CLIMATE OF MERIDA. 



87 



street, Don Vicente Calera, who, at the time of our 

 former visit, was still travelling in the United States. 

 In the mean time he had retm*ned, married, and was 

 again domesticated in his native city. 



Under his escort we traversed Merida in every di- 

 rection, and visited all the public buildings and in- 

 stitutions. 



The population of Merida is probably about twen- 

 ty-three thousand. Two tables are published in the 

 Appendix ; but both purport to give the population 

 of the district, and neither that of the city alone. 

 The city stands on a great plain, on a surface of 

 limestone rock, and the temperature and chmate are 

 very uniform. During the thirteen days that we 

 were in Merida the thermometer varied but nine de- 

 grees ; and, according to a table of observations kept 

 for many years by the much-esteemed Cura Villa- 

 mil, it appears that during the year beginning on the 

 first of September, 1841, which included the whole 

 time that we were in the country, the greatest vari- 

 ation was but twenty-three degrees. By the kind- 

 ness of the cura, I have been furnished with a copy 

 of this table, from which I extract the observations 

 for the days that we passed in Merida. The entire 

 table is published in the Appendix. The observa- 

 tions were made by a Fahrenheit thermometer kept 

 in the open air and in the shade, and noted at six 

 in the morning, midday, and six in the afternoon. 



