Europe: — a popular Physical Sketch. 193 



In the south of Europe, the daily changing land and sea 

 winds are frequent, particularly in summer. During the day, 

 the land-air is more heated than the sea-air, for which reason 

 the air rises over the land, and pours in from the sea. At 

 night, on the contrary, the sea-air is warmer, for which reason 

 the land-air streams towards the sea, of such change of wind 

 but slight traces are observed in the north of Europe. The 

 hot enervating winds ( scirocco, solano,) which blow in the 

 south, are unknown in the north, where also little is perceiv- 

 ed of the pestilential air, which infests so many tracts of 

 country in the south. 



The chief distinctions between the vegetation of the south 

 and the north are, — the south produces a greater multitude, 

 and by name a greater variety in species of trees and shrubs, 

 a greater number of tropical forms of plants, of creepers and 

 bulbs, of beautiful flowers and scented herbs ; wherewithal 

 the evergreen foliage is peculiar to the south of Europe. 

 On the other side, the grass vegetation is much more luxuri- 

 ant in the north, owing to the summer rain, which is much 

 rarer in the south, which during that season gives an arid 

 greyish-yellow appearance to the grass. 



Although the wheat is also much cultivated in central 

 Europe, and in some countries is the principal grain-sort, 

 rye nevertheless is characteristic to the north ; whereas 

 wheat, maize, and partly rice are the common grain with the 

 south European. Potatoes and buck-wheat, of great impor- 

 tance as food in the north, are rare in the south. Beer is com- 

 mon beverage with the north, wine with the south European ; 

 yet the vine-limit lies to the north of the dividing mountains. 

 The oil and butter, on the contrary, correspond exactly to 

 the dividing medium between the two principal parts of 

 Europe. 



In the south of Europe, vegetables and fruit are much 

 more generally cultivated than in the north, and there is also 

 a greater variety of oranges. Pistachios are found to the south 



