MENTAL EVOLUTION 143 



Scandinavia, including England on the west and Austria proper 

 on the east. In our own country similar temperatures prevail only 

 on the Atlantic Coast in a small region centering around New 

 York, and in a larger area on the Pacific Coast of Oregon and 

 Washington. Elsewhere either one season or the other is too cold 

 or too warm. In Asia only the central part of the main island of 

 Japan falls within these limits. The southern hemisphere contains 

 almost no regions of this kind. A small area in New Zealand 

 where the two islands approach each other conforms to our limits 

 of temperature, while Patagonia in latitude 45° approaches them 

 closely without actually reaching them. It must be clearly under- 

 stood that our figures are elastic. In the first place we do not 

 know exactly where man's mind developed most rapidly; in the 

 second place, we do not know at exactly what time this most rapid 

 development took place; and in the third place, we do not know 

 exactly what conditions of temperature prevailed at any particu- 

 lar place at any particular time. Thus with three unknown 

 variables it is obvious that the best we can do is to make a rough 

 approximation. This much is clear, however, the conditions of 

 temperature in the general region where man developed most 

 rapidly were approximately the same as in the regions where today 

 he is most advanced. By far the largest of the favorable areas 

 is in northwestern Europe, the next largest is in the eastern and 

 western parts of the United States, the next in Japan, the next 

 probably in New Zealand and Australia, and probably the smallest 

 in South America. Africa appears to contain no such area. 

 This result agrees with that which has been set forth in 

 ^'Civilization and Climate" on quite different grounds. 



When we have stated the temperature under which man evolved 

 most rapidly we have by no means fully described the climate. 

 We must know the conditions of storminess. At times of increased 

 solar activity it will be remembered that there is also an increase 

 both in the number and intensity of storms. This applies to both 

 storm belts. In the northern belt it leads to three conditions 



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