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as an univerfal remedy in venereal cafes. I hope foon to 

 ^be better acquainted with thefe things : Though I am forry 

 to fay that I am no great botanift, nor have we any man 

 of eminence in that way. Here is certainly a great field 

 to employ naturaliils. Minerals, efpecially iron, we have 

 in abundance. I have a very good natural magnet, found 

 within fix miles of this town. There is an excellent 

 chalybeat v^ater juft by, it's elaftic fpirit has driven the 

 cork out of the bottle which contained it. The country 

 is full of navigable rivers, and runs of the fineft frefli wa- 

 ter. About Mobile and at the fwampy mouths of fome 

 rivers, it muft be a little unhealthy, but it is far from be- 

 ing fo bad as has been imagined. In April 1765, when 

 I w^as notified as furgeon to the forces here at the war 

 office, I unluckily prognofticated the fate of our troops 

 which were then to be fent out. It is now evident that it 

 was mifcondu£l entirely that ocafioned the lofs of fo many 

 foldiers and fubjeds. lam juft making out a flate of the me- 

 dical conftitution of this climate ; as an introdudion to which 

 I have given a fhort general account of the fituation of 

 the country and the temperature of the air; for which laft 

 purpofe I have taken the height of the thermometer gene- 

 rally three times every day for one whole year, and I have 

 noted all the extraordinary variations for almoft three 



other years. Nothing elfe could give an idea of a climate, 



where the thermometer vv^ill rife or fall fome times 20 de- 

 grees in a few hours, and at other feafons not 2 in many 



days, the extremes being at leaft from 17 to 98 degrees of 

 Farenheit's fcale. Your fociety obferve, that on the eaft 

 coaft of North-America and of China, the nortli-weft 

 winds are cold and piercing, the fouth-weft warm and dry, 

 the north-eaft cold and wet, the fouth-eaft wet but w^arm; 

 and that the cafe is different on the weft coaft of Europe 

 and at California. Now on this coaft, which is neither 

 the eaft nor weft fide of a continent; in winter the fouth- 

 erly winds are warm and moift, the northerly cold and 

 dry: In fummer we have the daily fea breeze from the 



South, 



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