52 James Geiliie — On Seasonal Migrations. 



and those of other mountain districts in our continent which are 

 now destitute of glaciers, — would all this result in producing a 

 climate like that experienced in Northern Asia and the temperate 

 latitudes of North America ? 



The immediate effect produced by the conversion of a large part 

 of the Mediterranean into dry land would be something like the 

 following. The hot dry winds coming from Africa would part with 

 less warmth and suck up less moisture than they do now, and, as a 

 conseqi^ence of this, summer in the countries bordering upon the 

 Mediterranean would be hotter and drier. Mr. Dawkins seems to 

 have a decided objection to winds. " All speculations as to the 

 prevalent wind at that remote time in different parts of Europe 

 apjDcar to me," he says, "mere guesses, and nothing else." Perhaps 

 he will tell us how otherwise than by winds the extra warmth de- 

 rived from his hypothetical land was to be carried north. Either 

 winds brought the warmth north, or they stole away with it in some 

 other direction ; but if central Europe was to have its climate in- 

 fluenced by the new-born land, then a southerly wind was the only 

 medium by which such a result could have been effected. 



Now we know that in the present economy of things the climatal 

 influence of the Mediterranean in summer-time extends but a very 

 short distance north into Europe. It certainly does not cross either 

 the Alps or the Pyrenees. A line drawn from Bayonne by Viviers 

 and Turin to the head of the Adriatic corresponds to the July iso- 

 thermal line of 72°-5 F. When the same line is continued towards the 

 north-east into Hungary, it suddenly sweeps down to Constantinople; 

 and, circling round the Black Sea, returns upon itself at Odessa, 

 after which it continues for some distance in the normal north-easterly 

 direction. That sudden curve to the south-east is, of course, due to 

 the presence of the Black Sea, and seeing that the Mediterraiiean 

 does not influence the same isothermal line either in France, Italy, 

 or Austria, it is quite clear that the modifying effect of this large 

 inland sea has nothing whatever to do with the climate of central 

 Europe. South of the line referred to, however, we find the July 

 isotherms violently distui'bed. That of 77° F. runs along the 

 shores of the Mediterranean from Barcelona by Perpignan and 

 Montpellier to Toulon. From this place it strikes directly S.S.E. to 

 Cape Spartivento, then curves gently on to Palermo, after which it 

 sweeps round by Messina and the Gulf of Taranto, across Italy, and 

 more than half-way up the Adriatic. It then doubles suddenly back 

 upon itself, skirts the eastern shores of the Adriatic, and crosses the 

 south of Turkey and the ^Bgean Sea to Mytelene and Asia Minor. 

 This irregularity is just as surely caused by the presence of the 

 Mediterranean as the abrupt curving of the July isothermal line of 

 72°'5 is due to that of the Black Sea. In short, it is perfectly 

 apparent that the isotheral lines in the south of Europe are deflected 

 by the inland seas from their normal direction, — this deflection being 

 confined to the immediate proximity of these basins. But in central 

 and northern Europe all the isotheral lines are pushed south by the 

 overwhelming infiuence of the Atlantic (see Chart Plate IV. Fig. 1) ; 



