CLIMATE. 



contrast is yet more striking, the prevailing 

 weather of the former being cloudy, and the 

 latter fair ; thus, during the year, the propor- 

 tion of days is, 



. 



Lakes - - - H? 

 Remote from lakes - 216 



Cloudy. Bain. 

 139 3 



73 46 



Snow 

 45 

 29 



The relative proportion of rainy and cloudy 

 days during the year is, therefore, in the former 

 locality 247, and in the latter 148, giving the 

 far west about 100 more sunshiny days out of 

 the annual sum of 365. 

 Thus much for the Northern division. 

 In considering the climate of the Middle di- 

 vision of the United States, Dr. Forry thinks 

 himself justified by the results of the meteoro- 

 logical observations in his possession, in dis- 

 tinguishing two classes, designated as unifm-m 

 and excessive climes, the first being slightly 

 under the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, 

 whilst the southwestern stations show the 

 powerful influence of the Gulf of Mexico. 



In proceeding south, the seasons, as a gene- 

 ral rule, appear more uniform, the annual mean 

 temperature increasing as a matter of course. 

 Some of the eastern posts in this middle divi- 

 sion present such great contrasts between their 

 summer and winter temperatures, as almost to 

 place them in the list of excessive climes. The 

 modifying influence of the adjacent ocean and 

 bays are, however, still apparent, since, farther 

 westward on the same parallels, greater ex- 

 tremes are common. 



"The region of Pennsylvania, as though it 

 were the battle-ground on which Boreas and 

 Auster struggle for mastery, experiences, in- 

 deed, the extremes of heat and cold. But, pro- 

 ceeding south along the Atlantic Plain, climate 

 soon undergoes a striking modification, of 

 which the Potomac forms the line of demarca- 

 tion. Here the domain of snow terminates. 

 Beyond this point, the sledge is no more seen 

 in the farmer's barnyard. The table-lands of 

 Kentucky and Tennessee, on the other hand, 

 carry, several degrees farther south, a mild 

 and temperate clime. Although very few ther- 

 mometrical observations have been made upon 

 the table-land lying in the centre of the middle 

 division, or upon the ridges which crest this 

 long plateau, thus rendering it impracticable 

 to determine' fully the interesting question of 

 their influence upon temperature; yet we are 

 enabled to supply this deficiency, in some mea- 

 sure, by observations made upon the differences 

 in vegetable geography. Thus, in Virginia, as 

 the limits of the state extend quite across the 

 Apalachian chains, four natural divisions are 

 presented ; viz., 1. The Atlantic Plain, or tide- 

 water region, below the falls of the rivers ; 

 2. The Middle region, between the falls and 

 the Blue Ridge ; 3. The Great Valley, between 

 the Blue Ridge and the Alleghany Mountains ; 

 and, 4. The Trans-Alleghany region, west of 

 that chain. In each of these, the phenomena 

 of vegetation are modified in accordance with 

 the climatic features. On the Atlantic Plain, 

 tobacco is the principal staple ; in the Great 

 Valley, it is cultivated only in the southern 

 portion ; and beyond the Alleghany, its culture 

 is unknown. In the first only is cotton culti- 

 vated, and in its southern part quite extensive- 



CLIMATE. 



ly. In North Carolina, the Atlantic Plain ex- 

 tends sixty or seventy miles from the coast, 

 whilst the Middle region, corresponding to that 

 described in Virginia, gradually merges into 

 the mountainous regions farther west.. As 

 these table-lands are elevated from 1000 to 

 1200 feet above the sea, upon which rise many 

 high crests, one of which (Black Mountain) is 

 the highest summit of the Alleghany system, 

 the diversity of climate on the same parallels 

 causes a corresponding difference in the vege- 

 table productions. Whilst the lowlands yield 

 cotton, rice, and indigo, the western high coun- 

 try produces wheat, hemp, tobacco, and Indian 

 corn. In South Carolina, three strongly-marked 

 regions are also presented ; but as the tempe- 

 rature increases, as a general law, in propor- 

 tion as we approach the equator, cotton is 

 cultivated throughout the state generally. Geor- 

 gia, Alabama, and Mississippi, like the Caroli- 

 nas, are divided into three well-defined belts, 

 exhibiting similar diversities in vegetable geo- 

 graphy. Cotton and rice, more especially the 

 former, are the great agricultural staples; and 

 on the Atlantic Plain of these three states, as 

 well as its continuation into Florida and Lou- 

 isiana (which last two will be more particularly 

 adverted to in the southern division), sugar 

 may be advantageously cultivated. In North 

 Carolina and Virginia, the Atlantic Plain forms, 

 as it were, a chaos of land and water, consist- 

 ing of vast swamps, traversed by sluggish 

 streams, expanding frequently into broad ba- 

 sins with argillaceous bottoms. Throughout 

 its whole extent, as already remarked, it is 

 characterized by similar features, besides being 

 furrowed with deep ravines, in which the 

 streams wind their devious way. The hot and 

 sultry atmosphere of these lowlands, in which 

 malarial diseases in every form are dominant, 

 contrasts strongly with the mild and salubrious 

 climate of the mountain regions. 



" It may not be amiss, as illustrative of the 

 comparative temperature of the Atlantic Plain 

 and the adjacent mountain region, to present 

 here a few thermometrical data, however limit- 

 ed in extent, noted during the summers of 1839 

 and 1840, at Flat Rock, Buncombe county,. 

 North Carolina. 



" Flat Rock is about 250 miles from the At- 

 lantic, and is elevated perhaps 2500 feet above 

 the level of the ocean, whilst the latitude given 

 is also a mere approximation derived from 

 general knowledge. The observations made 

 at Charleston embrace the same years as those 

 at Flat Rock, but the data at Fort Monroe com- 

 prise the years 1828, 1829, and 1830. It is thus 

 seen that the difference of temperature at Flat 

 Rock and the other two points, taking an ave- 

 rage of the latter, is in July 11, August 10, 

 September 13, and October 6. As regards 

 the monthly range of the thermometer, little 

 difference is presented." (Forry.} 



333 



