Having thus noticed the subject of temperature, it will be proper to advert to the amount of moisture which the atmosphere contains in different parts of the globe. In the course of this inquiry we shall not make use of the results given by the hygrometer*, because that instrument is neither so well known, nor brought to such a correct standard as the thermometer, but merely give the quantity of evaporation, and the depth of rain that has been observed to fall at several places upon the earth's surface. Other things being equal, evaporation is the more abundant, the greater the warmth of the air above that of the eva-. porating body, and least of all when their temperature is the same. Neither does much take place whenever the atmosphere is more than fifteen degrees colder than the surface upon which it acts. Winds powerfully promote evaporation, because they bring the air into continual, as well as into closer and more violent contact with the surface acted upon, and also, in the case of liquids, increase, by the agitation which they occasion, the number of points of contact between the atmosphere and the liquid. It must be familiar to every person that the same quantity of water spread over a larger space, is dried up in a less period. In the temperate zone, with a mean temperature of 521 degrees, the annual evaporation has been found to be between 36 and 37 inches. At Cumana, on the coast of South America (N. lat. 10), with a mean temperature of 81.86 degrees, it was ascertained to be more than 100 inches in the course of the year; at Guadaloupe, in the West Indies, it has been observed to amount to 97 inches. The degree of evaporation very much depends upon the difference (greater or less) between the quantity of vapour which the surrounding air is able to contain when saturated, and the quantity which it actually contains. M. Humboldt, from observations made in the passage across the Atlantic, found that in the torrid zone the quantity of vapour contained in the air, is much nearer to the point of saturation than in the temperate zone. The evaporation within the tropics is, on this account, less than might have been supposed from the increase of the temperature. The quantity of rain falling upon the earth at any place is determined by observing the height of the water collected in a pluviometer or rain-gauge. When an Derived from the Greek, and signifies mecture of moisture, inch is said to have fallen, it implies that the rain which has descended on any given surface would have acquired that depth, supposing none of it to have been absorbed by the ground, and that it received no addition by means of water flowing from the parts adjacent to that surface. The average yearly quantity of rain is greatest within the tropics; and it seems, in general, to diminish, the farther we recede from the equator. In the torrid zone it amounts, at a medium, to 100 or 110 inches, while in the north temperate zone it cannot be stated at more than 30 or 35 inches. These quantities are very differently distributed throughout the year in the two zones: the number of rainy days towards the equator is, in the majority of places, less than in the higher latitudes, and the rain consequently descends there in the most violent torrents: at Bombay, 16 inches have been collected in a gauge in the space of twenty-four hours. In general, much more rain falls in mountainous countries than in plains, and in countries covered with extensive forests than in those where wood is less abundant. Annexed, is a table of the annual quantities which have been observed at several places. Mean annual quant. of rain. Kendal, Westmoreland 544 It The average annual fall of rain at Bombay in the ten years 1817 to 1826, was 78:1 inches; of those years the most rainy was in 1822, in the course of which nearly 113 inches fell whereas in 1824, a season of extreme drought and famine, the supply did not much exceed 34 inches. At Arracan, in 1825, nearly 60 inches were registered in the month of July, and above 43 in August; from which we may conclude, that the whole quantity within the year was at least 150 inches. would seem, however, that at some places within the tropics the fall is much more copious even than this. Humboldt, on the authority of others, mentions two instances of such excessive rain as almost to induce a suspicion of the correctness of the observations. He informs us that a M. Pereira Lago, by means of a pluviometer, found the quantity of rain, in the year 1821, at San Luis do Maranhao, in Brazil (S. lat. 24), to be 2801 inches; and also, that Captain Roussin relates the fact of more than 160 inches having fallen at Cayenne in the single month of February.-(See vol. vi. of the Translation of Humboldt's Personal Narrative, Note to p. 276.)-At the same time, these accounts appear less surprising when we reflect, that over some of the immense forests of Guyana there is wet weather almost the whole year, and that incessant rains of four or five months are no uncommon occurrence. It must not, however, be imagined that the climate of all hot countries is characterised by such abundant rains; for there are many which, from one year to another, are either almost or entirely destitute of rain. This is the case along an extent of several hundred miles of the coast of Peru, in Egypt and many other parts of Africa, and also in the desert tracts of Arabia. At Cumana, on the North coast of South America, the annual quantity of rain is scarcely 8 inches; and there are other places on the shores of that continent where none falls for several years, but where, nevertheless, vegetation is exceedingly strong, owing to the humidity of the atmosphere. It is well known that the air becomes drier and less loaded with vapours, the higher we ascend. On looking from the top of the Andes towards the Pacific Ocean, a haziness is often seen, spread uniformly over the surface of the waters to the height of 9500 or 11,500 feet; and this, too, in a season when the atmosphere, beheld from the coast and at sea, appears quite pure and transparent. This decrease of vapour in the upper regions of the atmosphere, combined with the rarefaction of the air, is the cause of the beautiful deep tint which the sky assumes when viewed from the summits of lofty mountains. Small white fleecy clouds are sometimes, however, seen floating above the Andes at the height of 25,000 feet; from which we may judge, that even on the tops of that range the colour of the sky is not so pure as it would appear, if it were possible for an observer to attain a further elevation. In passing also from the temperate to the torrid zone, the azure hue of the sky is found to augment progressively the transparency of climate which is so much admired in Italy and Greece is far surpassed by that which invests the plains of Quito and Peru, or the fertile islands of the Pacific Ocean. In the torrid zone, the temperature ranges within comparatively small limits; and the various phenomena of the atmo sphere occur, from one year to another. with a regular and uniform succession unknown in this part of the world. Two seasons, the dry and the rainy, divide the year. The latter depends upon the presence of the sun; countries north of the line have their wet season when that luminary is in the northern half of the ecliptic, that is, from April to October; while with southern countries it is exactly the reverse. We cannot fail to be struck with this admirable arrangement for. affording shelter from the perpendicular rays of the sun, the unrestrained influence of which would be quite insupportable. Humboldt has given us an account of the atmospheric appearances which succeed each other in that part of South America lying between 4° and 10° of north latitude, and to the east of that branch of the Andes which terminates on the Atlantic side of the lake of Maracaybo. Nothing can surpass the clearness of the atmosphere from the month of December to that of January. The sky is then constantly without clouds; and if one should appear, it is sufficient to excite the whole attention of the inhabitants. The breeze from the east and the east-north-east blows with violence. The immense plains (called Llanos), which in the rainy season display a beautiful verdure, gradually assume the aspect of a desert; the grass is reduced to powder, the earth cracks; and the alligator and the large serpents remain buried in the dried mud till the first showers of the year awaken them from their lethargy. About the end of February, and the beginning of March, the blue of the sky becomes less intense, the hygrometer indicates greater humidity, and the stars, veiled at times by a slight vapour, lose the steady and planetary light which before distinguished them. The breeze at this period becomes less strong and regular, and is often interrupted by dead calms. The clouds accumulate toward the south-south-east, appearing like distant mountains, with strongly-marked outlines; and from time to time they detach themselves from the horizon, and traverse the vault of the sky with a rapidity that little corresponds with the feebleness of the wind below At the end of March, the southern region of the atmosphere is illuminated by gleams of lightning; and the breeze then passes frequently, and for several hours together, to the west and south-west. This is a certain sign of the approach of the rainy season, which begins at the Oroonoko about the end of April. The sky be 42 comes obscured, the azure disappears, and a grey tint is spread uniformly over it;-at the same time the heat progressively increases; and soon, dense vapours cover the heavens from one end to the other. The plaintive cry of the howling monkies begins to be heard before the rising of the sun. The atmosphere is at length convulsed by frequent thunder-storms, the rains descend in torrents, and the rivers, rising rapidly above their banks, overspread the plains with extensive inundations. The occurrence of these periodical rains is capable of being explained in a We have revery simple manner. marked that they always take place in that half of the torrid zone to which the sun is vertical at the time; and that in the northern half they are preceded by the gradual subsidence of the north-easterly breezes, which are followed by calms, interrupted frequently by stormy winds from the south-east and southwest. While the north-east breeze blows with all its strength, it prevents the atmosphere over the equinoctial lands and seas north of the equator from being saturated with moisture. The hot and moist air rises above, and the north-east current continually supplies its place with colder and drier strata. In this way, the humidity of the northern torrid zone, instead of being accumulated and forming condensed vapours, ascends, and flows towards the temperate regions; and, accordingly, while the north-east breeze retains its force, which is when the sun is present in the southern_signs, the sky is constantly serene. In proportion, however, as the sun passes over the equator towards the tropic of Cancer, the north-east breeze softens, and by degrees entirely ceases, because the difference in temperature between the northern temperate and the torrid zone is then at its least. The breeze having ceased, the humid air is no longer replaced by drier air from the north; and, under the powerful action of a vertical sun, the vapours rapidly accumulate, till they at length descend in violent rains. This state of things continues till the sun re-enters the southern signs; then is the commencement of cold in the temperate zone, and the current from the north sets in again, -because the difference between the warmth of the equinoctial and that of the temperate regions daily increases. By this current the air of the northern torrid zone is renewed; the rains cease, the vapours disappear, and the sky resumes its clearness and serenity of aspect. These remarks are principally intended to refer to the seasons in the northern part of South America; but, with certain exceptions, they may very nearly be applied to those of the whole torrid zone of course bearing in mind that, south of the equator, the rainy season is from October to April, and that the south-east corresponds to the north-east breeze of northern countries. The period of commencement of the rains is not exactly the same everywhere; and there are places where great anomalies are occasioned by the existence of chains of mountains which attract the vapours and alter the direction of the winds. In the West Indies, and also on some parts of the American continent, two wet seasons are distinguished; one of these, however, is of much shorter duration, and has much lighter rains than the other. In India, the rains are brought on by the southwest monsoon. The four seasons which we distinguish in this country are known only in the temperate zones. Their succession is the most regular and perceptible from the 40th to the 60th degree of latitude; but in this we speak of Europe only, for both in America and Asia à much shorter interval separates the heat of summer from the cold of winter. That part of the northern temperate zone, which lies between the tropic of Cancer, and latitude 35°, has, in many places, a climate resembling that of regions within the tropics. In Europe, even as high as the 40th degree, the frost in the plains is neither intense nor long-continued; the trees are not stripped of their foliage above two months in the year, and although snow sometimes falls at the level of the sea, even in the 37th degree (at Malaga, for example), it is an occurrence very unusual. From the 60th degree of latitude to the pole, only two seasons take place. A severe and protracted winter is succeeded immediately by the warmth of summer. The rays of the sun, notwithstanding the obliquity of their direction, produce powerful effects, because the great length of the days is favourable to the accumulation of heat. Even in very high latitudes, the tar on the ship's sides is sometimes melted and made to run down by the sun's action. In the north of Europe the snow is generally dissolved in three or four days, and the flowers almost immediately begin to blow. The breaking up of the thick field of ice which is annually spread over the surface of the arctic ocean, commences in the month of June, and at this season dense fogs are very common, owing to the surface of the water being colder than the air lying over it. These at length disperse, and a short interval of fine weather ensues; but, before the close of August, the approaches of winter are perceived; snow falls; and, as the temperature of the atmosphere declines more rapidly than that of the sea, fogs, called the frostsmoke, again arise, which disappear only when the ice has begun to extend itself over the clear spaces of the ocean. It is worthy of remark that, even in the circumpolar regions, the west of Europe still maintains its superiority of temperature over the east of North America; for the sea off North Cape in Norway, though in the 72d degree of latitude, is always open, whereas several degrees further south, off the shores of America, it is annually frozen over. On the Distribution of Vegetables- The wide extension of vegetable life It is thought that even perpetual snow may be the abode of a species of vegetation; for Saussure discovered in it a reddish dust, and a red colouring matter has frequently been observed in snow by navigators in the arctic regions*. The absence of light does not altogether prevent vegetable existence; caverns and mines produce certain plants, principally those of the cryptogamous class. In the cave of Caripe, situated to the south-east of Cumana in South America, the seeds, which are carried in by the nocturnal birds called Guacharoes, spring up at the distance of several hundred yards from the mouth of the grotto, wherever they can find mould to fix in. Blanched stalks, with some half formed leaves, rise to the height of more than two feet; but M. Humboldt, who observed them, could not ascertain the species of these plants, their form and colour being so much changed by the absence of light. Vast fields of marine plants spring from the depths of the ocean, especially towards and within the tropics; the vine-leaved fucus vegetates at the depth of 200 feet, and, notwithstanding, has leaves as green as those of grass. In the Atlantic, between the 23d and the 35th degrees of latitude, and in the 29th and 30th of longitude, the fuci float on the surface in such numbers as to give the appearance of an immense inundated meadow. It is supposed, by many botanists, that they grow at the bottom of the sea, and float only in their ripened state, when torn off by the motion of the waves or otherwise. Extreme heat is not destructive of vegetation, provided that it be accompanied by humidity. Plants grow, not only on the borders of hot springs, but even in the midst of waters which we should have supposed to be quite unsuited to their This cir Captain Parry, in his Narrative of the attempt made in the year 1827 to reach the North Pole, mentions some striking examples of this appearance."In the course of this day's journey, we met with a quantity of snow, tinged, to the depth of several inches, with some red colouring matter. cumstance recalled to our recollection our having frequently before, in the course of this journey, remarked that the loaded sledges, in passing over hard snow, left upon it a light rose-coloured tint, which, at the time, we attributed to the colouring matter being pressed out of the birch of which they were made. To-day, however, we observed that the runners of the boats, and even our own footsteps, exhibited the same appearance; and on watching it more narrowly in a greater or less degree, by heavy pressure, on al afterwards, we found the same effect to be produced, most all the ice over which we passed, though a mag- existence. Examples of this sort occur in Iceland and many other countries. Even sulphureous exhalations are not fatal to vegetation: it is reported that the interior of the crater of Vesuvius, after a long period of repose, was in 1611 covered with shrubs. The greatest obstacle to it is the absence of moisture; those sandy tracts where rain seldom or never falls, and where the soil is constantly being shifted by the winds, exhibit a hopeless sterility. The verdure of the oases, or islands of vegetation, scattered over some parts of the African desert, is maintained by springs which rise up to the surface of the ground. The chemical nature of the soil influences the size and vigour of plants rather than sets limits to their cultivation. Common salt, however, dissolved, and scattered over the earth in large quantities, almost entirely prevents their growth. The fusion which lava un dergoes is probably the reason why the progress of vegetation on its surface is so long retarded; whereas, from the ashes thrown out by volcanoes, the most abundant crops are raised. The scale of atmospherical heat is that which ordinarily determines the character and progress of vegetation. Hence, under the fierce climate of the torrid zone, we need only ascend lofty mountains, to a certain height, in order to behold the trees, fruits, and flowers of the temperate zone; while still higher are found those of the frigid zone. The low vallies of the Andes, towards the equator, are adorned with bananas and palm-trees, while the elevated parts of the chain produce oaks, firs, and several other tribes common to the north of Europe. Near the equator, the oak grows at an elevation of 9200 feet above the sea, and never descends lower than one of 5500 feet; but, in the latitude of Mexico, it is seen as low as 2600 feet. From the height of about 15,000 feet, to the boundary of perpetual congelation, lichens are the only plants visible. Similar gradations, on a smaller scale, are observed among the Alps; on ascending which, chesnuts, beeches, oaks, and pines occur in succession, the last gradually becoming stunted till they disappear not far from the border of perpetual snow. The vegetation which covers the sides of mountains may be divided into distinct zones or bands, each zone containing its peculiar tribes. On the volcano of Teneriffe, one of the Canary Islands (N. lat. 281°), as many as five of these zones are distinguished*:-(1) the Humboldt's Personal Narrative, vol. i. region of vines; (2) of laurels; (3) of pines; (4) of the retama (an alpine broom); and (5) the region of grasses. These zones are arranged in stages, one above another, and occupy, on the declivity of the Peak, a perpendicular height of 11,200 feet. In the equinoctial region where, in respect of warmth, the seasons differ little from each other, the geographical distribution of plants is regulated almost entirely by the mean temperature of the whole year; but in the temperate zone this distribution depends not so much upon the mean temperature of the year as upon that of the summer season. In Lapland, there are fine forests on the continent at Enontekies, where the mean annual temperature is only 27 degrees, while on the island of Mageroe, where it is more than 32 degrees, only a few scanty shrubs are to be seen. The more vigorous vegetation of Enontekies is the effect of a warmer summer; the mean temperature of July being there 5910; whereas, at the isle of Mageroe, it is only 4630. Some plants in summer require a certain degree of warmth only for a short period; for others, a more moderate warmth is sufficient, if it be of longer duration. The birch and the pine afford an example of this difference. The former tree does not put forth its leaves till the temperature has risen to about 53 or 54 degrees; and in all places where the mean summer heat falls short of this, the birch cannot flourish, however great may be the mildness of the winters. Such is the case on the island just mentioned, and in other parts of Lapland. pine, on the contrary, requires a long rather than a warm summer. In the interior of Lapland, where the summer, though short, is warm, the birch rises much nearer the line of perpetual congelation than the pine; out in the Alps and other high chains in lower latitudes, where the summer is of longer continuance but colder, the pine is seen after the birch has entirely disappeared. The The frigid zone contains but few species of plants, yet of these the vegetation in summer is extremely rapid. The ver dure of those countries, which lie within the polar circle, is confined chiefly to the hills having a southern aspect, and the trees are of very diminutive growth. Besides mosses and lichens, there exist ferns, creeping plants, and some shrubs yielding berries of an agreeable flavour. The arctic regions of Europe are peculiarly favoured; for, in certain parts of Lapland, there are |