CLIMATE. o9 



Stream with tlie Arctic curront. When (southerly or south- 

 westerly winds blow the fog is rolled in on the south-eastern 

 and southern shores of the island, covering the bays and head- 

 lands with a thick curtain of vapour. It rarely penetrates far 

 inland ; so that while these coasts are shrouded in dense fog, the 

 sun is sliining brightly inland, and the atmosphere is dry and 

 balmy. With southerly winds the great bays on the southern 

 coast be2onie receptacles of the sea-fog. It often tills Placen- 

 tia Bay and drifts over the narrow isthmus into Trinity Bay, 

 while Conception Bay is comparatively clear. Thus the fogs are 

 partial in their intluence. On the western shore, after passing 

 Cape Ray, fogs are almost unknown. The same holds good of 

 the northern and eastern coasts as far south as Bonavista. The 

 summer months in tlie interior may often be spent without ex- 

 periencing a genuine foggy day. However gloomy and disagree- 

 abie these sea-fogs may be, it must be rememl)ered they are not 

 prejudicial to health. The Gulf Stream which generates them 

 modifies the cold, so that the climate is more temperate and 

 wholesome than that of the neighbouring continent. 



The mean annual temperature for eight years was 41.2 degs. ; 

 the average height of the barometer was 29.37 inches. 



It is not ditticult to account for the erroneous ideas prevalent 

 regarding the climate of the Islaml. The climate of the Banks, 

 which are over one hundred miles distant from the shores, and 

 of the southern and south-eastern seaboard, which are affected 

 by the sea-fogs, has been taken l)v voyagers and casual visitors 

 as indicative of the climate of the whole Island. Hence, it has 

 been concluded that the coxintry is enveloped in almost per- 

 petual fogs in sunnner ; and, on the other hand, an impression 

 has grown up that it is given over to intense cold and a succes- 

 sion of siiow-.-torms in winter. 



It may be desiralde, therefore, to cite the opinions of a few 

 intelligent persons who, from exjierience, have lieen enaVjled to 

 form an estimate of the general character of the climate, in 

 ovdvv to arrive at the truth. Sir Richard Bonnycastle, who 

 spent some veai'.- in tlie country, in his excellent woi'k on Xew- 



