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THE ILLINOIS FARMEB. 



81 



On tbe Means of Seenriag the AdTa^tagei of 



Climate. *ti>^fe-^^ 



•K ; f 



BT WILSOH Fl^iOO. 



14 



*r^e selectioQ of a site for one*g dwelling- 

 hpnse,, whetlier it be designed only for asammer 

 residence, or for a permanent abode, is a sabject 

 of ereafer dilScalty than is generally supposed. 

 In treating of tbis matter, we should consider 

 those circumstances which are most favorable 

 for shelter in winter, for shade in sammeti for 

 recreation, and for prospect. In this essay, I 

 shall treat less of the coaxparatiTe advantages 

 of living north or south of a «ea:tain latitude, on 

 tbe.eoast or in the interior, than of the import- 

 anoe of certain circumstanoM attached to par- 

 ticular locations,, that may be found in all places. 



The average of the weather tbrooghout the 

 y«ar might prove the advantages in favor of a 

 residence on the coast But whether we live 

 near the sea-shore, or a hnndred miles back of it, 

 the American climate is so cold at one time, 

 and so hot at another, and so variable at all 

 times, that the true art of enjoying it consists in 

 using the best means to avail ourselves of its 

 beniefits, and to secure ourselves &om its evils. 

 It does not involve the question whether we shall 

 live in this latitude and longitude or another; but 

 what rules should our govern choice of a location 

 fov pur dwelling-houses, and what means should 

 be .used to protect them from the cold winds, and 

 secure to them tlie advantage of the sun's rays. 

 None will dispute that, in the same . township, 

 certain locations are more favorable fpr comfort, 

 as well as for prospect, than others; and were 

 all men. to pay proper regard to the selection of 

 a site, and to the use of all available means of 

 protection from the disagreeable effects of the 

 weather, lam persuaded that the people would 

 en>oy more comfort, both at home and abroad. 

 We should also hear less fault-finding with the 

 climate, which, on account of the great porpor- 

 tion of clear, sunny days, adinits of improve- 

 ment, both by adopting the means of shelter 

 from the cold winds, and of collecting and rever- 

 berating the heat of the sun. If our climate 

 were a cloudy one, a hill or a grove would be of 

 equal: value to protect us from the winds; but, 

 under present eireuinstances, they may be con- 

 trived to afiord no positive heat whd& the sky is 

 clear, in the coldest of weather. Hence a wdl 

 protected inclosure may be comfortable daring 

 all clear days in winter ; while an unprotected 

 one is no warmer on clear days than at other 

 times, because all the heat mected from the 

 surfiaice is immediately dissipated. 



By considering the great catise of the dijQfer- 

 ence between the climate of America and that 

 of the same latitudes ou the old continent, we 

 might easily be convinced of the importance of 

 a natural or artificial bulwark, to increase the 

 comfort of our inclosnres, and to make a pleasant 

 climate about our homes. The great Himalayan 

 range of mountains runs east and west, separ- 

 ating the continent of Asia iuto two grand div- 

 isions, one on the north, and the other on the 

 south. By means of this natural barrier, the 

 country lying south of it is completely defended 

 from the north winds, and seldom experiences a 



severe degree of cold* The countries aortik of 

 the range, on the other hand, are just as effect- 

 ually cut off from the warming influeBoe of the 

 south winds. The returning currents of the at- 

 mosphere, from the equator tp the poles, cannot 

 freely pass over tbrae mountains, but are divert- 

 ed to the outside of the chain, and return ^ioog 

 the Valliey of the Bed Sea and the Mediterrait- 

 ean, and over the western coast of Europ^. 

 Hence, the climate of that country is the most 

 delightfal in the world; and while Pearsia and 

 the Indies, on the south of the Himalayan range, 

 enjoy an almost perpetual summer, Siberia, Tar- 

 tary, and other countries en the north of it, art 

 rendered almost uninhabitable by cold. : ,^ ,„ 



The character of the American cbntfnebt, 

 which is divided by the Bocky Mountains, in 

 the direction of north and south, is quite the re- 

 verse of this. The northern regions feel the full 

 influence of the returning winds from the equator 

 to the poles, and the southern regions are equally 

 subject, in winter, to the freezing winds, that 

 meet with no barrier to intercept their progress 

 from the Arctic circle. Hence, Korth America 

 has the most variable climate known; and often, 

 while the New England States in nlid- winter 

 are enjoying the mild weather of the Carolinas, 

 brought to them by a few days* prevalence of 

 the south wind, the orange trees in Florida are 

 in jeopardy from the freezing gales that pour 

 down west of the AUeghaniesr directly from 

 Labrador. 



All this difierence between the climate of 

 Asia and America may be attributed to the 

 different course of the great ranges of moun- 

 tains in these two continents. Were the Bocky 

 Mountains stretched uninterruptedly across the 

 continent of America, from the coast of Labrador 

 to that of the Russian possessions on the Pacific 

 — ^the Canadas would have a climate as mild as 

 that of Europe; and Newfoundland, now al- 

 most uninhabitable, receiving the atmospheric 

 currents from the equator, turned aside by the 

 int^cepting mountains, would be a land of per- 

 petual spring, and the garden of the work). 



Nature in these cases has presented us ex- 

 a'Jiples, from which we might derive 8om« useful 

 instruction. Rules for the improvement of the 

 soil have been carried almost to perfection; but 

 little has been done for the improvement of cli- 

 mate, which is nearly as much under our control 

 as the soiL The laws that influence climate are 

 the same in all parts of the world, and the same 

 proportionally en a smaller as on a lai^r scale 

 of operation. In a land of so much sunshine as 

 our own, we may economize it for our use and 

 benefit, or we may allow it to be lost, according 

 as we adopt or neglect co'tain contrivances for 

 this purpose. Nature has shown, by her own 

 example, the effect of woods, of mountains and 

 ranges of hills, upon the weather in their vicinity. 

 Let us study these effects, learn the laws of eli' 

 mate, which are vastly more important than ^e 

 prognostics of the weather, and we might soon 

 be enabled to double our own comforts. 



This essay cannot contain anything beyond a 

 few hints that may lead to further investigatioD 

 of these laws. In many cases our farmers seen 

 to have been governed by them, and in geaeral 



