MENTAL EVOLUTION 145 



no storms the sun quickly heated the land wherever there was no 

 cover of snow. Then a storm came along. It drew in warm air 

 from the south ; the warm air rose in the storm's center ; and cold 

 air from the ice-sheets swept over the country from the north and 

 northwest. Thus the changes from day to day were apparently 

 much greater than is now the case in any part of the world. At 

 present the most frequent changes of weather are experienced by 

 the northeastern United States and southern Canada. Western 

 Europe, including northern Italy and Austria proper together 

 with the Baltic coast of Russia, but not including Spain, comes 

 next in this matter. Then follows Japan. New Zealand is the 

 most stormy of the habitable areas of the southern hemisphere, 

 and follows Japan in this respect. Finally at the bottom of the 

 list come the parts of South America from latitude 30° to 40°. 

 The rest of the world is either too cold and stormy to be readily 

 habitable, or else has relatively few storms and an unstimulating 

 climate. It is highly significant that except in one respect the 

 order of the different regions in respect to favorable conditions 

 of storminess is the same as in respect to favorable conditions 

 of temperature. The one exception is that while western Europe 

 appears to have the advantage in temperature, the United States 

 has the advantage in storminess and thus in variability. Thus it 

 appears that today the distribution of civilization is almost in 

 harmony with the degree to which the climate of the various parts 

 of the world resembles that in which man's mind made its most 

 rapid evolution. Apparently in early days before man became 

 greatly different from the animals, his body became adapted to 

 a temperature averaging about 64°. Then when the time came 

 for his mental evolution, the activity of his mind made the most 

 rapid evolution where the temperature was somewhat lower. Also 

 at that time or earlier both his body and his mind became ex- 

 tremely sensitive to the stimulus of changes of temperature. 

 Thus it appears that the relation of climate and health to the ebb 

 and flow of business and to other human activities is merely the 



