Choice of a Situation for a Vineyard. 5 



of its crossing the Rio Grande at its mouth — Lat. 26^ — it is de- 

 flected southward in its passage over the high lands of Mexi- 

 co, to Lat. 20°, turning again to the north as it descends the 

 coast, and meeting the peninsular of Lower California near 

 the tropic of Cancer. Here we have, in crossing the Conti- 

 nent, an extreme variation of 1 2 ^degrees of latitude. If we 

 trace these lines upon a map of the world, we shall see that 

 as they leave our Continent eastward they all turn decidedly to 

 the northward, on account of the influence of the gulf-stream, 

 which carries the temperature from the tropical seas toward 

 the arctic region, and striking the west coast of Europe, modi- 

 fies the climate there, even in high latitudes. Let us now 

 follow the line that passes through Cincinnati, in its eastward 

 course ; it is but slightly turned to the north until it reaches 

 the Atlantic, when it is deflected northward, and crossing this 

 ocean is projected upon the west coast of France, in lati- 

 tude 49, and reaches the banks of the Rhine, in the wine 

 region, latitude 48 degrees. We are in the habit of consid- 

 ering France a warm country ; and so it is, as shown by these 

 lines, though nearly the whole of its territory lies north of 

 latitude 43, which is near the north line of Iowa, passes 

 through Milwaukie and Madison, Wisconsin, Grand Haven 

 on the west and Fort Gratiot on the east of Michigan, by the 

 mouth of Lake Huron, through Canada, to Niagara Falls, 

 north of Albany, and almost touches Maine as it reaches the 

 ocean. The latitude of the wine region of the Rhine, in 

 France and Germany — 4.9 north — is found in the inhospitable 

 region of British North America, a whole degree beyond 

 Lake Superior, 



This difference in the temperature of the two Continents 

 is attributed in great part to the different distribution of land 

 and water under the equator in each. Europe feels the 

 influence produced by the broad extent of burning sands ex- 

 posed to a tropical sun in Africa, while in the Western Hemi- 



