S62 Geographical Collections, 



retains much more of the warm summer rain than it did in an uncultivated 

 state ; and as water in cooling is known to give out much heat to surround- 

 ing bodies, much warmth must be communicated to the ground, and this 

 cannot fail to affect the temperature of the autumn. The warm autumnal 

 rains, in conjunction with those of summer, operate powerfully upon the 

 temperature of the winter, and, consistently with this hypothesis, Mr Knight 

 asserts that he has observed, that, during the last forty years, when the sum- 

 mer and autumn have been very wet, the succeeding winter has been mild ; 

 and that when northeast winds have prevailed after wet seasons, the winter 

 has been cold and cloudy, but without severe frost, probably owing to the 

 ground upon the opposite shores of the Continent being in a state similar to 

 that on this side the Channel. 



Supposing the ground to contain less water in the commencement of 

 winter, on account of the operation of the drains and improvements before 

 mentioned, more of the water afforded by dissolving snows and cold rains in 

 winter will necessarily be absorbed by it j and in the end of February, how- 

 ever dry the ground may have been at the winter solstice, in the end of 

 February, it will almost always be found saturated with water ; and as the 

 influence of the sun is as powerful on the last day of February as on the 

 15th of October, and it is the high temperature of the ground in the latter 

 period which occasions the difference of temperature in those opposite sea- 

 sons, Mr Knight thinks it cannot be doubted, that if the soil be rendered 

 more cold by the absorption of water at nearly the freezing temperature, the 



weather of the spring must be, to some extent, injuriously affected 



Trans. Hort. Soc. Lond. vol. vii. p. 4. 



African Colony of Liberia in 1830 : — The principal establishment and 

 capital of this colony is Monrovia, situated under 6° 21' N. lat. and 10° 30' 

 W. long., about a quarter of a mile above the mouth of the river Monserado, 

 and three quarters of a mile from the point of the cape which bears the 

 same name. The river St Paul empties itself into the sea a very short 

 distance from Monserado. 



For the first two years, the colonists inhabited little thatched cabins ; about 

 five years ago, the first wooden houses were built on the site of the present 

 town, in the midst of a dense forest, so desert, that tigers were killed on 

 the thresholds of the houses. As in all similar establishments, the first 

 inhabitants had great difficulties to overcome ; but they have now surmounted 

 them, and their efforts are crowned with success. 



There are at this time ninety houses in Monrovia, two places of worship, 

 and a court of justice ; many of these houses are handsome, and all are 

 commodious. The site of the town, which occupies more than a square 

 mile, is at an elevation of about 70 feet above the level of the sea; it 

 contains 700 inhabitants. The streets are in general a hundred feet broad, 

 and placed at right angles with respect to each other. The colonial 

 company have appointed an agent and a medical man. 



The agent is the principal magistrate of the colony, and the surgeon is 

 his assessor. No white is permitted to reside there, either for purposes of 

 trade, or for the exercise of any mechanical art, since the object of the 

 establishment is exclusively in favour of men of colour. The secretary, the 

 collector, the surveyor, and the constables, are paid by the agent. The 

 sub-agent, the sheriff, the treasurer, and all the other civil officers, are chosen 

 by election of the inhabitants. 



The court holds its assizes on the first Monday of every month ; the jury 

 is constituted in the ordinary manner, and its jurisdiction extends over all 

 the colony. The most common subjects for trial are thefts, committed 

 principally by the natives. It may be said, to the honour of the emigrants, 

 that since 1827, only five of them have been convicted, and these of minor 

 crimes. 



