ANNUAL ADDRESS. 57 
waters never freeze ! This is owing to the gulf stream. The 
waters become heated in the great tropical cauldron of the 
Gulf of Mexico, flow past the Florida coast, diverge from the 
shores of New Foundland eastwardly, and at last give off their 
heat at the Faroes, so that there, in winter even, water never 
freezes ! The snow line, in consequence of the vast radiat¬ 
ing plains, is higher north of the Himalaya mountains than 
south ! 
In Stormness, in the Orkney Isles, 58° North, the medium 
Winter temperature is above 39° ; higher than it is in Paris, 
France, 48° 50' North ! So the Agave Mexicana, or “ century 
plant ” blooms in open air in Devonshire, England ; but grapes 
do not make potable wine there. The sea protects the agave, 
whilst the clouds and north latitude prevent summer heat suf¬ 
ficient for the vine. For light has an influence upon the cellu¬ 
lar tissues of plants, which is lost by diffusion, and is not com¬ 
pensated by equal degrees of heat. Thus does climatology 
form a science, to be mapped by isothermal, isotheral, and 
isochiminal lines ; and not by lines of latitude ! See now the 
millions of dollars yearly lost by vain experiments ! We see a 
plant or animal flourishing upon a given latitude ; forthwith, at 
great cost, we import them to the same latitude at our homes, 
and the plant and animals die, and our money is gone ! Why ? 
The climate is not the same ! Does not any one see that we 
want one or more scientific agricultural schools in each of the 
States, where learned men may define and map for us the cli¬ 
mate, that we may know what to do in all such cases. 
We spend millions of dollars yearly in providing a navy to 
protect our foreign commerce. That is all right, but shall we 
begrudge a few thousands of dollars to protect us from greater 
losses, by scientific development of agriculture ? A late report 
of Parliament shows that the annual crop of the British islands, 
including meats, is 83,000,000,000—an incredible sum, in com¬ 
parison with which all their great commerce is a trifle ! Then 
how much more are our agricultural products compared to our 
commerce ! 
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