708 CLIMATE OF EUROPE, ASIA, 



ture of the year is nearly the same) or 55*2. But 

 that of winter is 26*8, and that of summer 82*6, 

 making a difference of nearly 56, which is 21 

 higher than in the same isothermal zone of 

 Europe ; 11 higher than in the middle states of 

 America, and greater than in Russia, Nova Scotia, 

 or Canada. Owing to its exposure to the bleak 

 winds of Tartary, and the hot winds from the 

 south, the climate of northern China approximates 

 that of the polar regions during winter, and that 

 of the tropics during summer. The truth is, that 

 scarcely any part of Asia possesses what may be 

 called a temperate climate, if we except that por- 

 tion termed Asia Minor, which lies between the 

 Mediterranean and the Black Sea. For in the 

 regions south of the Himalayas, there are but two 

 well marked seasons, the dry and the rainy ; while 

 in the vast plains beyond that immense chain of 

 mountains, and from the Caspian to the Pacific, 

 the only seasons are a long and rigorous winter, 

 followed by a brief, dry, and unfruitful summer. 

 But in the temperate latitudes of Europe be* 

 tween 35 and 55 north, there is a delightful suc- 

 cession of winter, spring, summer and autumn, 

 with frequent alternations of sunshine and gentle 

 showers, without floods of rain, desolating hurri- 

 canes, and long droughts. The same observations 

 apply to the United States south of latitude 42, 

 where the temperature is never tropical during 



