271 the Tempei'ature of IFinter. 5 



tine ; for Herodotus, in Etcrpc, expressly declares that 

 no ice was seen in Egypt ; and, in another passage, that 

 the climate is subject to no variations. 



Let us then attend to the process by which Dr. Wil- 

 liams attempts to prove a change of climate in Palestine. 



He presumes Moses wrote the book of Job — that the 

 descriptions of ice and snow refer to the land of Midiaa 

 and Palestine, and therefore that the winter, in those ear- 

 ly ages, must have been severe enough to freeze solid 

 ice, which, he says, requires a temperature of about 25*^ 

 by Farenheit. He has no meteorological observations 

 for Palestine, but presumes the climate to be nearly the 

 same, as to heat, with that of Egypt. Mr. Niebuhr's 

 observations in Grand Cairo in 1761 and 2, make the 

 mean heat of January 57, and of February Qic> — the cold- 

 est weather therefore he supposes to be about 49'^ by 

 Fai'enheit. Hence, if Palestine and Egypt have nearly 

 a similar climate, he draws the conclusion that, in mod- 

 ern days, " no ice or snow is ever seen in Palestine." 



This inference is drawn from a very inaccurate view 

 of the subject. The facts with regard to Palestine at 

 this day, are these. 



The whole country comprehended between Aleppo 

 on the north, the Mediterranean on the west, and the 

 barren plains of Arabia on tlie south and east, is divided 

 into high hills, mountains and plains. Palestine on the 

 south, is a level plain, and a very warm country. The 

 thermometer in winter is seldom seen below 50°. If 

 snow ever falls, it is speedily dissolved. In this mild 

 climate, which extends along the Mediterranean shore, 

 the orange, date, banana, and other delicate trees flour- 

 ish, without injury from the winter's cold. Little fire is 

 jiecessary for the inhabitants ; instead of fire, which is 

 sometimes wanted during the cool rains of winter, the 

 poor people shut up their cattle under the same roof with 

 themselves, in a diftbrent apartment, and receive heat 

 enough from their bodies to make themselves comforta- 

 ble. Such is the present climate of the plains. 



But a great part of Syria and Judea consists of moun- 

 tains, which are every winter covered with snow ; and 

 often the eaith is coAcrcd, for months, to the depth of 



