< U.MATK 



C;UMHIN<; ri;i;< n 



295 



tablelands of Central Asia, thuH causing active 

 evaporation from the snow-fields; HO that tin- dif- 

 ference between the two is not lew than 4000 feet 

 in favour of the iHirt/tfrn side of the mountain- 

 r:t list's; ami Huinboldt says, ' millions of men of 

 Tilietan origin occupy populous towns in a country 

 \vhrre fields ami towns would, during the whole 

 year, have leen buried in anow, if these tablelands 

 hud been less continuous and less extensive.' 



A* the actual temperature of the atmosphere 

 depends not no much upon the direct rays of the -un 

 a- upon the radiation from the heated surface of the 

 earth, the diversities in the character of that surface 

 are productive of great effect* in modifying climate. 

 \ -amly desert, a tract of country clothed with 

 luxuriant vegetation, and an expanse of water, 

 absorb and radiate heat in very different degrees. 

 A newly ploughed field l>oth absorbs and radiates 

 heat much more rapidly than a field covered with 

 grass. A sandy desert heats the atmosphere alx>ve 

 it much more than either a fertile tract or a watery 

 expanse, whilst a watery expanse only slightly 

 raises the temperature ; but, on the other hand, 

 the desert cools sooner by terrestrial radiation ; 

 whilst the heat absorbed by the water being dif- 

 fused through a larger mass, owing to the depth 

 to which solar radiation penetrates and to vertical 

 jus well as horizontal currents generated by the 

 winds to great depths, the influence of the ocean, 

 of seas, and of great lakes, is very powerful in 

 maintaining a greater equableness in the tempera- 

 ture of the air. Thus maritime places, and par- 

 ticularly islands and peninsulas, have a more equal 

 temperature, with less diversity of the extremes of 

 .-summer and winter, than more inland or conti- 

 nental places otherwise similarly situated. The 

 effect of the sea is modified by many circumstances, 

 and particularly by currents, of which the Gulf 

 Stream ( q. v. ) affords a notable instance, the heated 

 water conveyed by it and by the general surface- 

 How north-eastwards of the waters of the Atlantic, 

 from the equatorial to the polar regions, having a 

 .great influence on the climate, particularly of the 

 north-west of Europe. Over the world generally, 

 Atmospheric currents or prevailing winds must be 

 regarded as exercising even a greater influence on 

 climate than oceanic currents. The quantity of 

 rain or snow that falls in the course of a year, and 

 the times and manner of its falling, are circum- 

 .stances which have the greatest possible effect on 

 climate ; these being in their turn much influenced 

 by the distribution of land and water, and by the 

 character and elevation of the surface of the land, 

 according as the mountain-ranges lie across or in 

 the line of the rain-bringing wind. 



The relations of climate to vegetation are gener- 

 ally determined less by the mean annual tempera- 

 ture than by the relative duration of summer 

 and of winter. Thus maize, which may be men- 

 tioned as an important example, succeeds well in 

 climates of which the winter-cold is severe, the 

 summer season alone being sufficient for its whole 

 life ; whilst, on the other hand, such plants aa 

 fuchsias, some kinds of laurel, and even the 

 common hawthorn, which succeed well enough 

 where maize would scarcely put forth an ear, 

 would perish from the colder winters of countries 

 where it is profitably cultivated. The polar limit 

 of particular species of animals except those which 

 hiln'mate, is generally determined by the degree of 

 winter-cold wTiich they can l>ear without injury. 



Bogs and marshes exercise an unfavourable in tin 

 ence on climate, cooling the air and generating fogs, 

 as do clay-soils also to some extent, through their 

 retentiveness of moisture ; whilst marshes of some 

 kinds, and in some situations, abound in malarious 

 and other exhalations very unfavourable to health! 

 Similar remarks apply to large tracts of forest. 



The clearing, drainage, and cultivation of land 

 have generally favourable effect** on climate; 

 although plan! at ions are often beneficial for 

 shelter, and a too complete removal of natural 

 forests may prevent the deposition of moiHture 

 from the atmosphere to such a degree an to cause 

 droughts, a result stated to be exemplified in Home 

 of the smaller West India Island.-, and the ten- 

 dency to which is said to be manifested on a 

 S-eat scale in some sections of the continent of 

 orth America. 



The important and difficult subject of climate will 

 be found further elucidated in some of the princi- 

 pal geographical articles (AsiA, &c. ), and in the 

 articles ATMOSPHERE, GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRUST- 

 TION, GLACIAL PERIOD, HEALTH-RESORTS, HYGRO- 

 METER, METEOROLOGY, MONSOON, PLEISTOCENE, 

 RAIN, SEASONS, SNOW-LINE ( under article SNOW ), 

 STORMS, TEMPERATURE, WIND. See also Ramsay, 

 Bibliography and Index of Climate ( 1888), and the 

 works named under CROLL. 



Climax (Gr., 'a stair,'), in Rhetoric, that arti- 

 fice which consists in placing before the mind of the 

 reader or hearer a aeries of propositions or objects 

 so arranged that the least forcible strikes it first, 

 and the others rise by successive gradations in im- 

 pressiveness. See the example in 1 Sam. iv. 17. 



Climbers (Scansores), an old-fashioned popu- 

 lar title for several orders of birds whose feet are 

 mainly adapted for climbing. In many cases two 

 toes are turned forward, and two backward ; or it 

 may be that one permanently turned backward ia 

 joined in branch grasping by another reversed for 

 the nonce. Parrots (Pstttaci), cuckoos (Coccyao- 

 morphce), woodpeckers (Ptcarice), &c. are included 

 under this wide and somewhat inexact title. 



Climbing Perch (Anabas scandens), abony fish 

 in the Acanthopteri division, famous for its peculiar 

 clambering habits. It is a native of rivers and 

 ponds in most parts of the East Indies. It is about 

 six inches long, and in general form somewhat re- 

 sembles a perch. That this fish climbs trees, has 

 been asserted by observers whose veracity and 

 accuracy cannot easily be questioned ; yet others, 

 who have enjoyed ample opportunity of observa- 

 tion, express great doubt concerning this habit. 

 According to circumstantial accounts, the fish sus- 

 pends itself by its spiny gill-covers, and by fixing 

 its anal fin in cavities of the bark, urges its way 

 upwards by distending and contracting its body. 

 There is no doubt that it often leaves pools when 

 they are in danger of being dried up, ana travels in 

 search of water. Though these fish are sometimes 



Climbing Perch. 



compelled in their distress to travel by day, and 

 have been met in the glare of noon toiling along a 

 dusty road, their migrations are generally performed 

 at night or in early morning, whilst the grass is 

 still wet with dew. This restless fish is aided in 

 its peregrinations out of water by an accessory 

 labyrinthine respiratory cavity, in Which water may 

 be retained for a considerable time. Climbing 

 perches are plentiful in the Ganges, and the boat- 

 men have been known to keep them for five or 

 six days in an earthen pot without water, using 



