SOO General Notices. 



which is to join it, rub in a little of the soft putty, close it down and apply a 

 few drops of solder here and there to keep them together. Next open the 

 outside lap of the second row and insert the edge of the third row in the same 

 manner, and so on, until the size of the sash is complete. When the sheet of 

 glass, so to speak, is finished, slide it into the grooves of the outside side 

 bars or frame of the sash, and fill up any open space with common putty. A 

 few small brass or copper nails, with good heads, should be driven through 

 the double lead-lap between each row of panes, at intervals of 6 or 9 inches, 

 into the wooden bars below, to fasten the lead and glass to the frame ; the work 

 is then complete. You will now perceive that the only woodwork of the 

 sashes exposed to the weather is the sides or frame; and, I think, you will 

 agree with me that that is no little advantage. The woodwork must be very 

 accurately made, otherwise the joining of the rows of glass will not correspond 

 with the bars, and of course there will be nothing to drive the nails into. — 

 Amicus. May 6. 1840. 



Temperature. — The following interesting extract is from an article by Col. 

 Hall, of Quito, in Dr. Hooker's Journal of Botany : — " The mean tempera- 

 ture of the neighbourhood of Quito may be reckoned about 56° ; that of the 

 cit}' itself is about 37°. The temperature of the southern basin is rather 

 higher, and may be estimated at 60°. Every difference of elevation produces, 

 of course, a corresponding variation of temperature. The mean of the Para- 

 mos may be reckoned at 38° ; and when we reach the limits of perpetual snow, 

 at 32°. There is a circumstance worthy of notice, with regard to the temper- 

 ature of elevated tropical regions, because it has a powerful influence both on 

 animal and vegetable life ; that is, the uniformity of the yearly temperature, 

 so different from our European seasons. Thus, as Humboldt observes {De 

 Distrihutione Geographica Plantarum, p. 132.), the mean temperature of Quito 

 is nearly the same with that of the South of France; yet a variety of European 

 fruits, such as peaches, nectarines, grapes, figs, &c., which ripen well with even 

 an Enghsh summer, never reach perfection in Quito, where the daily range of 

 the thermometer throughout the year is from 48° to 63°. The plants of the 

 Andes will, for the same reason, be with more difficulty naturalised, and more 

 readily degenerate, in Europe, than those of the Alps or of northern latitudes, 

 when transported to warmer climates ; since both in the Alps and in Lapland 

 there is an alternation of summer and winter, differing only in length and 

 intensity from those of France or England ; while the plants of the Andes 

 are rarely exposed to a variation of above 17° throughout the year. They 

 thus acquire, like the inhabitants, a constitution ill adapted to support great 

 changes. I have never been able to cultivate the plants of the Paramos, even 

 in Quito ; the seeds refuse to germinate, or the plants either perish before 

 taking root, or preserve a brief and languishing existence. No doubt other 

 circumstances, such as atmospherical pressure and the action of light, co- 

 operate, as Humboldt observes, with the effect of temperature ; but these 

 circumstances increase the difficulty of vegetable emigration. Another pecu- 

 liarity of the elevated tropical regions is the great heat of the sun's rays, as 

 compared with the shade. I have seen a thermometer placed on the grass at 

 Quito rise to 120°, which is equal to its utmost range at the level of the sea ; 

 while in the shade its extreme range is 60° to 66° in the high lands, and 80° 

 to 88° on the coast. It is for this reason that the heat seems more oppressive 

 in Quito than in Guayaquil, there being frequently in the former a difference 

 of more than 60° between the two sides of a street or wall ; and these daily 

 inequalities contrast more strongly with the annual uniformity of temperature 

 already indicated, and still farther complicate the peculiarities of Andean vege- 

 tation. I have alluded to reflected heat, because it is that to which animal and 

 vegetable life are subjected, and, perhaps, the only modification of the sun's rays 

 which can be accurately examined. It seems more easy to naturalise the 

 vegetable productions of Europe in the regions of the Andes than vice versa. 

 European flowers adorn the gardens, and European vegetables supply the 

 tables of Quito, as the Cerealia is one of the few benefits conferred by the 



