GREENLAND :—WEATHER. 
343 
The weather, in the months of June and July, 
is found to be particularly fine upon this coast; 
and the thick fogs with which the adjoining re¬ 
gions are visited, seldom remain long at a time on 
the land. We frequently observed, that when 
there was a thick “ fog-bank” to the eastward, 
the weather was clear near the shore; and some¬ 
times, in standing to the westward, we emerged 
as we approached the land, into a clear sky 
and bright sunshine. The total freeness from 
clouds of the atmosphere near shore, is often re¬ 
markable. The sun sometimes sweeps for days 
together, round and round the heavens, without, 
for a moment, being concealed by a cloud. The 
heat on shore, I have had occasion to remark, is, 
in such cases, very intense. The constant action 
of the sun, without the suspension of night, pro¬ 
duces an influence on the vegetation, which ex¬ 
ceeds, perhaps, any thing that elsewhere occurs 
even in the finest regions of the globe. The whole 
process of vegetation, from the first mark of vitali¬ 
ty in the seed deposited in the ground, to the 
flowering and seeding of another series, is accom¬ 
plished in a few weeks; and this process, it is 
evident, must be completed within the limited 
period, in every indigenous plant, or its species 
would become extinct. 
The superior heat of the land, to that of the 
