Climate of London and Philadelphia. 9 



curs above once in a century, and therefore can afford 

 no inference in estimating the temperature of the cli- 

 mate, which is generally allowed to be remarkably 

 mild, especially along the coasts, 



England being placed between 50° and 56° north 

 latitude, and surrounded, in a great measure, by the 

 sea, except the part bordering on Scotland, its insular 

 situation renders it liable to frequent showers, and 

 great vicissitudes of weather. On the other hand, 

 the refreshing sea-breezes tend to moderate the ex- 

 tremes of summer's heat and winter's cold, to which 

 other places, lying in the same parallels of latitude, 

 are exposed. On this account, it is friendly to the 

 health and longevity of the inhabitants, of which I 

 have elsewhere collected some remarkable instances*. 



The mean heat about London, on an average of 

 nineteen years, is 50 — 6° ; the annual quantity of rain 

 21 inches, which is sufficient to fertilize the earth, 

 without producing redundant moisture. Hence that 

 perennial verdure, which every where adorns the 

 country, and is not confined to the vallies, but extends 

 even to the summits of the hills, as has been observed, 

 with surprise, by most foreigners. 



England yields not only luxuriant crops of grain, 

 but the richest productions of the orchard and the 



* Memoirs of the Manchester Philosophical Society. Vol. I. 

 VOL. II. PART I. B 



