18 Col. Wright's Meteorological Obseivations in Colombia. 



collier and more variable; while the town of Hambato, only 

 300 feet lower than Quito, but built in a nook of the river 

 which runs near it, and shut in by dry sandy elevations, has 

 a climate about 2''0 warmer; so that sugar-cane is cultivated 

 in its immediate vicinity. The general uniformity of tempera- 

 ture, which spreads a certain monotony over tropical regions, 

 is joined, at great elevations, to a daily variability which must 

 exercise a considerable influence both on vegetable and ani- 

 mal life. The thermometer, which often sinks at night to ii", 

 rises, in the sun, wherever thei'e is a reflected heat, frequently 

 to 120*^, being equal to the heat of Jamaica; while, in the 

 shade, it seldom exceeds 65° ; so that, on passing from shade 

 to sunshine, one is immediately exposed to a difference of 

 above 50^, and, in the course of twenty-four hours, to nearly 

 80°. The shade, in consequence, even on the hottest days, 

 imparts a feeling of chilliness; while the solar rays seem to 

 scorch like the vapour of a heated oven. The same difference 

 is perceptible on the pa)-anios. At the foot of the Nevado of 

 Santa Marta I observed the thermometer at 5 a.m. sink to 

 22° ; at 9 a.m. it rose to 73° in the sun. On the height of 

 Pichan, betwixt Quito and Esmeraldas, elevation 12,986 feet, 

 the thermometer stood at 53° in the shade, and 83° in the sun. 

 On Antisana, the difference was 22° at the same time, but 34° 

 betwixt 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. When the atmosphere is calm it 

 is much more considerable. 



5. Although at great elevations, i.e. from 12,000 to 16,000 

 feet, it is difficult to form a series of meteorological observations, 

 such is the yearly equality of the temperature, that a single 

 day may be safely taken as a sample of the whole year ; nay, 

 more, a collection of observations made at similar heights, 

 though in different places, will give a similar result to a series 

 taken on the same spot. Thus in the following table there is 

 little difference betwixt the result of eight observations made 

 on seven different mountains, and the six made on that of 

 Antisana. 



[To be continued] 



