^^^ 'iu w^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 I.I ■- IIIM ■ 50 '""^= 1.8 Photographic Sciences Corporation V- A {./ C A -% Ua 1.25 1.4 ji6 ■« 6" ► ^ ,-\ C'^ c\ \ ^ O^ 9) 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ? r lllinil iuipr T II K CLIMATES OF THE .VORTIIWEST. An almost (•(iiitiminiis nsiili'iiff \'<.y uii,y, tli.ni twenty \ri\\y upon (ho rarilic slu|i(' inid in tlic inlci'idr n'i:ion> >.[' tln' ('(>ntincnt, iimch of which arlieul- rs differed so Midel\ from those of the Atlantic ret^ions. that ohservation was awakened find ini|iiiry into tlie causes of dith'rence stin lated. Some (d' the results id' these ohsi'rvatiniis ami im|uiries have ho(>n con- densed in the form id' a leetiuH'. liri( I' notes of which are now jmhiishod more for the heiieiit of those who are iiiijiiirinu for new homes in th(> far west, than I'or seieiitiiie elimatolooist>. If they shall contrihute in any measure to a hetter popular understandinu' of the (dimaiic conditions of the western half id' the Continent, the ohject of their pnhlication will have heen aceompli>iied. Tlie /mis stated in the I'ollowiiiL;- paiies may he n lied upon as suhstan- tially Correct — iiothini;- havim:' heen set down as suidi except the iiersomd ^'hservat: ins of the writer and the experience.^ of most roliahle men lonu' lluniliar with uiven districts ot' counti'y. The reaNunableness of v<(iisrs ulien prest'uti'd. and their suiliciency to produce the results stated, must he driermined hy the reader. it will not he elainu'd that the country known a.~ the •■ (Iroat West " taken as a whole, will comjiare favoi'ahly. acre i'or acre, with the reuion already ])opulated. J)Ut in deli-htfuliiess and salnhrity of climate ma"-- mluvnce ot' scenery ami variety of resources, much of it far e.xcecds any liorlinn , 1' the country lyin-- east of the ■' Fitln'r of Waters;" while the composition of the atmosphere, the general temperature and the suhlimo and strongly contrasted scenery produce an e.xiiheranec id' spirits, a luxury of existence, an intense enjoyment oi' animal lil'e nowhere else experienced uiion the (jintinent. \\ e enjoy ],\ contrast. Hence our stril'e to out-dre.ss. out-huild and out- improve our neiyhhors. A brown-stone house and costly apparel would 4 jirtnnl hut little siitisrii(ti, wiinid a|iii.:ir taini' and iiiinnticc.iMc. Ix cdnii's cx- tronit'lv inttTotini:- wlirn set in a rim nl' Ipri-ilini: nimintains. Tl whicli. with its rrt'ilv ^ll(l^( <. mirv lianLs and ^taunant wattTs, lit'cm IC l.llvO nc- ail ilij.ct id' av iTMon III a cnnntvv Hat I'-ilit'd iiiu nnilivcr-ilit'd |irairi('s, >|iriML;s iiitii life and at cuicc challrii'^i's aliiiilinii when Mil iniiiidtil liy ]irlil)Iy slinrcs. Ill' is {'■Mind m.-tiiiii: aninii^' rurks m- ri|i|iliiii: to the lii'i'c/r in a country divciviliid liy hill and d dc |irairic and Wnndland. ("niitrasl i-tho ruk' lit' tilt.' Wi'st as tainciic-s and uniUiiinily arc i>l' tho Mi>sis>iinii vallry and iniudi nf the Mast. JJiit. as with the ciiiiiirant the ii^rt'iil >ii|ici'S(d(> the iiici'dy hcautit'iil ; and as iiimi. rainu'iil, health and t'nint'iit an' the nlijccts sniifiht hy tlmsc who leave their hmnrs liir a liii' in the West, the siihjeet will be cinisidered ill its practical and ccdnnniical aspects, leaviiiLr a dixaissidii id' the effect.^ dl' varied and cimtrasted scenery, pure water and hii:hly (ixyL;eni/.cd air upon the intellectual and moral, .social and domestic lil'e ol' a people, to the possibilities nt" a future iKcasion. C'limatk. in its more extended sense, cmliraces a <_'reat variety of plio- nouKMia. Hut two of these can be i veii partially considered within the limits of u lecture, viz. : totiptrnlurc and the pniipltatinn of moinUtn- iu the form of rain and snow, with tlu' causes id' their nncipial and irregular distidiution over the repiiiii uinUr eonsiderati'U. The popular mind has accepted a suppusitinn that dej^recs of latitude indicate the rel.itive tempi'ratiire iif localities. N\'hcii. tliendiire. it is.-tated that an unknown locality, like J'uut't Sound nr IJritish ( 'oliimbia, lies iu the same latitude as liabradnr or (.hieliec. the inferi'iici' is at once drawn that it pcisscsses a Itleak and iiihuspitahle crimate. In puint of fact ll conclusion is very far tVnm the truth. Were the earth a perfect sphen lis oU- withoiit protuberances to interlere with the circulatinn nf the air, or c tinents to arrest or coiitnd the lurrciii.-. nf the ucean. then iiiii;ht ]ilacea in correspoiidiiii: lalitudi > have the >aine i liniatc ; but there exist so manv di>turliini: caiisr- lli.ii ilir detcrminalion nf local {•liniates by aiialniiy or inference is whnlly iinprai-licable. raw In orda- to present climatie irregularities tn the eye climatolouist.s il upmi the surface ol' the earth certain liin > termed isot/n riiiu/. I'acli lino passiiiLi' throui:h all ]iniiit> lia\iiiu an eipial avcraLic hiihhkI temperature. iiied I. -io! Ill ml, I i.-i>iliinv Hill. 'I'he isiitlua'al and Other liiii's, iiidieatiiiL; niiied .•nuinin r teiiipi'i'at urrs. art' ter wdiile those applicable tn iriiitir are calki is jchinieiial lines, which, on tin.' ei-terii portinii nf our ('niitincnt. fnlinw !i[i|irn\iiii;ilrl_v tin' liiii"' n{' latitiuli'. liavc ;i rciiiiirkaltli' tniid tn tlic iidrth- Wi'^t iil'tcr li'Mviiiu' llii' nijinii nl' tlic urcnt lik's, wliilc in iirmy [liccs (in till' I'acilic vir.\M tlicv run nriirlv imrtli iiml sinitli. 'I'ln nnrtlicru limit (if .Iil;.l III' \vh' ;it rulturi'. wiiicli is tlic isntlnnil nf ('i(t\ jmrsui's u very iii'\iiiu- (■ iiii'-c 'icruss the Ciintinriii, ('niiinii'iiciiiL:' '>\\ ilic pMcilic cdast at III. 7)1 N'.. ii cxti'iiil^ ;is I'll' ni'i'lii MS |;it. ."id"' in tlic rcjiinn ciist of tlio Kiicky .M'iinit;iiii>. |i;i-scs nm'lli nl' l.;il>r WinMip'tj:-. ami tli.'ncc traverses till' -niitli'i'ii -JiiiH' III' tlu! watcr-^lii il lictw.i'ii Ilinlsiin's li.iy and tlic Lako Siqicriiir li:i>iii. until it rcadu- ilic lipiiulliulc nf .lames liay, wlicrc it I'litors a n-uiiiH kii'iwii mily In huiili'Tnii'ii ami liuntci's. Sn alsu flu' isncliiiiR'nal liii.'. wliii'li pis^i's tiu'nii'jh the city iif Nnrfnlk, \'a.. in lat. IST", crnsscs tho iiuitli.'iii cml iif N'.mcuuvcr island, in lat. .')P — a dlircrcncc of I'lHirteon (Icirrccs. 'I'll iiiidcrstaiid tlio rcasun of these variations nf tenijieratiire, II nrdcr t'l render the >tatcni"iit of fact eredilile, a short in((uiry into tile au 'ihi 's wiiieh eniiti'iil tln' distriluitinn nf heat iini-t lie instituted. Cliinate-i, ^11 i'ar as tcinpcratiiru is fnncerned. depend mainly uiidii th and I roo cause: 1st. The aetinii nf the sun's ravs uiinii the surface id' the earth. 'Jil. The iiinvi'ineiits nt' the e.artli in Its urliit and U|inn its axis. !ld. The tii]ine|';ij,lii,-;(| t'eaturc' nf the earth as to relative elevatinu. and the jin.^itinii and eniifiutiratinn nf eniitinenlal iiia.sses. Tn [iPc-ciit the aetinii nf these eaiisiV in their order, we will suppose tho rotary motion of the earth to In' ,-iipliere. and a constant south ih of the e(|ii itor. \\'iihoiit c'lUiiter currents, this process would wind -oil 'lie nil til" entire at mo-plure in the e(|iiatoi'Ial reeioiis like an imineiiso iiiemitain eh liii. liavine- its axial line on the cipiator and extciidine' east and West around th' ulolie. As it is. this [liliiiu'-up jiroccs-;, resultiiie' frmu ill se atinosplieric movements and the rotary motion ol' the earth, causes an ii|U itorlal atninspherie elevation of almiit I'mir miles. l)Ut as the heated air ascends, it ifiws olf north and south, down the slopes of this atmospheric inounlain vaiiije until it reaches reeious of uivater cold near the poles, wle, re, coiideii-iiiLi'. it '.:raduallv reaches the surl'ace ol' the earth and returns n^;iin (ow;inU the i'i[Hiitnr ii- :i ti'ld -urrari' I'lii iriif. TIiii- ihc >iiii|ili' ndiipii of lilt' .■•im'jH my- wmild imnliii'i iMii»i;iiit .v/^c/i^rc cuiirnt.. IVmhi tliciMilis toWiiiil- till' ciiuatiii'. aii'l (•(iii>taiit tifijur tiirniil- I'lniii ilir i'(|iiitiii' li.\vai'(l> tlu' pule: 'I! If >aiiii' < au>(' wciiilil iH'iiliicr -.Miinuli it Miinlar ori aim- iiinVt UK'lltM, wllicll will l)i' cnii^'hlt rnl III ailotlii r |ila(«'. Till' aitiiHi (if ill. villi's rnv^. wlii'ii takt'ii ;il'i|ii' a- laiiilr.illiii^ tlic (li-lilliiilii'ii nl' lical. WkiiM pivc »'(|Uiil cliiiritic cuinliti'ii' ii|i'ii ri|iial lalil inji'-. It will nadilv Iw >,cii tli;>t this ciiii^laiit arriai ami ai|iiii.ii- riiriilal inii iiiu»l im ililV llh' ri^niv nl' (he pillar i;uiiiii> .Hid ( 1 ill" |i iirlinl >iirl'ai !' llir tr.i|iical ili>trii'l«. Iiidi'i'd. it '.- |iriliilili' til It Wi'iT tlii^ circiilatiiiij inrt.'>trd. ;iiiiiiial lilr wmild lii'Ciiiiu' cxtiiu't witliiii till' ti'ii|iii» aiidaliiiM' lat. Ill', iinitli and mhiiIi, K'iiviiii; liiit twn iiari'iiw lull- of llir iMitir> supfac,. lialiiialilc II;i\iiiu >i itrd llii >iiii|ili' ariinn III' llic .-mr.- heat in |iriidur!ii'^ arilal and iicfaiiic cin'rciil- and llic d.>trilinliiiii nl' trin|i'Talni'i' ii\ri' tin Mui'icc of tliu uliilii', \\i' will n'stnrc lli ■ rdai'v inntiiiii nl' tin' I'artli and nl)>.'ivi' the I'Hi'i't III' tlii> di.-tiirliin;z i':in.-i'. It' ynii niiati' lun wliirl> nl' iinri|ii:d dianu'tiM's lixrd t'l tlu' same axis, ynii will at unci' |M'riTi\r iliai ilm ]iiri|i!i- cry. nr r.slrmir Mirracc nl' llic larurr wlirid ii.i.— i.- l!irnUL:li ;i i:i'catrr ^ipacf ill a 'S\\y\\ tinm tli.in tin' sinallcr — in ntlirr wind- il> prripli' ly llliiVl': I'a.stcr. al-n till' iiiniinii (if till' ('irlli'« >ni'fn'.' in tlir t'i|ii:itnrii III-'' 't'l ill' '.:ri'ati'r di.iiiH roi.rinns is niiicli iiii'iicr inan iicir lln' pnlo, inT Jor III' llu' rntaliii'ji ma-s at lli ■ cijnafnr. As till' atii i>p!l('l't' lllnVc- Imili Wi'-t In ca.-t Willi llir cal'lll 111 It- rnl.l- tiiiii, it fnll'iws that a ciii'i'.'iit ><[' air iiin\iiiu I'rnin ihr pnlrs. win i- ■ lln.' rntai'y iimtinii i> cnniparativi'lv >lnw. tn\vard> thr ciiiiainr. wluri' th.' -aiiic iiKitinii ir- rapid, iiiu^t full luliiinl the ninMim nl "f tin' t;irlli. and. in an ol)st'rv(!r st.itiniK'd in its cniu-M'. app"ar In vwu- \'vn\ thr ra.-lwaid. 'Jdu'rci'nrc. tlif ri.',-nlt nl' a imrll iri'lv cnii'i'iit laliiiiL: lu'liiml tlic rariii s iiin- tinii is tn prndiirc a nnriht'a>t wind. ( >ii llic nilim' hand, llin n]ipi'r cur- rcnts, iiinviii^ fmin the rciiinii ^li' tin' I'arth's '^icatot diaiiit'lir and cnii.-i.'- (pit'iit ^realist nintinii. tiwards the pnlcs, niii rntary inntinii, and app 'ar tn an nl).-t'i'\'.'i' Inrnim. IVnin the wc-i ward. Ilciico »l iiinvc iiln (III i<\' till' rartli' the rt'siilt nf a .-niulicrU- cnrri'iit iiin\ in:: ahead nl' tlif earth'- n inlimi i> to prndiicf a sniithwi'.-i wind. IJiil ihi.- latter wind will imt he felt in the lower latitiidts. luini:' there an upper enrreiit. A- it iimves nnithward however, it heeniiies enoKr and gradually descend.^ until, in the winter when th(^ .-nil i> .-niilli of the eipialnr. it rcaeln s the .-iirfaee in ahmit lat. iiO^. ill the .-iiniiner. when the -nii i> imrth nf the eipialnr and the whnlo iiurtliern henii.'^phere is heated tiji hy ils rays, thi- S. W. wind dne.- iml pmhably reaeli tlu' surface belnw lat. OT) ^ nr Tl aciiiil vnMcX. Mini iinivr- ■.niilliwaiil ,i;:aiii as a imrtliWCKt \v:ii(l Takiiiu' ill' nl'iic ihc aclinii of -..l ir hrai ami tlic iMtavy iiidtinri nf tlio irfli. tn'jvtln r with tlw ri'VuIiilidii i.l' ilir cjirtli ardiiinl tlic sim. ami the niiMini linll ipf it- a\i». Iiri'illlriliu tl ir \ M|,->llUi|i'S 111' III; ^casnlix, \VC slliPll 1(1 iivi' imIiiI'^. \ iriali!'' wiiiil- aiiij Nri'iical niri'i'iil-^. a> tin' I'l'siills nl' cxpaii- ■ li'M. ill till' ri|ii il'irial ri"^iiiii imifhi'a^t wiml' IVmii tin ■.•(' tn la). 'I^t'' or !ir— varialilf w iml- wli' ir tin' S. W . ciirri'iils In ^iu (■> rcarli tin- >iirla('c .1" ■t iH'i'th 111' til,' \. M. w ImK. ami ^muliwot wiml- in uiiitrraml mirlliwfst \viiiil> III ^iiiiiiii'r liirtii' !■ miriu. I iicsc (•iiiiiiiiiiiii> ai'r i'lii iml til exist it I'act \\ h'Ti'Vi'i- nil li-lrimtril I'V I'th'T ili-turl>iii-- I'aii-is. lii'ti ail. li iWi'V'T 'if til'-' lai'th Ih'iiil; a siminlli >iirru'(', ciivorod l)y aa rr''aii I'l' Miiir.riii il ['til. \vi' timl cMHiiiii'iit' ami i-laml- nf irn'Li'ular shape, ;iiiil iim'Vi'iilv (lir-lriliiii'il. m'ciiiiyiii.ij' a cnii-idcraljli' jMirtinti nf the surface. \'a~t riil'_vs jinl |irak- li-i' IV"iii the ilry laiiil tn nli-tnict ami 'livcrt the ■> an I caiViii- III' |irM|'iii!i(l ili'ptlis iiillir'iiciii^' ami \v iml-, ami iMi'i'nW-. 'j:<>v. ifl"!! (■nlltriilllll'J. till' iTialllC (lirrrill-. MMT liivrtinli. Til'-'' 111 till' Id'il III' ill" si'a ill cvci" ;k Mp till' iiii'!''riii .arrial ainl ai|iiciiii< iiinvi'iiu'iits -tat'il ali'i\'i'. ami |ii'"iliirr tin! S'Tiaiii'i' CMiirii-ii'ii nf riin'i'iits. wliicli has li I'll till' -tmlv 'if (Tniial'ilii'.:i-t> aii'l |''i_\>ical ;.'yiiL;raiilii'rs I'lr inaiiy yrai'^' ll caiiii it 111- (I'lti'ilril iliat th' ciiili-iiratiiiii nf mutiiients ami i-t. '1 t -!aml-. .iii'l tlir ilir til' il""li '^IMnVCS ill til'' li"il nl' the lie. au irH'lv lll'lll'llcr tlir dlivrt l"ll ali'l N'M'Tlly nl 1. era I lie ciirri It IS CiiU-H 1"1'. ,'. tlial :iii''-liair if ill" at iii'i- jilii'i'i' tn e;iii~iilir th.' n]ierati.in n[' ih.'>e varinu< eaiises upmi the (•liniati> ii\' the int'.rinr ami we-tern ena-t reiiimi- ni' the Ciuitinent. The I'a ilie neiiii. heiiiL;- the lar-est area mi the .-nri'iee 'if the ulnhe which. I'l'. t sulij"et tn the variatinii.s aii'l in'"'jiilarilii- wlin/li are sn e mininn m uin>i ntlier Inealities, a ml slmuhl inilicite. with the lea.-l ili>l urhanee. the cll'eets nf the (li>trlhut!nn nf snlav ll; at ami the ruLirv iimtinn nf the earth in the prniluctinii nf atninspheric aihi nci.'anic currents. he iirevailuur wiml- i 'f the tciiiperatc znice, wlieiv iiuiil'-tnieieil. hiim: woterly. >hi:ulil Liivc the racitii' cna-t rc;jii>n> nf tlii::' ('"iitiiniit a climate nf greater uiiil'innily ih.aii that which nhtains in the iuterinr auil ca>t'jrn di.-tricts. Such, hv nhservatinii. i> fnuml tn he the case. From the C(|U;ttor tn lat. 12° or 1,1' north. Ikmiil; ;t part nf tin- rrgion of C(|uatorial cal'iis. thcro is liiit little wiml ami that variable. From thenco to lat. 25^. the X. K. trades prevail. On abnut this latitude, the upper southerly current begius to reach the surface in winter and. nioviiip; iu a direction opposite to the N. E. trades, breaks them up and prodncr.s e\ond this limit northward, the S. W. winter winds, which have now reached the surface in full force, sweep forward with almost uninterrupted regularity wherever unobstructed by surface elevation.-. These S. W. \.iiHls. to- gether with the oceanic currents, which will be treatrd ol' presently, fully account for the mildness of the winter-- alonu' the I'aiilic cast from San Francisco to Sitka. As I'ar north as lat. 1'.) \ ilo\ver> lil'iom ;inil vet^etablo life is active far into the svinter ser.son. ]''rosr selil from four to fifteen davs durinti' the cut 111 (■■..iiinues more tnan th ire winter, while ice for domesti uses is the cxceiition rather than tlie rule. Uul little snow fills, not locomotion. T le averau'i' temperature iiiu' ailvaii'M'S cnouiih to oltsti'uet i.r i'aeilitat winter is ."•0". .\s the sun moves n"rtliward ai'i'oss the (^ijuator and spi into summer, the S. W. winter winds -r.i'laally die oni. or I'aiher. iiMve on to the north a-. o]ii|. r curri'iit-;. beinu' enii.-tantly raritied and Ik'M in >u>- 'Wer id' the sun's ravs ; wliile lli" rc'^iuns bvlow pension by ll le inerea-in::' ii are fanned bv v: V v:inalile hree/es. nio.-tlv Iroin tlie westward ni.- \'iew IS 1 alioiit le MMSOll strengthened by the loiiu-dbserved I'act that tln-i' S. W. wind- lii'.-t Ih-l:! to disa]>pear in sprin:;' in tin' reu'ion where thi-y tir>t diji to the eartl lat. 32"^). ami such disappearanet' ste.idily moves northward a> tl advances; while in autumn, they iirst .-irike the eartii lar to tic north .oid back down, as it were, until they sweep aloui: the whol-' eoast as fir as lat. 32° a.u'ain. By the first of June the heat of tlu' sun is sufficient to carry these wind-;, as upper currents, northward to the ]iolar vortex, where, movim:' raiiidly in advance of tln' eartli's rotary motion, they >weep .-irouiid tho pule and. cnolimr gradually, doeeiid -)iir,al N. W. winds, 'i'liesi' winds are fe V to tlie surlaee ovrr V, iii'Mi lliev )ia.-> as It as lar soutji ;i- Int. wlliTe ta 'V enter the bell of vanalil .-. but with eoii-t:intlv d or a-inu f'l r.-e as tlie iii- crea^ Th u' vel'n-itv ol tile earlli s siirriee overt:iki'> tle'ir nioijoii. present is i.ol :i li'.tinu' oec.ision to imluluc too lVe"l\ in .-[lemlat lOUS * I am .nwnr<^ lluit llii- sl.iliMii"Mt i> not (-n'iii'ly in ■' ms 'ii.nii'o witli thf |"ii]iil.ir tliooiirs of tlio liny, imr wi;li tlh' >|ir.iiliil i"ii.< ol Ai,;ury. l^iil ll H |pr''-i'iiii-l :i- aH'Mr.linir. |M'rh;ui-'. :i l"'t- tcr ix]]l;ni;itii.i) '■! |.l.iii luriiii iis tlM'V iiiiiy !..■ .iK-rrvca 'iii llp' I'ai III'' i,\vhrrr i.iii lew ciiii^i's of di.-turliiiii"!' cNJ-i). Ill, III any .jilicr \ : nUc !■,■ 1. l)ut it may ho suiruostod in passiiii;-. tli.it tlic iiortlicrn oxpldratiniis so vig- OriiU: *ly prosoeiitt'd in tlie present ■,\'j:<\ may estalilish tlie e.\l^tell(•(! of tl lis inn betw cen tiiiena oi nicna atiiiospheric vortex north of lat. Tt*'^, ami an intimate cnnmct the atmospherie izyrations tluM'e snppnseil tn exist :in(l the phen the aurora boredliti. Tt is a well-knnwn laet tliat ek'etrieal plu usually accompany rntary movements lA' thr air. During the heated term, from June to Oetuher, these X. "W. winds pre- vail along the coast. Coming iVnm high latitudes and sweeping over a cold ocean, they are cool and dry. mnililying the heats ni' summer and reducing the average temperature to aiiuut (1 1"". 'i'h'' nights are specially n.iticeahle, lieinu' clear and deliciouslv enol , thus eiiabliiii: nature tn restnre the eiier- tie s exhausted duriui^ the dav- Tl lis efiual bilitv of climate ( .'li')^ in winter am 1 (-; r in summer') <^ives the residents of the Clla.■^t districts ;ind esp/cialiy nf Paget Snuiid. the winter; of Niirfiilk. Xn.. the summers o!' Xnva St temperatur. ;ia. and tlie same mean annua i'ekin. liinelin. X.'W Vnrk and Ch lea'i'i. hi' loeatmn ot these great capitals on thi> isothermal wa< not the result ol' accident, nor wholiv of topographic m-ee-sity. 'eit lar'^'','l\' ol' man's intuitive jierceptions in determining the belt of tlie ea;lh'< >urfaee lirst adapied to his physical 1 intellectual development hy promoting li.'iltli .mil li':igevit\ and stiinii- niK Uinu- tiie hiLiiie-t activitn X liUre liei'seii ieis il :nati he loeali tv of the great empnriiun of the I'aeitiv'. and it i- the •■vid lit dostiny of the tenninal c.tv on |'ui:'et >>oun 1 t. wi'i'tliy of it> p ice as a link iii tlie capital chain winch encircles the worM An application of the principal eau.-c whicli produce- lhi> moderation of temp "ratiire mi the P.icilic coast t o \our own loeaii tv will render the fore- going statements more en dihle. VoU have douhlles- ohservi'd that the continuance of southerly winds for a few ilays in winter always brings a thaw. Were tl lese winds ronttnwiitn. as thi'V art the i*aeitic coast at tl lat season, your win tiM's W(Uild he neiirlv. if not unite, as mild .is ours ; the anner won Id forget to provid" hay for his cattle and tli" eartl id h 1 would Deal n earin ■t of perpetual verdure were voiir north\v;'>terlv summer Avinds constant during the heated t ■riii. like oui>. your atino>tp!iere would continue iVosh and cxliilarating and your wiitering-plac-s ;ind >ca->hore re- sm'ts W(nil(l he deserted, for the d'ui-^tar would rag e m \ain. Tlie causes which [n'odinv atnio-pherie movements, al.-o di-tnrh the ([uiet A' th e ocean. All sul)>lance- expind li v In at — w.iler a> well as air nlthou'zh to a iniieli !e; movements in thi> northern ^xtcnt. Hence ari>c the two ju-ineipal oceanic — ih' •■(lull' Sti\M:n" and the leniispn'M'i '■-lapan Current." In the great euuldron of the torrid zone, the water is heated even as high as S.')^. it eonsenuenily expands ami \V)\\> off to the 10 coiilrr n'uiiius — its pliicc h tl ic iKirtii. lini:' su|iji1um1 by coKIlt iiiiil liciivicr water from Tlii^, tn-itlicr with tilt' uix'at auiduiit nt' ('i|uatiirial precipita- tiim. is liuliovrd t»i prtuhuH' the (n'caii curiviits n{' mir liciuisjiliere, which are eruwded aiiaiiist thi,' eastern >liiiivs nt' Imth ruiitliu'uts l)y the iiiutiou _if tl le oartli. tiiitil tluv rrarli It. I S^ til .)(»'-'. \v!n'ri >v their luntiiiu ljrlllt;- til. rcsp.vtiN. iMitiiieiits. UliiVi •liieiit (»f tlir (Julf Stream is wrll iiuderstniid (1 aviii the Carildu'aii Sia and (lulf (if 3Iex b ice. erica!! enast. urailuallv uecdiiiiiii;- au it iniives imrtlicastwarii almiL: th" Aui (ifi'-shiire eiirreiit. until it inipiup - iip^ai the i:raiid bunks nf Ncwfdiiudlaiid, where it is delli.'cled tn ihc ca>r\\arii and. ninvinu' almn:' the snuthcrii de- clivity (if the phitcaii iipiiii which tiic (.cean cable {rmii ^'ir_l:iIl bay to A'al I- eiicia rests, eni-so the Atlaniic and hre. ur A mrtiiin I if its V nllUlh escaiiiii upmi the sill ires of \\'e>ter dat u il; iiver tiie plateau, ukjvcs aluiii;- the northern coast of Ireland and western coast of Scotland. Here we have a niauniticeiit river of warm water carrying the lieat of the tr opics to more friuid region This heat is retained intact to a ureat degree until the current breaks upon the .-lioros, where it is set free, and being carried inland by the prevailing westerly win'ls. render.s all of Cen- tral and Northern Kumpe habitable. Were the (iu!f Stream arrested in its How, the (Jerina. would bccunie a fnizeii ocean, the Ihatish island.-^ would become another Labrador — would eea.se to grow wheat and barley, d the people Wuubl be ubliged to eniiLirate or perish in a frozen wilderness. an While the Atlantic has its ( jUl 'treain, the Pacific has one as much grander as the ocean thro"ugh wdiieh it fl iws. This is called the •■Japan ^'urrent." It takes its rise in the Indian ocean, moves northward alotn' the eastern .shore (A' Asia, as the Atlantic (lulf Stream huirs the American shore, until it strikes upon the Aleutian Islands and Alaskan iVuiinsula. Here it is divided. One portion moves northward through Ikhrini and straits, eastward throuL:h th ■ Arctic ocean, southward throuiijh Baffin'^ sea lay an d 1) ivis ■^traits, and still siuthw.ird aloiiu' our Atlantic coast, uivi us culd northerly and ea-' rly winds and good fish. This accounts for the abundance of iccberiis in the Atlantic while none are ever seen in the Pacific. The Japan current, owiriL oceaa an d f I from the Pacific into the Arctic om thence into the Atlantic, carries all icebergs with it. The other and much larg(!r ji'irtion of the Japan current is bent siutli- ward by the elevated bed of I5eliring sea and the Alaskan p'.minsula. and flows aloim' the western coast of America as an off-shore current, until it strikes umoii Cape .^Iendoeinll, in Califnniia. wdiere a portion turns aga in north wan as an immense in snore ei. J'b-: wnue tl le rem aind er moves oq 11 southward, until, by its greater epocific gravity, it sinks beneath the sur- face, and is hxst. The^e currents are evidenced by the experience of navigators. Vessels loaded with lumber ou Puget sound, and bound for 8au Francisco uud other parts of the world, sometimes encounter srjualls and have to be relieved o^"' their deck-loads. If this occur within fifty or sixty miles of shore, the lumber floats northwardly, towards Alaska ; if at a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, it floats southwardly, towards Mcndiicino. This Japan current does not part with all its caloric during its entire circuit of many thousand miles. The volume of water in mo- tion is so wide and deep, that, after havinu' parted with several degrees of its heat along its uio"e northerly course, it scarcely varies two degrees from ( Jueen Charlotte's Island to San Francisco — a distance of more than a thousand miles. Nor does the summer elevate nor the winter lower its temperature to a greater extent. Observations show that 5(P in winter and 52^ in summer are about its average temperature. Perhaps no other portion of the Pacific coast is influenced to the same extent in its climatic conditions by the Japan currrent as the districts boidcring the waters of Paget sound. This interior body of tide-water, extending nearly two hundred miles inland, having sixteen hundred miles of .shore line, covering at least two thousand square miles of surface, of great depth and ramified by bays, channels and inlets in every direction, has an average tidal rise and fall of about twelve ieet — the extremes boinir eight and twenty-tour. Calculating the area of the sound, it will be I'ou'id that lifty thousand million cubic yards of water are p)ured into ■.i,ud out of it i)y the tide every day. In mid summor. when the other conditions would produce a temperature of 'JO", this vast body of water lit 5:i- is poured in daily, and, being :)>i- colder than the surrounding atmosphere, at once absorbs a portion of the surplus heat, and thus aids the cool northwe.-t breezes in keeping the summer average duwn to G4^. In winter the same volume of water at 50^ parts with its surplus caloric tthenever the atmospheric temperature is below that fiiiure. and thus u:ds the warm southerly winds in keepiu'j: the winter average up to S[)°. Hence, it will be perceived that Paget sound acts as an iujuiense Jwitcr to moderate the rigors of winter, and as a rt'fn]/rnifijr to cool the air dar'U'j; the heated term. This body of water is changed at each ebb and How of the tide. The in-shore current, M'hich sweeps jiast the mouth of the straits of Fuca, carries the outflow olT to the northward, and each ilrod-tide brings into the sound a fresh supply of water ol' uni- iVirm temperature with the Japan current. Proceeding inland from the coast regions of the Pacific, the flimate rapidly becomes modified. Many i.^olatcd localities have climates peculiai* 12 to thcm?)elve!', so that it is impossible to state many general facts of equal applicability to tlie whole country. As a rule it may be stated that the extremes of heat and cold increase inland, but in no regular ratio, nor upon given lines of latitude. Two groat disturbing causes produce these irregularities — the lofty mountain chains which traverse the country, with their spurs and angles, and the difference of altitude of the interior plateaus. A hundred miles inland from the coast, and parallel with it. stands a lofty chain of mountains, known as the Sierra Nevada in (^difornia, and as the Cascade range through Oregon, Washington and Ikitish Columbia. The southwest winds of winter, striking this ranee at an obtuse ande, are bent in their course and ultimately deflected to the west of north, giving them on land the direction of southeast winds. The upper stratum only of this current escapes over the summit of the range to modify thi> climate of the interior. The Kocky mountain range — the vertebral column of the Continent — has a general course east of south and west of north. It is broken into more than a hundred ridges, which, with the subordinate ranges, lie in every possible position, and at all points of the compass. These give direetiun to the prevailing winds and modify the local temperature. The interior of the Cuiitiiient. west of the longitude of Omaha, is a vast inclined plane, declining to tbe north. The elevation at the northern end, in the latitude of the river Saskatchewan, is not much over l.OOO feet above the sea. Southward the surl'ace steadily rises — the (ireat Salt Lake region and 1,]0(» miles of the CDinn and (\'ntral Pacific Railroad being nearly. ">. 000 feet higli — ■i,00(» feet higher than the tops of the Alle- gheny Mountains, while the two summit levels on that route are over 7,000 and 8,000 feet respectively. Further south the table lands increase in height until, upon the plains of Me.vieo, the altitude is about 8,0(10 feet. Ii is well known that temperature diminishes about three degrees for each 1,000 feet vertical. It will thus be perceived that from this cause alone, the region of the Sa.skatehewan, in British America, is 12° warmer than it would be had it the elevation of the I'nion I'acitie Itailmad and 2 [° warmer than if it had the altitude of tlie plateaus of Mexico. The Northern I'aeitic Railroad has an average eliivation o.dllO I'oct less than the Cnion I'aeiliL', while its summit levels respectively are o.OtlH and 4.II00 feet lower. This difference of altitude alone compensates for the dilferenee of latitude. Rut there are other causes which fiperate to render the winters in the vicinity anil to the nortliward of the 4I)th parallel less rigorous, in pro- portion to their latitude, than those in the districts further south, one of which may be stated here. The two principal chains of mountains before i:; referred to attain tliuir ^Tcatest clevutinu butwcon the thirty-sccouJ and forty-fourth parallels of latitude. Further north they are less elevated and present m;iny low and broad passes. In thiiir loftier sections, the-se mountains operate to shut off the v.^arni S. W. winter winds from the in- terior and to defleet them to the \. W. alonjj; the coast. As they sweep on to the northward, the mountain ridires l)ecominir lower and the pnps wider, they escape over the summits and throujih the passes, and thus distribute a portion of their heat over the more northerly interior districts. The constant flow to tlie eastward, iniboine. together with the lower elevation of the more northerly districts, give them a mildness of climate both incomprehensible and inerediide to those who liave given the subject no [lartieul.ar attention. l>ut theory and observations both unite in attest- ing the fact that, from the i'acitic coast eastward to the Mississippi, the winters increase in severity upon any given parallel where disturbing causes, like mountaiu chains or general surl'aee elevation, do not inter- u vcno. Thus St. Paul is the coldest point of oqu;il elt.'vation botwcon the Mississippi and i'uLTot >ound on lliat piiralK'l. Indocd, Deor Lod^o pass, the hinhost suuiinit mi tlie line of the Northern racilic Railroad, affords no lower tlienuoniotric vawj^v than St. Paul. To compare the unfamiliar with the familiar, and thus convey a hcttor practical idea of the temperature of the northern belt across the (,'un- tinent. it niav hi ^talL■d that tl m iiritimc districts of Washinuton Territor}' and Oreiron have tiie winters of Xorfdk, Virginia, and the summers of Nova Scotia. Ivistern Washimrton, northeastern Oresron and northern Maho about the summer and winter tomperatur rth cs ol' central and uortheru Penir^vUania. Montan:i and western Pakota assimilate in avi r- auc trmi'i'ratuit to X t.'W V:>rk and Connecticut, but the valirv~ nf Miiiitaiia lia\i' vrvy lilt].' -n^'W, and cattl' tlirTi' ri'(|uiri' neither winter fiTil- iMu U'lr >llrh tT, Kastern Pikuta. Saskatchewan and .\ssini})oii ic arc vcr' nil ich like M mnesota in temperature, altliougti nnewhat milder than the eastern portion of tluit State. llavinii rapidly noticed some of the more prominent conditions of tem- perature in the rcirion under c insidcration, with tlunr causes, it remains to con-iidcr hi-^tily the Mibj.'cL of p-iriji'f^ifi'i/i. The (juestion of the amount (jf m )i.>tuve d ■ii'..-ited :innu i lly mount intere-t to thosi' wjio contemplate lleat and ninisture u'ivc fiTtility to the s^il 7' up Ml a ixiven area is one of para- .'ttlenuMit m a new country. It mitters little how sterile (list 1 (listnct m IV o,' in \\_r, eaiiv irmutio:i. i ese elements exist in due f th proportion, ultimate t'ertility must be the result. The intra-montane and western portions of (Uir Continent derive their 'i'l ICl'C, moisture trom the va>t mter-tropica! reLiviis ni the Pacific ocean where the teiiqier.iture i.- luLih ami the water surface extensive, an incon- ceivable amount of nioi-ture is taken up by s.dar evaporation. In the northern hemisphere this is carricil iiorthw.ird by the upper southerly 1 current of air. begins to descend with that 1.S th Condi cipitu en carried inl.u nsation. It fo d tb.e current in about lat. •']()' d de am >outhwe<; winter winds, and deposited iiy d ow.> tliat aloie. th co, venty-eiL'ht inciics a Oregon, and nearly ninety inches at Sitka, in Al\ska. The local s ur- 15 rouiulings of the last two [ilacos ^^ive tliein a rain-fall some twenty inclies iu exci'SH of that exclusively due to the prevailing winds. South of lat. W^, where the N. K. trades prevail, and the atmos- pheiio nioveiiient.s are fruiu the land to the sea. distrieth are fnund which are almost rainless. It is doubtl'ul whether artificial processes can ever materially clian<:e this condition. Tree-plantiiiLT niay increase precipita- tion where uioisturebearing winds prevail, which only require to be par- tially arrested and sli;j,htly cooled in orde-r to deposit their moisture. IJut iu districts such as those under con.'^ideration, the atnujsjdieric currents being undercharged with moisture, all artificial aids to precipitation must prove futile, or at least but partially successful. The \'iceroys of Kgypt, during the first half of the present century, planted a large area with trees in the delta of the Nile and quadrupled the rain fall of that district. But the prevailing wind of Kgyjit is from the Mediterranean sea, up the Nile, and the moi.sture intercepted is a part of that which was on its way to be precipitated on the mountains of Abyssinia. Along the maritime districts, from Sun l-'rancisco to Sitka, but little snow fulls, except upon the coast ranges of uioufitaiii, the southerly winds and ocean currents keeping the temperature too high to permit its for- mation. In the spring, when the southwest winds are succeeded by breezes from (he west and northwest, the weather clears up and the dry season sets in and continues, interrui»ted by occasional showers, until early autumn. Those summer showers are more fiecjuent to the northwanl, and totally disappear south of lat. 1"J^. The dry season o!' the coast, and, indeed, also of the interior, is the result of two causes acting together. It has been stated that the summer winds are from the northwest. Ciiming from a small and cold ocean, where the process of evaporation is slow, these winds are cool and comparatively dry. As they move southwardly and inland, they receive a constant increase of temperature, it is a well- known fact that the capacity of atmo.-[iheric air to rctuin moisture iu- crea^es with elevation of temperature. While, therefore, these breezes may distill occasional showers in more nm'thern and cooler districts, a« tlicy move south and inland they become gradually heated, their capacity for moisture increased, and, instead of ]iarting with any, they actually liip up what little surface nmisture is found in their course. A parallel instance is found in the constant northerly wind of the valley of Kgypt, which, coming laden with moisture from the Medit^ir- ranean, fails to deposit it in the valley of the Nile, owing to the constant increase of temperature southward to Aby.-slnia, ujion whose mountains it is eventually precipitated. 10 Thoso X. W. winds di'pitsit sulRciotit moisture alun^^ the iiiaritiiiio dis- tricts of |{riti>h Culiiiubia. Washiii-tnii and Oregon to mature crops of all kinds — the late spriuj; and early autumn showers rcinlevinu artitiriid irri- jjration unnecessary. In most parts of Calirornia, artificial j-rocesses have to he resorted to for the production of bullions and tuherous roots, and indeed all das.-es of veiiotation save the cereals, which mature before the dry season cuts them off. East of the ^reat Sierra Nevada a..d Cascade ran^e, the N. \V. winds of summer are partially excluded, and no moisturebearinu' currents take their {daee for a period of from five t(j nine months, annually, according to the latitude. North of lat. t.")', the .«prinL,' showers mature most of the crops and artilieial irriiiation is resorted to only for the gardens. South of that line irriiratioii b»H;omes necessary for the prii(luction of any sort of vciretation, except aloni: the low uiarLiln of streams which take their rise in the loftier mountain ranges and whose flow is made peren- nial by the melting snows. It is probable that tree-planting may increase the am(nint of summer precipitation along the northerly portion of this vast interior region a3 far south as lat. 4o^, but further south the heat is so great and the atmos- pheric currents so dry that it is doubtful whether forests, unless upon a scale of great magnitude, would reduce the temperature and improve the other conditions snlheient to cause precipitation. Indeed, it is equally doubtful whether tree-culture itself could be made successful except along the margins of the lew I'eeble streams whose constantly diminishing waters are finally lost in the sands of the desert. To the candid mind, therefore, it appears almost certain that southeastern Oregon, southern Idaho, all of Nevada and Utah and a large portion ol' Colorado and Wyoming must re- main as now, hot, arid and treeless wastes, covered with sand or iiicrustcd with saline and alkaline matters, with occasional tracts of bunch grass and sage brush (artemisia ), exee{)t in the isolated localities where irriga- tion is possible. North of this region of desolation, throui:h southern British America, I'akota, Montana, northern Idaho, Wa>hington and northeastern Oregon, the solar heat is less intense, the earth contains less saline and alkaline matter, the surface is more diversified, forests fre((uently appear and ex- perience has already demonstrated the existence ol" a eliniiite adiptcd to all classes of vegetable life necessary i'lr human subsistence. Still IVom the causes .'•tated, largo di>tricts of country far to the imrth are dry and unsuitable for cultivation. These tracts however are clothed with bunch gra.ss (the most nutritious of all grasses) and will afford '• range" for in- numerable herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. It is a common practice 17 with tuauister.-i, tMigau'cil in transporting military and other stores to the interior, to turn out their cuiaeiated and exhausted cattle in autumn to fceek their winter food as best they may upon tliese natural pastures. They invariably iiiid these cattle in sprin'/ thomughly recuperated, in i,'ood con- dition and well prepared I'or another season's labor — thus demonstrating the <|uality oi' the pasturajre, and the additional important fact tliat the amount of snow deposited does not materially interfere with stock grazing. Concurrinu' testimony may be found in the countless herds of buffalo that winter in these northern re^iuns, even as high as lat. 51°. In winter, the Sierra Nevada and Cascade range of mountains ariests the S. W. winds and, like an ice pitcher, eondeases their moisture which falls uj)on its summits and shipes in the form of snow. The greatest (Idpth oi' snow will be found where this atmospheric current is first and most completely arrested, whieli is along the loftier portions of the Sierra Nevada between lat. .'Jl^ and 42'^. Hence, the name of these mountains — ''Deep Snow Range." After the moisture-bearing winds have been bent from their course and deflected to the \. \V., they deposit their moisture along the maritime districts principally in the form of rain. This will account for the diminution of snow northward. The upper stratum of the moist S. W. wind which escapes over the summit of the range is drier than the lower, and barely carries moisture sufhcient to spread a thin coat of snow over the interior plateaus and a thicker coat upon the lofty peaks of the Kocky Mountain ranges. A similar action of highlands upon moist utninsphcric currents may be observed in Australia, where the mountain range which encircles the Continent at some distance from the coast, intercepts the wind, precipi- tates its muisture and makes an arid desert of the interior plateaus. It is a remarkable fact that the snow, which never falls to any great depth upon the intra montane districts of our Continent, imperceptibly but steadily disappears, even during periods of severest frost. With the thermometer far below the freezing j)oint, so that no melting can take place, the breezes seem to lap up the snow until the surface becomes en- tirely bare. This is probably attributable to the extremely dry atmos- phere, which, in the coldest weather, with the aid of the solar rays, is constantly taking up moisture I'rom the surface. East of the Itoeky mountains, and well to the northward, a new element enters into the climatic combination. The N. W. summer winds, which cross the Continent from the north Pacific and Behring sea, meet with but little obstruetion l-i passing over the low and comparatively level dis- tricts of the north, until they reach the region of Saskatchewan, Assini- boiue, eastern Dakota and Minnesota. Here they encounter, face to face, 18 a portion of the N. E. trades from the Atlantic, wliicli. as it enters the Caribbean sea, is diHecteJ north by the lofty chain of the Andes, passes into the Gulf of Mexico, and thence northward up the Mi.«*si.ssippi valley. Wherever the-^e opposint: atinosplioric enrrciit.s meet — the one Cdol and dry, the other warm and nmist — copious precipitation must ensue. This meeting of the winds, and consefjuent summer rain-fall, take place in the re}];ion referred to and account for the anomalous fact that, in those dis- tricts, the summer precipitation exceeds that of winter.' It will be perceived from the foregoint? statements, that the hvM of country from the Mississippi to the Pacific ocean, havinj: the best climate, and consei(uent greatest fertility, lies between the 44th and r)4tli parallels of latitude. Without being too cold to develop the highest activities, it is more generously supplied with moisture than any portion of the country south of it. This is the great cereal-producing belt of the West, and experience has long since demonstrated that human beings gather iu greatest numbers where food is most abundant and cheapest. The future must, therefore, witness the rapid settlement of the region in question, and its early occupancy by many millions of our race. * Note.— TliDSC ill. -iri Ills (.f liiir.^iiinir thi> oiil>i''i't nf rlliiiiitc thriiii^li tlio IMi-Jis.-iiiiil Val- ley a ru rcfcrrotl tn I'rnics.