244 



CLIMATIC DATA. 



[chap. XI. 



On the Climate and Productions of Tierra del Fuego and oj 

 the South-west Coast. — The following table gives the mean 

 temperature of Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, and, 

 for comparison, that of Dublin : 



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 Norway, is as high as 57°. 8, and this place 

 is actually 13° nearer the pole than Port Famine ! * In- 

 hospitable as this climate appears to our feelings, evergreen 

 trees flourish luxuriantly under it. Humming-birds may 

 be seen sucking the flowers, and parrots feeding on the 

 seeds of the Winter's Bark, in lat. 55° S. I have already 

 remarked to what a degree the sea swarms with living 

 creatures ; and the shells (such as the Patellce^ Fissurellcs, 

 Chitons, and Barnacles), according to Mr. G. B. Sowerby, 

 are of a much larger size, and of a more vigorous growth, 

 than the analogous species in the northern hemisphere. A 

 large Voluta is abundant in southern Tierra del Fuego 

 and the Falkland Islands. At Bahia Blancha in lat. 39* S., 

 the most abundant shells were three species of Oliva (one of 

 large size), one or two Volutas, and a Terehra. Now these 

 are amongst the best characterised tropical forms. It is 

 doubtful whether even one small species of Oliva exists on 

 the southern shores of Europe, and there are no species 

 of the two other genera. If a geologist were to find in lat. 

 39° on the coast of Portugal, a bed containing numerous 

 shells belonging to three species of Oliva, to a Voluta and 



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

 observations by Captain King (" Geographical Journal," 1830), and those taken on 

 board the Beagle. For the Falkland Islands, I am indebted to Captain Sullivan 

 for the mean of the mean temperature (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 from Barton. 



