﻿466 
  Dr. 
  van 
  Rijckevorsel 
  on 
  the 
  Temperature 
  of 
  Europe. 
  

  

  opinion 
  on 
  the 
  question, 
  still 
  it 
  should 
  seem 
  as 
  if 
  the 
  Alps 
  

   could 
  hardly 
  be 
  the 
  birthplace 
  of 
  this 
  sudden 
  cooling 
  down 
  

   in 
  the 
  first 
  half 
  of 
  May, 
  but 
  as 
  if 
  we 
  must 
  rather 
  look 
  for 
  

   this 
  in 
  a 
  south-eastern 
  or 
  southern 
  direction, 
  beyond 
  the 
  

   Mediterranean. 
  

  

  Of 
  course, 
  more 
  local 
  anomalies, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  one 
  last 
  

   named, 
  also 
  make 
  themselves 
  apparent. 
  Thus 
  the 
  curves 
  

   for 
  Montpellier 
  and 
  for 
  Lyons 
  — 
  two 
  places 
  so 
  near 
  together, 
  

   but 
  the 
  second 
  one 
  more 
  inland, 
  more 
  to 
  the 
  north 
  and 
  near 
  

   to 
  the 
  Alps 
  — 
  are 
  exactly 
  similar 
  for 
  the 
  eight 
  months 
  March- 
  

   October. 
  This 
  is 
  the 
  more 
  important 
  as 
  I 
  took 
  for 
  Mont- 
  

   pellier, 
  and 
  on 
  purpose, 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  observations 
  in 
  the 
  18th 
  

   century. 
  But 
  for 
  the 
  four 
  winter 
  months 
  the 
  curves 
  are 
  

   exactly 
  similar 
  also, 
  only 
  the 
  one 
  for 
  Montpellier 
  is 
  much 
  

   more 
  contracted. 
  Every 
  feature 
  is 
  repeated 
  in 
  both 
  curves, 
  

   only 
  in 
  November 
  and 
  December 
  they 
  all 
  occur 
  nearly 
  a 
  

   fortnight 
  later 
  at 
  Montpellier, 
  in 
  January 
  and 
  February 
  on 
  

   the 
  other 
  hand 
  as 
  much 
  earlier. 
  A 
  similar 
  instance 
  is 
  given 
  

   by 
  the 
  curves 
  for 
  Flushing 
  and 
  Brussels. 
  The 
  two 
  are 
  

   strikingly 
  similar, 
  only 
  that 
  for 
  Brussels 
  shows 
  a 
  far 
  greater 
  

   range 
  than 
  the 
  other. 
  Here, 
  though 
  the 
  places 
  are 
  so 
  very 
  

   near 
  together, 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  the 
  sea-climate 
  of 
  Flushing 
  

   is 
  immediately 
  shown 
  by 
  the 
  curves. 
  

  

  Thus 
  a 
  minimum 
  in 
  the 
  second 
  half 
  of 
  December, 
  with 
  a 
  

   very 
  decided 
  rise 
  of 
  temperature 
  towards 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  year, 
  

   which 
  is 
  very 
  characteristic 
  for 
  the 
  extreme 
  eastern 
  part 
  of 
  

   our 
  continent, 
  seems 
  to 
  die 
  out 
  long 
  before 
  it 
  could 
  reach 
  the 
  

   middle 
  of 
  Russia. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand 
  it 
  is 
  remarkable 
  how 
  persistent 
  some 
  

   much 
  smaller 
  features 
  are. 
  Here 
  are 
  the 
  two 
  unimportant 
  

   maxima, 
  separated 
  by 
  a 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  apparent 
  minimum 
  in 
  

   April. 
  This 
  feature, 
  slight 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  for 
  most 
  stations, 
  extends 
  

   over 
  nearly 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  Europe, 
  and 
  only 
  dies 
  out 
  in 
  the 
  

   extreme 
  east. 
  This 
  must 
  be 
  another 
  peculiarity 
  of 
  our 
  climate 
  

   which 
  originates 
  to 
  the 
  w 
  r 
  est 
  of 
  our 
  continent. 
  The 
  next 
  

   minimum, 
  just 
  as 
  slight, 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  month 
  is 
  still 
  more 
  

   persistent 
  : 
  it 
  is 
  slightly 
  apparent 
  for 
  all 
  European 
  stations 
  

   without 
  an 
  exception. 
  

  

  I 
  do 
  not 
  feel 
  justified 
  in 
  taking 
  up 
  more 
  of 
  your 
  time 
  for 
  a 
  

   subject 
  wdiich 
  I 
  have 
  not 
  at 
  all 
  yet 
  thoroughly 
  investigated. 
  

   But 
  I 
  think 
  I 
  have 
  said 
  enough 
  to 
  show 
  how 
  interesting 
  

   temperature-curves 
  may 
  be, 
  and 
  how 
  desirable 
  it 
  is 
  that 
  as 
  

   many 
  of 
  them 
  should 
  be 
  constructed 
  as 
  can 
  possibly 
  be 
  done. 
  

   Constructed, 
  and 
  duly 
  compared 
  with 
  others, 
  and 
  on 
  a 
  large 
  

   scale. 
  

  

  And 
  here 
  is 
  also 
  a 
  reason 
  why 
  I 
  bring 
  the 
  subject 
  before 
  

   the 
  public 
  before 
  I 
  see 
  the 
  extent 
  even 
  of 
  it 
  myself. 
  Is 
  it 
  

  

  