46 Bomance of Insect Life. [January, 



increases as it goes North, till it reaches West Point, where it begins 

 to decline. 



The mean annual heat of the cities of the United States exhibits 

 somewhat different results. The most southern parts, of course, are 

 the hottest ; the sea-ports, in the same latitude, are cooler than inland 

 towns. The hottest city appears to be Jackson, Mississippi, where the 

 average temperature is 65.64 of Fahrenheit; the coolest is the little 

 town of Penn Yan, in New York, which is 45.46. The tables do not 

 include Texas, however, in the South, or Maine, New Hampshire, or 

 Vermont in the North. Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a comparatively 

 cool town, the average temperature being 47.48 ; while that of Phila- 

 delphia is 52.57. New Haven, Connecticut, is 49.00; Newark, New 

 Jersey, 50.89; Louisville, Kentucky, 53.08; and Port Madison, Iowa, 

 49.62. 



These, be it remembered, are the average temperatures. Some of the 

 towns mentioned above as comparatively hot, have summers unusually 

 cool for their location ; while others, with a low average temperature, 

 are excessively sultry in July and August. 



ROMANCE OF INSECT LIFE. 



The following beautiful extract is from a historical lecture by Judge 

 Charlton, of Georgia : 



" The earth teems with mysteries— the sky shines with them— they 

 float in the air— they swim in the deep— they flash from the dark-robed 

 clouds— they whisper in the gentle tones of the summer wind— they speak 

 in trumpet tongues, in the voice of the tempest and the thunder. Cease 

 thy longing for the ancient dajs, oh dreamer ! Close thy book and look 

 about thee, upon the volume of Nature. See there, before thee, is a tiny 

 insect, that thou canst scarce distinguish from the grains of sand that 

 surround it — watch it ; it moves on with an energy and an instinct that 

 enables it to overcome or avoid all obstacles. See, it has seized some 

 object larger than itself, and still it goes bravely on— nothing daunts it 

 —nothing stops it— tread it under foot, if thou canst have the heart to 

 attempt such a murder, and it will rise up again beneath the ocean of 

 sand, and turn once more to its labor. Dost thou know it ? It is the 



