; and beyond Lake Erie, reaches to the latitude of the southern point of Lake Huron. The states west of the Alleganies, and especially in the mountainous districts south of Pennsylvania and the River Ohio, are not liable to the same extremes of heat and cold. The winters are commonly milder, and cattle remain abroad through the year. The spring is earlier, and the weather is generally more serene and settled. But the basin of the Mississippi is open to the winds from the Torrid and Frozen Regions, and is therefore liable to very great changes. The temperature has sometimes varied on the Mississippi, 60 degrees in the course of a month; while in Philadelphia, Washington, and Detroit, the variation in the same month was only from 30 to 40 degrees.

[130] 758. The basin of the Columbia River, and the western declivity of the Chippewan Mountains, almost resemble Europe in mildness. The rivers do not freeze until January, at Nootka Sound; and the first frost observed by Lewis and Clark, at the mouth of the Columbia River, was in this month.

COLD REGIONS.

759. Next to the Temperate is the Cold Region, which commences with the northern limits of the wine-grape, in Europe, and extends to those of the oak. In Asia, it includes the southern part of Siberia-in Europe, the middle of Russia, Poland, Prussia, Northern Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, the southern part of Sweden and Norway, and Scotland. In North America, it embraces the British Provinces chiefly, with the most northern portion of the United States.

760. In this region, the transition from heat to cold is sudden; and spring and autumn are scarcely distinct seasons. The cold of winter is severe, from September to the middle or last of May. The temperature of Stockholm and Petersburgh is below the freezing point, nearly six months in the year; and the waters are usually frozen during this period.

Thunder and light

Winds are seldom violent in the interior. ning are rare. The Aurora Borealis is frequent and brilliant. The air is keen and penetrating, but clear and salubrious; and the climate appears remarkably favourable to long life.

Even in the middle portions of Russia, when a person walks out in severe weather, the eye-lashes become covered with icicles, from the water that flows from the eyes; and the vapour of the breath is congealed on the beards of the

peasants, so as to render them solid lumps of ice. The cold is remarkably steady; and it is said that it is more easily endured than that of milder climates, which are subject to frequent changes. The snow is permanent; and the sled roads afford a rapid and easy mode of transportation through the winter. Even the Baltic is sometimes frozen over, so as to be passed by travellers. In Nova Scotia and Canada, the rivers freeze to the thickness of several feet, and snow lies through the winter; while in France, in the same latitude, snow is rare, and the rivers are seldom frozen at all.

761. Little vegetation appears in the interior, before June, and then springs up immediately after the snows are melted. The summers are short, but hot, and sometimes oppressive. They are as warm at Moscow, as in the middle of France. The climate is adapted to the coarser grains; but it will produce wheat generally; and in Denmark, and on the southern shores of the Baltic, this grain flourishes. It is best adapted, especially in the northern parts, to grass and pasturage, and is remarkable for its brilliant verdure.

762. The climate of the islands and coasts of this region is moderated, as usual, by the ocean. The lakes of the Faroe Islands are seldom covered with ice. The winter at the North Cape is milder than at Petersburgh; and Sweden is generally milder than Russia. In Denmark, and the Netherlands also, the winters are comparatively mild; and the harbours on the coast of Norway are rarely frozen. Scotland has also less cold than the continent. But Scotland and Norway are subject to violent storms, which sometimes bury travellers and shepherds in the snow. In Norway, their fury is such that they extinguish fires, [131] and rock the very houses. The heat of summer in these countries is also much diminished, by the clouds and moisture of the air, and the breezes from the sea. In Denmark and the Netherlands, the sky is generally covered with clouds; and on the eastern coast of America, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia are remarkable for the frequency of their fogs; but still these countries are generally healthful.

763. We are not well informed concerning the climates of the southern parts of South America; but at least the southern extreinity, and the islands, appear to resemble the Cold Region north of the equator. The extent of the ocean gives a peculiar character to the seasons in the southern hemisphere. In latitude 48°; the summer temperature is the same as the winter temperature of Toulon, Cadiz, and Rome. In Van Diemen's Land, which corresponds to Rome in latitude, the summers are 10 degrees colder, and correspond to those of Paris. In Patagonia, between 48° and 52° of latitude, the heat of the warmest months is not more than 42.5; while at Petersburgh, in latitude €0° it is 66, and at Upsal, 60.

Snow and ice are more common and permanent in this hemisphere for want of summer heat. Snow has been seen at the Straits of Magellan in mid-summer, when the day was 18 hours long; indeed it falls almost every day through the summer in 52° or 53° latitude; and the thermometer is rarely above 52 degrees. Most of the islands south of S. America, are covered with perpetual ice.

In Lapland, pines grow 60 feet high in latitude 70; but at the Straits of Magellan, a tree of that height is unknown. In Terra del Fuego, Byron found in December (their mid-summer) a temperature like that of winter in England. When Sir Joseph Banks visited this country, two of his attendants died of extreme cold, in a night in January; which corresponds to our August.

764. The winters are not so much colder than those in the northern hemisphere, as the summers; and in some places they are warmer. Thus in Van Diemen's Land the winters are milder than those of Naples. In the Falkland Islands, latitude 51° 25', the winters are milder than in London; so that the mean annual temperature is higher than in the same latitude in North America.

FROZEN REGIONS.

765. In latitude 70o in Europe, the birch, the hardiest of trees ceases to grow, and man is compelled to give up cultivation. The remainder of the northern Frigid Zone, and the neighbouring portions of the Temperate Zone, form the Frozen Region which extends to the limit of the oak. It is distinguished by the intensity of the cold, but is not entirely destitute of vegetation or inhabitants.

Within the polar circle the summer is almost perpetual day; and the winter almost perpetual night. Spring and autumn are the dawn and twilight, which differ little from the winter in cold. The darkness of winter is much diminished by the length of twilight, and especially by the peculiar brightness of the moon [132] and stars, and the Aurora Borealis, or northern lights; which enable them, in many countries of this region, to continue their hunting and other labours, through the night.

The Aurora Borealis assumes every variety of colour and form. Sometimes there is a single, steady stream of light, shooting from one side of the hemisphere to the other. Generally, there is a brilliant central spot along the horizon, from which long columns or pyramids of undulating light, shoot up towards the zenith. They often unite at some point above, from which other streams issue with fresh splendour, and in new varieties of form. So singular and fantastic are these appearances, that the northern barbarous nations call them "the dance of the spirits."

This beautiful phenomenon occurs throughout the Frozen Region frequently; and indeed extends sout to the Warm Region; but its brilliancy is gradually diminished in going towards the equator.

766. In Greenland, Lapland, and the coldest countries of this region, brandy and mercury freeze dog the winter; and masses