TEMPERATURE — SUMMER. 87 



The thermometer says one thing, the breeze says an- 

 other ; for instance, the former declares the true marking 

 to be 96°, the latter insists that it is not over 82°, and 

 hardly that. And the breeze is nearer the truth, at least 

 so we should decide did we consult our feelings rather 

 than the thermometer. 



The reason is self-evident if one stops to think about it ; 

 when we have no ice and want to cool some water to drink 

 we set it in the shade and in the breeze ; the latter passing 

 over it causes a rapid evaporation that at once produces 

 the desired effect. 



Exactly in the same way the breeze striking a moist 

 skin produces that sensation of coolness which is so re- 

 freshing and so vainly sought for when there is no such 

 kindly, stirring friend near by. 



We have never once seen the thermometer in Florida 

 rise higher than 98°, and that only two or three times, in 

 the hottest part of the day, and even then the gentle 

 breeze that never fails cools the heated air like an im- 

 mense, invisible fan, so that it is not oppressive or a 

 source of discomfort ; unlike the North, there are cool 

 places to be found in plenty, so long as you keep in the 

 shade and at rest. 



Of course it is hot in the sun. Was there ever a sum- 

 mer any where where it was not? If there is such a 

 place, woe unto its grains, its grasses, its fruits. 



Yes, the Florida sun is hot during the hot season, but 

 not one whit more so than elsewhere. 



And men, white men, unaccustomed to such work are 

 seen toiling in the full glare of the sun, and declaring that 

 they feel the heat less than if they had been quietly ram- 

 bling along the road at their old homes with the thermom- 

 eter at the same height. 



It is a fact that men are able to work out-doors in the 



