EXPEDITION TO SURINAM. 



the heats in Guiana are much more fupportable than 

 thofe on that part of the African coaft. The fcorching 

 rays of the fun are in Guiana daily tempered by cooling 

 breezes from the fea ; while in Guinea the intenfe heat is 

 increafed by the wind blowing continually over the land, 

 and in its paflage traverfing numerous fandy defarts. 

 The eafterly or trade winds, which generally blow be- 

 tween the Tropics, are extremely refrefliing to the coaft 

 of Guiana, between the hours of eight or ten in the 

 morning, and fix o'clock in the evening, when they ceafe 

 to operate, and a zephyr is fcarcely ever heard to whifper 

 during the night. Thefe winds are fucceeded by thick 

 fogs, and vapours exhaled from the earth, which render 

 the nights in this country not only very chilly, but ex- 

 tremely damp and unhealthy. The length of the days 

 and nights in Guiana never varies much more than 

 forty minutes during the courfe of the year, as the fun 

 always rifes about fix in the morning, and fets at the 

 fame hour in the evening. 



The rainy and dry feafons which divide the year, as 

 cold and warm weather divide it in Europe, may be 

 termed the winter and fummer of this country. There 

 is however one remarkable difference between the Euro- 

 pean feafons and thofe in Guiana, which is, that Guiana 

 has annually two winters and two fummers, which are 

 diflinguiflied from each other by the appellation of the 

 greater and the /mailer, not becaufe the rains are lefs 

 violent in the two latter feafons, or the heat lefs intenfe, 

 but from an opinion which has prevailed, that their pe- 

 riod of duration is but about half as long as that of the 



Vol. I. £ 4 former. 



