OCR Text |
Show 170 EMIGRANT'S GUIDE. the cold tops. The southern winds produce two opposite effects, following the humidity or dryness with wliich they are charged from the state of the mountain over which they have passed, at the time of their passage. We may take the Pyrenees for example. If this chain is covered with snow, the south winds passing over it are no longer warm, they are ever extremely cold. Daily experience proves the correctness of this assertion ; where this chain is clear of snow, if it is still humid the south wind is moist and cold. If, on the contrary, there has been no rain or snow on these mountains for any t:onsiderable time, the heat becomes violent, so much so, as often to wither, and even dry the leaves of the trees and vines. TRe same phenomenon takes place relative to the cbain that traverses Languedec. The inhabitants of the maritime towns; south of this chain, experience violent, and even very violent heat, in times when the north wind blows, if the summits of tbe mountains are then dry; but ' if they are humid, freshness prevails. As to the inh:>~bitants to the north of the latter chain, they experience the same vicissitudes as do t?~se north of the Pyrenees. All this is annually pmved. Thus in r~smg from the sout_h to the north, and fo1lowing the order and dispositiOn of .the mount.am~, .the elevation of the base 21.ugments, and the ~arne ~vmds h~ve mt~ms1cally less activity, since they have lost part of the1r heat m passmg from mountain to mountain. It may be said, perhaps, that the .heat of the south wind ought to augrm~nt in passing over dry mountams, but the base of this proposition is unfounded. The south parts and the interior of France are very different. In the former, the heavens are almQst wJthout clouds in summer, and it rains very sel_rlom; o~ the cofltrary, in the interior it rains frequently, and each ram ~u~ermd~ces col.d from the evaporation tbat follows. From hence, there Js not m the mterior of the kino-dom either the conti~ • • • • 0 ' nmty or mtens1ty of heat su1table to the olive. DurinO' severe win-ters, the vine~ in the sheltered places- in the interior suff~r from cold, and ofte? pensh; what would then be the fate of the olive ? Notwithstanding the shelters, the olive tree does not, in Languedoc and P~oven~e~ ftow:r befo:c the end of May, or beginning of June, and Its frUJt 1s not npe be tore November or December* which supposes that the intensity must be exactly suitable, even in the ~limates most .f~vourab!e to the olive ; ~ince as soon as the shelter is wanting, e~e~ m the netghbourhood of places where it flourishes, the tree falls a VICtJm to the cold. Al~ the ~aters of the kingdom flow from the centre of the king<. lom. m!o either the Mediterranean or the ocean ; consequently the (;~ntre IS more elevated than the extremity. vVhatever favourable cJrcumstancfs may be u11ited in any one place in the interior, that ~ne of all others mo.st necessary must be wanting-suitable and con· tmueJ heat. / .From this .it appears that the pel'iod between.the ftowet· and the fl'wt of the ~~~e, is about .166 days, or onE?third more than eastwards .• between planting 1 commeocmg to gather cotton, and vet·y near coeval with the time that e aps.es between plan.ting and ripening sugar cane. From vegetable aualogy, w~hmay then very 1'ahonally conclude, that tue ol~ve and sugar will exist to· ~e er, or l'ather m iilnilar climates. / EMIGRANT'S GUIDE. 171 I am unable to !my if the result of my observations on the ~ffects of cold will answer in all the olive districts of France, but wtll answer for their correctness near Beziers~ at least during seven years that I resided near that place.* 1 a. The coiJ Jelt in the month of January, every thing else equal,. is not so injurious to the olive as those that follow in the ~ourse of February, more so towards the end of that !nonth, and st1~l worse in the beginning of March. Frost of about e1gbt days contmuancc happen sometimes, but not often, in January. ~s soon as lhe fro.st ceases, · or during its intervals, the mass of heat 1s from four to s1.x: uearees of Reaumer's thermometer during the day, and from three to four in the night. From four to six may be considered the m_ean term, because often when south winds prevail, the heat is from etght to tet'l degrees of Reaumer. . . Frost is here only produce.d by the north-northwest wmu, a d.rection given to the winds by their striking the Black mountain~. When these mountains are charged with snow, as well as those m. front of Beziers, the air passing over them is rendered cold, and carn:s frost to Beziers, where it never freezes, unless when those mountams are covered with snow. 2°. If there is not severe frost io January, the fields exhibit a rapid advance of vegetation ; the €lder (sureaux) and !Several other hasty shrubs put out their leaves ; the violets are in flower ; vegetation is renewed ' and even the almond fiourisbe.s. The adva. nce of the season is particularly visible in the olive, which is more vJgoroos during the whole season than ordinary, if not again interrupted by frost. Under the common changes of the air from heat to cold, tl1e surface of the earth retains a part of the heat, and contributes. to the Row of the sap. . . . 3°. If frost happens in February, and IS severe, atte.nded Wit~ .vwJent winds, it then produces severe effects upon. the ohve ; but 1i the frost is not attended with violent winds, it produces less effect upon the olive, because attended with less evaporation. 4°. If the frost follows after a rain, and particularly if followed by snow and wind, Hs effects are terrible on the olive. In this case the olive tree is in a similar state with a man's arm, which if exposed to a stream of air from a bellows, and upoa which ether would be ~ontinually dropped, the arm woulu be frozen stiff eveQ in the dog- *There is no subject upon wl1ich the COflliDOn herd of tourists pronounce their opinions more hastily tbau upon climate; and ignorant as they ar~ on all subjects in most cases, there is none upon which they aJ'e les~ qualtlle_tl to judge correctly · than upon climate. Travelling rapidly often tn the mght, never remainina long enough in any place to gain even a tolerable knowledge of the topograpl1y of a country, much l_ess of its clim_ate. . Every countt·y, like ever.y mao, has 1ts ovrn pecul1ar temper and constl uc- . tion tl.Jat cannot be known, except ~y l?ng and inti~ate acquaint_ance. Few persons possess either the preparatory science or patience to exam me carefully the topogr&pbical features ot any region of the eat·th, and from that sout·cc ~xplain the causes of the variations perceptible between places, that to superfi~1al observers ought to present similar phenomena. In that part. of the ~mled States to which this chapter is applicable, there are, on the same hne of latttude, three distinct climateii. (See page 31 of this treatise,) |