134 



BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



consequently dry, and hence the rainfall is extremely limited 

 upon the western coast. 



The second modifying circumstance, is that of proximity to or 

 remoteness from the ocean, which materially influences the quanti- 

 ty of rain. Allow me to take an illustration, as before, from the 

 western coast of Europe. The annual rainfall along the western 

 coast of Great Britain, France, Spain and Portugal, ranges be- 

 tween 30 and 50 inches. The amount at Coimbra, Portugal, is 111 

 inches. Now, go inland to the region of Poland and Russia, and 

 we find the annual rainfall is only 15 inches. East of the Ural 

 mountains, it is 13 inches, and further east, in Siberia, the amount 

 is still less. These difierences result from difference in location, 

 in respect to large bodies of water. Those portions of a continent 

 in the path of the prevailing winds, and near the coast, receive 

 bounties of rain, while those portions that are interior are deprived 

 of any large amount, from the fact, that the clouds are robbed of 

 their moisture before the interior lands are reached. 



In latitude 45°, on our eastern coast, — a latitude a little north of 

 Bangor, in our own State — there is an annual rainfall of 40 inches. 

 If we follow that parallel of latitude v^est, we 6nd in Michigan, 

 although that State seems to be almost surrounded by the waters 

 of the great lakes, the annual rainfall to be but 30 inches. Further 

 west, in Minnesota, on the same parallel, it is 25 inches ; and in 

 Dacotah, where the Missouri crosses tliat parallel, 15 inches. 

 Further west, the amount is still less. 



The number of rainy days din)inishes in a corresponding pro- 

 portion. On the western coast of France, the number of rainy 

 days in the course of a year is 150. In the interior of France, 

 147 — a slight reduction. On the plains of the Volga, the number 

 of rainy days in a year is 90 ; and east of the Ural mountains, in 

 Siberia, the number is 51. In like manner a large number of ex- 

 amples might be cited to illustrate the principle, that the quantity 

 of rainfall is influenced by proximity to or remoteness from the 

 coast, but those given, I trust, are suflScient for this purpose. 



The third modifying circumstance which should be noticed is 

 that of elevation. The quantity of raiuMl is influenced by eleva- 

 tion above the level of the sea. At Berne, in Switzerland, at the 

 foot of the Alps, there falls annually forty-three inches of rain. 

 Eight thousand feet up the side of the mountain, at the Great 

 Saint Bernard, the annual rainfall is sixty three inches. On the 

 island of Gaudaloupe, one of the Caribbean islands, there is a 



