ENGLAND 



2039 



ENGLAND 



its latitude is, roughly speaking, that of Lab- 

 rador, it has little or none of the intense cold 

 of that country. Its mild winters and cool 

 summers it owes to the surrounding seas, and 

 especially to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf 

 Stream, from which blow those southwest winds 

 which are warm enough in winter and cool 

 enough in summer to exert an appreciable in- 

 fluence on the climate. Naturally the western 

 coast is most open to these influences, and the 



It is an interesting fact that England as a whole 

 averages just about half as many hours of 

 sunshine in a year as does Italy. The fogs are 

 not unpopular with all the people, for it is said 

 that to them in large measure is due the clear 

 complexions and beautiful coloring of English 

 women. 



As a whole, England has a plentiful rainfall, 

 and nowhere is irrigation necessary for agri- 

 culture. The westerly winds, blowing against 

 the western highlands, carry plenty of 

 moisture, and in certain districts, as in the 

 Lake Region and in Wales, the annual 

 rainfall is over sixty inches. Throughout 

 the west the amount falls in few places 

 below thirty-five inches, but in the east 

 it is hardly anywhere more than thirty 



ENGLISH TYPES: VILLAGE AND TOWN 



extremes of temperature 

 than in the east. 



In January, the coldest month, the aver- 

 age temperature of the whole country is 

 about 40, and such temperatures as 10 

 to 40 below zero, which the resident in 

 the interior regions of the United States and 

 Canada knows so well, are unknown. Nowhere 

 are ships prevented by ice from entering har- 

 bors. In the hottest month, July, the greatest 

 heat is experienced in London and its vicinity, 

 but even this is not extreme, for its average is 

 but 64 ; while the mean temperature for the 

 whole country in that month is 61. One strik- 

 ing peculiarity of the climate is its dense fogs, 

 which often roll in from the ocean and obscure 

 the sky for days. "London fogs," these are 

 called, but it is not only in London that they 

 prevail, though they are heaviest there because 

 of the city's smoke, which mixes with them. 



inches and in some places less than twenty-five. 

 Generally speaking, October is the wettest 

 month, though this is not true for all parts of 

 the country. Most parts of England have more 

 or less snow, but the heavy snowstorms or 

 blizzards which leave drifts several feet in 

 depth do not occur. 



Industries. Industrially, England is one of 

 the most important countries in the world. To 

 appreciate to the full its position in this respect, 

 it is necessary to bear in mind constantly its 

 small size. Despite this, however, it has great 

 natural advantages valuable minerals which 

 make possible not only extensive mining opera- 



