Re Se Se ns SE 
Meteorological Observations in Western Asia. 79 
the most important features of each, as they would strike an 
observer moving consecutively from one place to the other. — 
At Erzeroom, we find, as might be expected from a place in 
the latitude of 40°, and more than a mile above the level of the 
sea, acold winter and relatively cool nights throughout the whole 
year. ‘The heat of summer, more particularly of the middle of 
the day, is however less modified by the circumstantes of latitude 
and elevation than one would suppose from the mention of these 
particulars alone. . he extensive and nearly barren plain, which 
_ Stretches for several miles north and west of the city, has un- 
doubtedly much to do in counteracting the causes of cold which 
exist there, as in places similarly elevated. A remarkable free- 
dom from wind, which occurs during the winter season, serves 
greatly to diminish the amount of sensible cold, and a fper- 
son may sometimes be in the open air when the mercury is 
very low, without being at all sensible of the extreme cold 
indicated by the thermometer. As it is natural to associate 
clouds and storms with, mountainous regions, the dry season of 
_ Erzeroom, though not so long as that of Syria and the region 
of Mosul, is a feature of its climate well worthy of mention. 
None of the gardens and fields around the city, nor indeed any 
where upon the plain, are expected to bring their productions 
to maturity without being watered by artificial means. ‘This re- 
mark is supposed to be true very generally of all Turkey in Asia 
not lying on the declivity which looks toward the Black sea. It 
Is true emphatically of the mountainous region south of Erze- 
_toom, as the writer had occasion to observe when in the country 
_ of the Mountain Nestorians in 1844. There none of the lands 
are considered tillable, except those lying on the borders of 
streams or where the waters of a spring may be made to flow 
over them. The dryness of the soil arises not only from the in- 
cy of rains, but also from the great want of moisture in the 
atmosphere, there being no large evaporating surfaces like those 
of our large rivers and inland lakes. In consequence of this, the 
air needs only to be. slightly elevated in temperature, and it be- 
comes greatly undercharged with water. The nearness of the 
Black sea does little to supply this want, since it Is skirted along 
the whole southern shore with mountains so high as to thew 
toag it degree, the passage over them of the moisture raise 
Golan ss ts travelling over, and along the sides of these 
Mes 
