CAROLINA. 



that youn fish arc brought by water fowls from one 

 pond to another, by which means the new made pools 

 :ve a plentiful supply. Of these tlu-oiits, we 

 inclined to give the preference to the third ; for 

 we do not believe, that the specific levity of spawn 

 is such as to admit of its being raised in vapour to 

 the clouds ; nor can we easily bring ourselves to 

 think, that it could remain forages in the sand, with- 

 ^"t being destroyed by putrefaction. None of 

 these iWries, indeed, appears to us at all satisfacto- 

 ry ; but as tht fact is notorious all over the country, 

 its solution is worthy of the attention of naturalists. 



By the degree and duration of its summer heat, 

 South Carolina is allied to countries within the tor- 

 rid /one ; with those within the temperate latitudes, 

 it is still more intimately connected by its winter's 

 cold, and its general variableness. In tropical coun- 

 tries, the extremes of heat and cold are not removed 

 from each other farther than by sixteen degrees of 

 Fahrenheit's thermometer, so that there is but little 

 distinction in point of temperature between their win- 

 ter and summer. In South Carolina, there has some- 

 times been a difference of 83 degrees between the 

 temperatures of different days in the same year, and 

 the temperature has even varied 46 degrees in the 

 course of one day. From 1791 to 1808, the differ- 

 ence between the coolest and warmest summers ranged 

 from 88 to 93, and the difference between the 

 mildest and coldest winters, on a few particular days, 

 from 50 to 17. In Charlestown and the low coun- 

 try, the degree of heat is considerably more moder- 

 ate than in the interior parts of the state. At Co- 

 lumbia, in the summer of 1808, the mercury in the 

 thermometer frequently rose to 96, 97, and some- 

 times to 98, while at Charlestown it did not exceed 

 91. The number of extreme warm days in Charles- 

 town is seldom above thirty in a year, and three of 

 such days scarcely follow one another in succession. 

 On an average, there are about thirty sultry nights in 

 the low country in the course of the year, when the 

 heat and closeness of the air is such, as to prevent the 

 enjoyment of sound sleep ; but this severe heat is in 

 general soon followed by cooling showers. Of pier- 

 cing cold days, there are in general a greater propor- 

 tion in winter, than there is in summer of those 

 which are exceedingly hot; but of these, as of the se- 

 verely warm days, more than three seldom come to- 

 gether. Within the last fifty years, the transitions 

 from cold to heat have occasionally been so great and 

 rapid, that the thermometer has been observed to fall 

 more than fifty degrees in less than fifteen hours. 

 The hottest day in the year is sometimes as early as 

 June, sometimes as late as September, but most fre- 

 quently in July or August. A stranger going to 

 Carolina, should study to arrive there either in No- 

 vember or December ; he should be particularly cau- 

 tious not to make his first appearance there in sum- 

 mer, or in the first months of autumn. September, 

 when the heat begins to abate, is more sickly than 

 the preceding months, and the heat becomes then 

 more oppressive. Perspiration is diminished and fre- 

 quently interrupted, and the system, relaxed and de- 

 bilitated by the relentless fervency of July and August, 

 feels more sensibly and frequently an overpowering 

 lassitude. The coolness of the evenings, and the heavy 

 that then fall, multiply the chances of getting 

 cold, so that it is upon the whole the most unpleasant, 

 as well as the most dangerous, month in the year. 



VOL. V. PART II. 



The lour country it seldom covered with mow; South 

 but the mountains near the western boundary of the C** 

 state are often mantled in that wintry robe. Frost *"^" 

 sometimes binds up the earth, but seldom penetrates 

 deeper than two inches, or lasts above three or four 

 days. These transient frosts are succeeded by wea- 

 ther so mild, as to render fires unnecessary in the 

 middle of the day. Such sudden and frequent changes 

 affect the feelings and health of the inhabitants much 

 more than equal or greater degrees of cold can do in 

 countries where the climate is more steady, and the 

 transitions more gradual. In February the weather 

 is particularly variable. When a clear warm da^ 

 called forth vegetation, and inspired the hopes of an 

 early spring, a north-west wind suddenly arises, ac- 

 companied with frost, and blasts the pleasing expec- 

 tations. In this month rains are frequent. The 

 planting season b.'gins in March and April, and con- 

 tinues till June. In July and August, when the 

 heats are most severe, heavy rains set in, accom- 

 panied frequently with violent storms of thunder 

 and lightning. These thunder storms are said to 

 be much less frequent and injurious now than they 

 were about half a century ago. Yet during the sum- 

 mer, there are few nights in which lightning is not 

 visible in some part of the horizon. The fury of the 

 storm is generally spent on the lofty trees with which 

 the country is covered ; but the lightning sometimes 

 does considerable damage to ships in the harbours, 

 and is not unfrequcntly attended with showers of 

 hail, so large as to break down the crops in the 

 fields, and to shiver windows of glass. In Septem- 

 ber, which is the principal harvest month, storms of 

 rain are frequent, and are sometimes accompanied by 

 hurricanes, which prove extremely destructive. 



The hygrometer in Charlestown shews an almost 

 constant humidity in the air. For seven years pre- 

 vious to 1809, it had not marked more than 24 dry 

 days in any one year ; and the average of the whole 

 seven years was less than 16 dry days for each. The 

 variation of the barometer is inconsiderable. It gene- 

 rally stands between 30 and 31, but has been as 

 low as '29 7', and as high as 31 8'. The medium 

 temperature of well water in Charlestov/n is 65, 

 twelve degrees above that of well water in Philadel- 

 phia. By the observations of the medical society in 

 Charlestown for ten years, (from 1797 to 1807,) the 

 average quantity of rain in a year was found to be 

 49.3 inches. The greatest quantity in any oneof these 

 years was 83.4 inches, and the smallest quantity was 

 38.6. The greatest quantity in any one month of 

 these ten years was 12.9 inches. 



The climate of South Carolina is generally regard- 

 ed as unwholesome, an opinion which is neither strict- 

 ly true, nor entirely false* A great proportion of 

 the state, particularly of the low country, is for the 

 most part inundated ; and from its sluggish rivers, 

 stagnant swamps, ponds, and marshes, which are per- 

 petually generating putrefaction, the seeds of febrile 

 diseases are widely and profusely disseminated, parti- 

 cularly between the months of June and November. 

 The sea shore and islands, and the ridges of land be- 

 tween the rivers, extending from 10 to 40, sometimes 

 50 miles, are for the most part salubrious. Beyond 

 the swamps, which terminate about 120 miles from 

 the ocean, the blessings of health are generally en- 

 joyed, except on the margins of the rivers, and in the 

 vicinity of ponds and mill dams. The districts of 



3Q 



