400 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



out their vapor being condensed into clouds and rain on the mountain 

 summits which skirt the coast. The mountains are themselves heated 

 with the powerful rays of the summer sun, and the sea-borne winds meet 

 currents still warmer than themselves. Even in winter, a very gentle 

 south wind from the sea, may not bring cloud and rain. All its super- 

 abundant moisture may be at once taken up, owing to the great dryness of 

 the colder mountain atmosphere. Notwithstanding the mildness and 

 sunny brightness of the weather, yet it is still decidedly winter at Mentone 

 from December to April. The nights are chilly during four months — 

 from December to April — the thermometer generally falling to between 46° 

 and 54° with south winds, and with north winds to between 40° and 45°, 

 sometimes below 40°. In the daytime it is generally cool in the shade, and 

 out of the shade when the sun is obscured by clouds. The ordinary "shade 

 maximum" varies from 50° to 56° when the sun shines, and is lower still 

 when it does not. The temperature always falls as soon as the sun dis- 

 appears or sets, and often at once reaches the minimum of the twenty-four 

 hours, owing, no doubt, to a cool down draught from the mountains. The 

 heat is evidently produced by the direct influence of the sun. In a south 

 room, whenever the sun is on the room, the window can be left wide open; 

 and, without a fire, the thermometer will generally remain at about 64°. 

 But as soon as the sun disappears, the window has to be shut, and chilly 

 persons require a wood fire. 



In midday, the north rooms on the same floor are, even when the sun 

 shines, four, six, or eight degrees colder than the south. Even before sun- 

 set, as soon as the sun disappears behind the mountains, there is a dif- 

 ference of six or eight degrees in the temperature of the atmosphere if 

 northerly winds prevail. When the sun is permanently obscured by 

 clouds, the air often feels chilly, even with a south wind, and the complaints 

 against the climate are loud and numerous. 



The climate of the Mentone amphitheater and of the Riviera in general 

 is a favorable specimen of what botanists call the warmer temperate zone. 

 Plants live nearly everywhere that frost kills at other places. Many 

 annuals in a colder region become perennials here, and many forms of vege- 

 tation new to the more northern flora make their appearance. It is the 

 Mediterranean climate, but that of the more favored Mediterranean regions. 

 In Italy, for instance, the most protected southern parts must be reached 

 to find the same immunity from frosts. On the southern shores of the 

 Mediterranean, in Algeria, there is the same immunity from frost; but 

 owing to the presence of the Atlas Mountains, cool rains predominate 

 throughout the winter, with the north winds which usually rule at that 

 time of the year. Mentone also is warmer and more protected from north- 

 ern winds than its neighbor, Nice; more so than Cannes, although the 

 general features of the climate must be the same, for all are only a short 

 distance apart. It is the question of fruit walls in the same orchard — one 

 higher and giving more protection than the others, but all turned towards 

 the south. At Nice there are sheltered situations, such as the Cimiez, the 

 Carabacel, and Villafranche, in which the protection is greater than in the 

 town itself, and which thus assimilates to Mentone without, however, equal- 

 ing it. 



