312 CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS OF 



The following discussion on the climate of the 

 southern parts of the continent with relation to its 

 productions, on the snow-line, on the extraordi- 

 narily low descent of the glaciers, and on the zone 

 of perpetual congelation in the antarctic islands, 

 inay be passed over by any one not interested in 

 these curious subjects, or the final recapitulation 

 alone may be read. I shall, however, here give 

 only an abstract, and must refer for details to the 

 thirteenth chapter and the Appendix of the for- 

 mer edition of this work. 



On the Climate and Productions of Tierra del 

 Fuego and of the Southwest Coast. — The follow- 

 ing table gives the mean temperature of Tierra del 

 Fuego, the Falkland Islands, and, for comparison, 

 that of Dublin : 



Latitude. 



Tierra del Fuego . 53° 38' S. 

 Falkland Islands . 51o 30' S. 

 Dublin 530 21' N. 



Hence we see that the central part of Tierra del 

 Fuego is colder in winter, and no less than 9^° 

 less hot in summer, than Dublin. According to 

 Von Buch, the mean temperature of July (not the 

 hottest month in the year) at Saltenfiord in Norv\'ay, 

 is as high as 57°-8, and this place is actually 13° 

 nearer the pole than Port Famine !* Inhospitable 

 as this climate appears to our feelings, evergreen 

 trees flourish luxuriantly under it. Humming- 

 birds may be seen sucking the flowers, and paiTots 

 feeding on the seeds of the Winter's Bark, in lat. 



* With respect to Tierra del Fuego, the results are deduced 

 from the observations by Capt. King (Geographical Journal, 1830), 

 and those taken on board the Beagle. For the Falkland Islands, 

 I am indebted to Capt. Sulivan for the mean of the mean tem- 

 perature (reduced from careful observation at midnight, 8 A.M., 

 noon, and 8 P.M.) of the three hottest months, viz., December, 

 January, and February. The temperature of Dublin is taken 

 fiom Barton. 



