320 THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. 



and the proximity of masses of woods and plantations has also the 

 effect of attracting rain-clouds. 



Some kinds of plants require more heat than others to bring them to 

 perfection, as, for instance, wheat will not ripen in many districts of 

 this country. 



Drainage improves the climate very much ; it opens out the soil and 

 subsoil, and allows the air to penetrate into them, and in this way warms 

 the soil, and by the soil being made dry, the drainage admits of the 

 soil retaining the heat which enters it. When a soil is full of water, a 

 course of evaporation takes place, and this cools the climate and makes 

 it unhealthy. This is instanced in the case of swampy lands. Local 

 climate may indeed be taken by the altitude and by the distance from 

 the equator, and by the general characteristics of the locality ; and thus 

 latitude and elevation form the chief features of local climate, which 

 is also much influenced by the extent of the mists, the dryness of 

 the soil, and the prevalence of particular winds. Of course an estate 

 situated on a high -lying district has a greater chance of having an 

 inferior climate to one situated on a low level ; and yet much depends 

 upon local circumstances such as shelter from prevailing winds, and 

 its position as to hills or mountains. 



If an estate is situated in a long narrow valley, it is apt to be affected 

 by strong winds, as, in such a position, the winds, from being confined, 

 blow with greater force than they do in unconfined situations. Again, 

 an estate may be situated in a flat part of the country, and yet that 

 portion may be elevated as, for instance, many of our high-lying lands 

 and flat on the surface, or what may be termed table-land. In such 

 positions the temperature is generally lower than on level land at a 

 less elevation. 



All these circumstances produce many different effects in the local 

 climate of this country, especially as it is a narrow island. They all 

 tend to have a beneficial or a prejudicial effect on the produce of the 

 farms, as the case may be. 



For the purpose of studying the climate of an estate or a district of 

 country, it will be found very useful to take meteorological observations. 

 Instruments are now made for the purpose of finding the rainfall and 

 the force of the wind ; and along with these should be combined obser- 

 vations of the thermometer, barometer, and the direction of the wind, 

 and any remarks thought necessary. If these were carried out every 

 day for some years, the results would be beneficial. 



On the subject of the effects of climate on a farm, Mr Stephens 

 makes the following remarks in the ' Book of the Farm,' vol. ii. paragraph 

 5262 : 



