21 
the published meteorological observations of the Greek Bishop 
Veniaminoff, made at Honliouk between the years 1825 and 
1834, afford much useful material from which to draw fair con¬ 
clusions of the climate. . . . The mean temperature, from 
nine years observations, is 38° 05, or 4° 9 below that of Sitka. 
. . . The clearest months without clouds are December, 
January and February, when the north and north-west winds 
prevail. . . . August, September and October are the 
months in which the most rain falls, during which time winds 
from the. south and south-west prevail. . . . Thunder 
storms are rare, only seventeen being recorded in seven years, 
and some in winter/’ — Davidson. 
Winds along the coast differ with the seasons; during the 
spring and summer months south-west winds generally prevail 
along the southern and western shores; in the autumn and 
winter seasons, north-west, north and north-east winds are 
regular, with occasional breezes from the southward. Fogs are 
common along the shores, but not very dense, being much 
lighter than those around the Golden Gate — the entrance to 
San Francisco. “ The prevailing winds in winter are easterly, 
and if from the southward are accompanied with rain and snow ; 
when from the north-east the weather is generally clear and 
cold. La Perouse says that when the wind is but a few degrees 
north of west, the sky is generally pretty clear. When ap¬ 
proaching Behring Bay, he says: 4 1 first thought these seas 
more foggy than those which separate Europe and America, but 
I should have been greatly mistaken to have irrevocably em¬ 
braced this opinion.’ The fogs of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland 
and Hudson Bay have uncontestable claim to pre-eminence from 
their constant density. The stormy weather commences in 
October; storms and tempests are frequent in November and 
December, and from the vicinity of Sitka the aurora borealis is 
seen frequently and very brilliant during clear, cold nights. 
The winter weather breaks up about the end of March, and the 
Russian-American Company’s vessels are ready for their first 
fur-trading early in April, when the weather is cold but com¬ 
paratively dry. March, April, May, June, July, and sometimes 
August, are good months, with an average monthly rain-fall 
not much greater than on the Atlantic coast.” — Davidson. 
Timber. The south-eastern angle of the territory is densely 
covered with forest; several varieties of wood are found con- 
