« 



OP THE GLOBE. 221 



perature from a comparison of Asiatic and American observa- 

 tions. 



In his Political Essay on New Spain, he makes the follow- 

 ing remarks : " On the eastei'n coast of New Spain, the great 

 " heats are occasionally interrupted by strata of cold air, 

 " brought by the winds from Hudson's Bay towards the pa- 

 " rallels of the Havannah and Vera Cruz. These impetuous 

 " winds blow from October to March ; they are announced by 

 " the extraordinary manner in which they disturb the regular 

 " recurrence of the small atmospherical tides, or horary varia- 

 " tions of the barometer, and they frequently cool the air to 

 " such a degree, that at Havannah, the centigrade thermome- 

 " ter descends to 32" of Fahr., and at Vera Cruz to 60° .8 Fahr. 

 " — a prodigious fall for countries in the torrid zone." — Vol. I. 

 p. 65. Eng. edit. " The great breadth of the New Continent, 

 — the proximity of Canada, — the winds which blow froin the 

 " north, SfC. give the equinoctial regions of Mexico and the 

 " island of Cuba a particular character. One would say, that 

 " in these regions the temperate zone, — the zone of variable 

 " climates, — increases towards the south, and passes the tropic of 

 " Cancer" &c.— Vol. II. p. 410. " On the east coast of Mexi- 

 " CO," he elsewhere remarks, " the north winds cool the aii*, 

 " so that the thermometer falls to 62 ".6 Fahr ; and at the end 

 " of the month of February, I have seen it remain for whole 

 " days under 69°. 8 ; while, during the same period, the air be- 

 " ing calm, at Acapulco, it is between 82°. 4 and 86°. The 

 " latitude of Acapulco (16° 50') is 3° farther south than that 

 " of Vera Cruz ; and the high Cordilleras of Mexico shelter it 

 " from the currents of cold air zvhich rush in from Ca^iada upon 

 « the coast of Tabasco," (Lat. 18°)— Vol. II. p. 148. * 



From these quotations, it appears, that the cold winds from 

 Hudson's Bay produce a very striking effect upon the climate 



even 



* See also, vol. I. p. 75. 



