On the Hot Springs of the Cordilleras of the Aiules. 15S 



month of February. It appears, therefore, that in the short 

 period of twenty-three years, the springs of Mariara and Las 

 ■< Trincheras have received an addition of several degrees to their 

 temperature. It is remarkable that during the interval between 

 the travels of M. de Humboldt and Messrs Boussingault and 

 Rivero, Venezuela was visited by the earthquake of the 26th 

 March 1812, which destroyed the town of Caraccas, and indeed 

 all the towns situated on the eastern Cordillera, and caused the 

 death of upwards of 30,000 individuals. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE LATE DR ALEXANDER TURNBULL CHRISTIE 



IN INDIA, — 05 stated in a Letter dated Madras Septem- 

 ber 1832. 



I SHALL now give you an outline of my proceedings since I 

 left Bombay. I went by sea down the coast to Mangalore, end 

 thence by way of Cannanoro, Tillicherry, and the Wynaad, to 

 the Neilgherry Hills, through a most beautiful country, where I 

 made a fine collection of birds, reptiles, and fishes, and observed 

 some interesting geological phenomena. The Neilgherries be;- 

 tween the latitudes of 11° and 12°, and rising to the height of 

 nearly 9000 feel above the level of the sea, enjoy every variety 

 of climate, from that of the plain of India to that of England. 

 The climate of the higher pares resembles that of the great in- 

 tertropical cities of America, which have become the centres of 

 civilization in the new world ; but is superior in one point of 

 view, being never subject to those sudden changes and cold pier- 

 cing winds, which are occasioned by the vicinity of lofty moun- 

 tains, some of which are capped with snow. The mean tempera- 

 ture of Ootacamund, the principal station on the upper part of 

 the hills, is rather more than that of London, but its annual range 

 of temperature is very small. It may be said, that the season 

 of spring reigns throughout the year, yet though there be no 

 winter, the heat is never sufficiently great to bring the more de- 

 licate European fruits to perfection, and at this height we can 

 only expect the successful cultivation of corn and of vegetables. 

 The valleys, which have a height of from 5000 to 6000 feet, enjoy 

 the climate of Italy, the climate of the vine, the orange and the 

 mulberry. The tea tree is cultivated in China between the la- 

 titudes of 27° and 31°, generally in a hilly country, and conse. 



