--_Mr. B. Hallowell, in the American
Journal of Science and Arts._
_Why does the heat of temperature of different parts of the earth
vary?_
Because of the position of the place with respect to the equator, or
rather to the ecliptic, or, more strictly still, with respect to the
plane in which the earth revolves around the sun; for on this relation
depends the temperature of the place, so far as it is produced,
directly, by the influence of the sun. Maltebrun ascribes to it the
following influences: 1, the action of the sun upon the atmosphere: 2,
the interior temperature of the globe: 3, the elevation of the earth
above the level of the ocean: 4, the general inclination of the
surface, and its local exposure: 5, the position of its mountains
relatively to the cardinal points: 6, the neighbourhood of great seas,
and their relative situation: 7, the geological nature of the soil: 8,
the degree of cultivation, and of population, at which a country has
arrived: 9, the prevalent winds.
_Why are the strata of air upon all mountains of successive coldness?_
Because the air does not acquire immediately, by the passage of the
solar rays, a considerable degree of heat. Thus, with the elevation of
land, cold may be said to increase in very rapid progression. Winter
continues to reign on the Alps and the Pyrenees, while the flowers of
spring are covering the plains of northern France.
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