38 Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, $*d 



space of time than in the temperate zone, it follows that the pro- 

 portion of fair days and clear skies is infinitely in favor of the 

 former. This is strikingly evidenced in a comparison of Fort 

 King, in the interior of East Florida, and of our northern lakes 

 already adverted to, the annual number of fair days at the former 

 being 309, arid at the latter only 117. On the coast of Florida, 

 however, the average is not more than 250 days. 

 * Thus it is demonstrated that invalids requiring a mild winter 

 residence, have gone to foreign lands in search of what might 

 have been found at home, viz. an evergreen land in which wild 

 fowet*s never cease to unfold their petals. But to treat of the 

 advantage of peninsular Florida as a winter residence for pul- 

 monic and other invalids from more northern latitudes, would be 

 incompatible with our present object. 



Having completed the details relative to each division of the 

 United States, we may now take a glance at the general laws of 

 climate as illustrative of their harmony throughout the globe. 

 It is an important general law in reference to both continents, 

 that a striking analogy exists, on the one hand in the climatic 

 features of the western coasts, and, on the other hand, in those 

 of the eastern shores. Thus in tracing the same isothermal line 

 around the northern hemisphere beyond the tropic, it presents on 

 the east side of both continents concave, and on the west side 

 convex, summits. Following the mean annual temperature of 

 55° -40 Fahr. around the whole globe, we find it passes on the 



E. coast of old world, N. Lat. 39° 54', E. Lon. 116° 27', near Pekin. 

 E. coast of new world, N. Lat. 39° 56', W. Lon. 76° 16% Philadelphia. 

 W. coast of old world, N. Lkt. 45° 46', W. Lon. 0° 37', near Bordeaux. 

 W. coast of new world, N. Lat. 44° 40', W. Lon. 104° 0', Cape Foul- 

 weather, south of the mouth of Columbia. 



** On comparing the two systems, the concave and convex sum- 

 mits of the same isothermal line, " we find," says Humboldt, "at 

 New York the summer of Rome and the winter of Copenhagen ; 

 and at Quebec the summer of Paris and the winter of Peters- 

 burg. In China, at Pekin, for example, where the mean tempe- 

 rature of the year is that of the coast of Brittany, the scorching 

 heats of summer are greater than at Cairo, and the winters are 

 as rigorous as at Upsal." 



The difference of climate between western Europe and eastern 

 North America, was long since determined by Humboldt in his 



