Ch.VL south AMERICA. 65 



great joy of the inhabitants again appears, and the , 

 country now begins to revive, which during the ab- 

 lence of his rays had continued in a ftate of languor. 

 This is fucceeded by fummer, which, tho' hot from 

 the perpendicular direction of the fun's rays, is far 

 from being infupportable ; the heat, which would in- 

 deed otherwife be exceflive, being moderated by the 

 fouth-winds, which at this feafon always blow, tho' 

 with no great force. At the latter end of June, or 

 the beginning of July, the winter begins, and continues 

 till November or December, the autumn intervening 

 between both. A bout this time the fouth winds begin 

 to blow ftronger, and bring the cold with them not 

 indeed equal to that in countries where fnow and ice 

 are known, but fo keen that the light dredes are lain 

 by, and cloth or other warm iluffs worn. 



There are two caufes of the cold felt in this 

 country, and nature, wife in all her ways, provides 

 others which produce the fame eftecl at Quito. The 

 firft caufe of cold at Lima is the winds, which paffing 

 over the frozen climes of the fouth pole, bring hither 

 part of the frigorific particles from thole gelid regions ; 

 but as a fufficient quantity of thefe could not be brought 

 over fuch an immenfe fpace as lies between the fi'ozen 

 and torrid zones of its hemifphere, nature has provided 

 another expedient: during the winter, the earth is 

 covered with fo thick a fog, as totally to intercept the 

 rays of the fun ; and the winds, by being propagated 

 under the flieker of this fog, retain the particles they 

 contracted in the frozen zone. Nor is this fog- con- 



o 



fined to the country of Lima, it extends, with the 

 fame denfity, northward thro' ail the country of Valles, 

 at the fame time filling the atmolphere of the fea ; as 

 'will be fhewn hereafter. 



This fog feldom fails daily to cover the earth, 

 with a denfity that obfcures objeCls at any diflance : 

 About 10 or II it begins to rife, , but without being 

 totally difperfed, tho' it is then no impediment to the 



Vol. IL ' F ' fight, 



