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weight, which i always as the solidity, increase ao 

 coidiugiy ? 



It seems strange to talk of heating cold liquors with 

 ice. Yet it may be easily done thus. Out of a basoa 

 of cold water, wherein several fragments of ice are 

 swimming, taking one or two, and plunge them into a 

 wide-mouthed glass of strong oil of vitriol : this quickly 

 melts the ice, and by two or three shakes, the liquor 

 grows so hot, that frequently you cannot endure to hold 

 the phial in your hand. 



It may seem as strange, that those parts of the earth, 

 \vhich are nearest the sun should be intensely cold. Yet 

 so it is. For the higher you ascend on mountains, the 

 colder is t he air. And the tops of the highest' moun- 

 tains in the most sultry countries are eternally clothed 

 with snow^ This is partly owing to the thinness of the 

 air, partly to the little surface of earth there, to reflect 

 the solar rays. 



Very different degrees of heat, obtain in the same la- 

 titude, on the different sides of the South American 

 continent : which shews that the temperature of a place 

 depends much more upon other circumstances, than 

 upon its distance from the pole, or nearness to the equi- 

 noctial. Tims though the coast of Brazil is extremely 

 sultry, yet the coast of the south seas in the same lati- 

 tude is quite temperate, and in ranging along it, one 

 does not meet with so warm weather, as is frequent in a 

 summer's day in England : which is the more extra- 

 ordinary, as there never falls any rain to refresh and cool 

 the air. On the coast of Peru, even under the line, every 

 thing contributes to make the day agreeable. In other 

 countries, the scorching sun in summer, makes the day 

 unfit either for labour or amusement: and the rains are 

 no less troublesome, in the cooler parts .of the year* 

 But in this delightful climate, the su si rarely appears ; 

 for there is constantly a grey cheerful sky, just suflici- 

 ent to screen the sun, without obscuring Uie air. Thus 

 all parts of the day are proper for labour, 'while tLe 



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