14 Climate. 



cloudy, and from pleasant serenity, to all the violence of a 

 tempest ( 25 .) Some have argued, that such irregularity of cli- 

 mate is not unfavourable to health, as the inconstancy of the 

 atmosphere tends to refine and purify the air, and ^render it 

 more salubrious. But whatever truth there may be in that 

 observation, every farmer knows, that the unsteadiness and ir- 

 regularity of our climate, more especially on the western side 

 of the island, are extremely injurious to husbandry, and form 

 one of the greatest local evils that farmers have to lament. 



8. More remarkable Natural Phenomena. The climate of 

 a country is likewise affected by earthquakes ; volcanos ; 

 violent thunder storms ; lightning ; hail-storms in sum- 

 mer ; early frosts ( z6 ) ; whirlwinds and hurricanes ; water- 

 spouts; and by that atmospheric appearance, known un- 

 der the name of the aurora borealis, so frequently to be seen 

 in northern, and sometimes even in southern regions ; but 

 these phenomena are for the most part only occasional, 

 sometimes prevent greater calamities ( z7 ), and in this country, 

 are rarely attended with permanent evils. 



9. Effects of Climate on Productions. The size, and, in 

 many cases, the value of the productions of a country, depend 

 upon its climate, by whose influence their growth may either 

 be advanced or retarded. The same species of tree which, 

 in a temperate climate, will rise to a great height, and swell 

 to an immense size, in an exposed situation will remain small 

 and stunted. By a favourable climate also, the most barren 

 spots, which in a cold country must remain completely waste, 

 in a warm one may be rendered productive. Thus, where 

 the climate is adapted to the culture of the vine, rocks, which 

 in Great Britain, and in colder countries, would in general 

 be of little or no worth, in the southern provinces of France 

 may be made to yield as much in valuable produce, as the cul- 

 tivated land in their neighbourhood ( a8 .) The real excellence 

 of a climate, however, depends on its producing, in perfection 

 and abundance, the necessaries of life, or those which consti- 

 tute the principal articles of food for man, and for the domestic 

 animals kept for his use. In this point of view, a meadow is 

 much more productive, and in some respects more valuable, 

 than either a vineyard or a grove of oranges ; though the one 

 may be situated in a cold and variable climate, and the other 

 in a country celebrated for the regularity and the elevation of 

 its temperature (* 9 ). 



The very nature of the articles raised, depends upon the 

 climate. Thus, in many elevated parts both of England and 

 Scotland, wheat cannot be grown to advantage, and in some 



