79 



The rains of every month, (as of January', for in- 

 stance) through the whole period of years, were added 

 separately, and an average drawn from them. The cool- 

 est and warmest point of the same day in each year of 

 the period, were added separately, and an average of the 

 greatest cold and greatest heat of that day, was formed. 

 From the averages of every day in the month, a gene- 

 ral average for the whole month was formed. The 

 point from which the wind blew, was observed two or 

 three times in every day. These observations, in the 

 month of January, for instance, through the whole pe- 

 riod, amounted to 337. At 73 of these, the wind was 

 from the North ; 47 from the North-east, &o. So that 

 it will be easy to see in what proportion each wind 

 usually prevails in each month : or, taking the whole 

 year, the totalof observations through the whole period 

 having been 3698, it will Ije observed that Gil of them 

 were from the North, 558 from the North-east, &c. 



Though by this table it appears we have on an ave»- 

 rage 47 inches of rain annually, which is considerably 

 more than usually falls in Europe, yet from the in- 

 formation I have collected, I sup{)Ose we have a much 

 greater proportion of sunshine here than there. Per- 

 haps it will be found, there are twice as many cloudy 

 days in the^raiddle parts of Europe, as in the United 

 States of America. I mention the middle parts of Eu- 

 rope, because my information does not extend to its 

 Northern or Southern parts. 



In an extensive country, it will of course be expected 

 that the climate is not tlie same in all its parts. It is 

 remarkable, that, proceeding on the same parallel of 

 latitude westwardly, the climate becomes colder in like 

 manner as when you proceed northwardly. This con- 

 tinues to be the case till you attain the summit of the 

 Alleghaney, which is the highest land between the 

 ocean and the Mississippi. From thence, descending 

 in the same latitude to the i\lississippi, the change re- 

 verses ; and, if we may believe travellers, it becomes 

 warmer there than it is in the same latitude on the 

 sea side. Their testimony is strengthened by the vege- 



