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tompcratin'o does not now sink to its former low level ; and, instead of a 
decided dry and rainy season, the rains now fall more equally throughout 
the year ; wliile the average number of storms during the year is twenty- 
six, whereas, formerly, they could daily be counted upon with the 
greatest certainty during the thi’ee hot mouths, as is the case still at 
Para. 
It is a remarkable fact that, immediately after that period (1850), 
epidemics, like yellow fever and cholera, unknowm before in llio, made 
their grim entry, and have demanded their yearly victims ever since. 
We are unable to determine whether there is any vital connection 
between the two facts, or whether the ironical j?osi hoc ergo propter 
hoc I is applicable thereto. 
Along the whole coast north of Rio, the climate is much like that 
of the capital, moist and warm, though in many 25laces the sea-breeze 
injures the wheat. At Bahia the a\-erago temperature, in summer, 
is said to be 82° F. ; that in Avinter, 71^° F. At Para the average 
temperature amoimts to 79° F., and that on the plains of the Amazon 
to 82° — 84° F., Avith a minimum of 75° F. in the cooler months. 
In the iuterioj', the different seasons sIioav a greater Amriety. In 
tlie southern parts of Minas Geraes, at heights of from 1,500 to 2,000 
feet above the sea-level, the average yearly temperature is 66° — 
68° F.; that of summer, 75° — 77° F. ; that of Avinter, 59° F.; but fre- 
quently the thermometer sinlcs to freezing point; and it is not a rai-e 
sight to see tropical jjlants, such as coffee, j)lantain, and sugar cane, 
severely damaged by the night frosts. In Sao Paulo the average annual 
temperature varies betAveen 711° and 731° ; in Rio Grande do Sul, 
that of summer, betAA'een 77° and 80-J^° F., AA'hile in Aviuter it is some- 
times beloAV freezing-point. In the German colony of Sao Leopoldo 
the mercury once CAmn showed 50° F. In Donna Francisca, another 
German colony of the province of Santa Cathariua, the average annual 
temperature is 68°— 70° F.; that of the summer months (December, 
January and February), 75°— 77° F. However, 97°— 981° in 
summer and 34° in Avinter are not thought extraordinary. 
Generally, there are but tAVO distinct seasons in Brazil, the cool 
or dry one, and the hot or rainy one, Avhose beginning and duration 
depend greatly upon the local configuration of the country. The 
latter usually begins in October or November; at some distance from 
the seaboard, a little later; and in some parts of Maranhao, Piauhy, 
