In general the confined regions on the west of the Andes are dry, whilst the wide countries on the east of that chain are deluged with torrents of rain, from the trade winds blowing over the Atlantic.

Travellers, on the Andes, have sometimes enjoyed a delightful serenity in these elevated regions: at the same time that they have heard the horrid noise of tempests discharging themselves on the level country, they have seen lightnings issue from the clouds, and heard the thunders roll far beneath their feet.

At Lima, rain is seldom or never seen, but a strong dew falls and waters the vallys. The country is much subject to earthquakes; the most dreadful seems to have been that of 1747, when the port of Callao was submerged, and out of 4,000 inhabitants only 200 escaped.

In Brazil the wet season commonly begins in March or April, and is over in August: when the spring, or rather the summer, begins. The nights are very cold; and the nights in summer are colder than in winter.

In Jamaica the rain commonly begins in May. July is always very wet; and toward the end of that month, and the beginning of August, the weather is very close. In September and October hurricanes are frequent.

In Nicaragua it rains six months, from the first of May to the first of November; in the other six months it is hot and dry.

That part of the frigid zone which is inhabited, viz. : Greenland, Lapland, &c. has only two seasons, winter and summer. The night of winter, the sun never appearing above the horizon, is extremely severe. The most rapid rivers are sometimes frozen five or six feet deep or more the largest lakes and bays are frozen to bear any weight,

and rocks often burst by the intensity of the frost. The brilliancy of the stars, the Aurora Borealis, and the full moon, which never sets, make some atonement for the absence of the sun. The long twilight also, which the inhabitants enjoy before the sun rises and after he sets, considerably diminishes the time of their total darkness.

The transition from winter's frost to summer's heat, is very rapid in the frigid zone. The short summer is very warm, but foggy. The continual sunshine now enables the inhabitants to lay up a store of provisions for winter.

The hottest part of the earth is the middle and western parts of Africa. The trade winds, in passing over the extensive sandy deserts of this continent, become heated to an extreme degree before they arrive at the western coast.

The climate, on the western continent, is much colder than it is in similar parallels on the eastern continent.

Canada, in North America, which is nearly in the same parallel with France, has the winters almost as severe as at Petersburgh the river St. Laurence, notwithstanding its breadth, is frequently frozen the whole of the winter, strong enough to bear even carriages upon it. Philadelphia and New York, nearly in the same parallel with Madrid, have often severe winters, but the heat of the summer is excessive.

The cold in the southern hemisphere is much greater than in the northern. The climate of Terra del Fuego is an instance of this: situated as far south as Newcastle is north of the equator; and, therefore, were the degrees of heat and cold proportionable to the latitude, we might expect the summers of Terra del Fuego as warm as ours; yet Captain Cook, who was there at Midsummer, found the cold so excessive, that a party, botanizing on the hills, was in danger of perishing by cold.

The mountains and vast fields of ice, around the South Pole, extend to a much greater distance than those around the North Pole. Navigators have penetrated to within 9 degrees of the North Pole; yet Captain Cook could not get nearer the South Pole than within 18 degrees.

In great continents the weather is more settled than it is in islands: the summer's heat is greater, and the winter's cold is more intense.

In islands the heat is tempered by clouds and vapours from the surrounding sea; but the weather is inconstant. The cold of winter is also mitigated from the same cause, and the frost is generally of short duration. This is particularly the case with respect to Great-Britain.

AMERICAN RIVERS.

Mississippi, reckoning its length to the

most remote branch of the Missouri, 14

What is Geography? What does the surface of the earth contain? How is water divided? How many oceans are there, and how are they situated? What is a bay or gulf? What is a strait? What is a lake?

What is a continent? How many continents are there? What are the names of the four quarters of the world? How many of these are in the eastern hemisphere? What is an island? What is a peninsula? What is a promontory?

OF THE EARTH IN GENERAL.

What is the diameter of the earth? How many millions

of square miles does its surface contain? What proportion of it is covered with water? Which of the four quarters of the globe is the most extensive, and which is the least ? Whether is Asia or Africa the most extensive? Does the most extensive quarter of the globe contain the greatest number of inhabitants? How many inhabitants are there for every square mile in each quarter? How is this

found?

QUESTIONS FOR THE MAP OF Europe.

In what part of the eastern hemisphere is Europe situated? What are its boundaries, and with which of the other general divisions is it connected? Which is the most southern point of Europe? Which is the most northern ? Between what parallels of latitude is Europe situated? How many degrees of longitude does it contain? What is its length and breadth in English miles?

What are the countries in the north of Europe? What are the boundaries and capitals of each? What countries compose the Danish dominions? What are the boundaries and capitals of the six countries in the middle? What are the boundaries and capitals of the four in the south? How many of the countries in Europe are maritime, and how many inland? Which is the most mountainous country in Europe? What part of Europe is situated farthest from the

sea?

What small sea branches out from the Frozen Ocean? What small seas communicate with the Atlantic? What small seas communicate with the Mediterranean?

What are the two gulfs that empty themselves into the Baltic? What bay lies between France and Spain? What gulf separates Italy from Turkey?