ceived, that the large drops, falling with such a noise from leaf to leaf, were nothing but the morning dew, that is to say, the evaporation of the preceding day precipitated by the coolness of the dawn. Lastly, if the winds there be more rapid, and hurricanes more frequent, than in Europe, it is not only because the tropic is less remote, but because the currents of air find no bar to check and fix them; and if the Apalachian chain were sixteen or eighteen hundred yards high, the atmospheric system of all the western basin would be different."

Temperature of the Western Coast, and the Pacific Ocean.

It appears from different reports, that the climate of this coast is generally temperate. Captain Cook found, that, in the month of April, vegetation was in great forwardness at Nootka Sound, situated in the latitude of 49 degrees. Mease remarks, that there is seldom any frost on the coast before January, and so slight, that it rarely prevents the inhabitants from navigating the sound in canoes. Captain Magee of Boston, who passed a winter at Nootka Sound, informed Mr Williamson, that he saw little snow in this region; and the winter near the mouth of Columbia river, where the expedition of Lewis and Clarke wintered, was temperate, but rainy. This mildness may be partly ascribed

to the western winds blowing from the ocean, whereas, in the Atlantic states, they come from high mountains; * but it is undoubtedly the effect of a variety of causes, for, as Humbolt observes, it seems to be a general law, that the western side of all great continents is warmer than the eastern.

A Meteoric Stone, which fell at Weston, in North America, the 4th December 1807, was analyzed by D. B. WARDEN, and the analysis was published in the Annales de Chimie for March 1810. A hundred parts of the stone contained

List of Authors who have treated of the Climate of

America.

Volney, in his View of the United States.

Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia.

Williams, in his History of Vermont.

Rush, Dr, in his Account of the Climate of Pennsylvania. Ellicot, in his Journal.

* Williamson on the Climate of the United States.

Williamson, (Dr Hugh,) Observations on the Climate of different Parts of America, compared with the Climate to corresponding Parts of the other Continent. New York, 8vo. pp. 199. 1811.

Barnwell, Dr, Physical Investigation. Philadelphia, 1802, in 8vo.

Barton, (William.)

Ramsay, Dr, in his Account of the Climate of South Carolina.

Franklin, Dr, in his Works.

Mease, Dr, in his Geological Account of the United States. 1807.

Williams, in his History of Vermont.

Webster, (Noah, Esq.) Dissertation on the supposed Change in the Temperature of Winter, in the first volume of Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. Newhaven, 1810.

CHAPTER V.

FOREST TREES OF THE UNITED STATES.

*

OAKS.—The known species of oaks, of the old and new continent, amount to seventy-four. Of this number, forty-two belong to North America, viz. sixteen to Mexico, and twenty-six to the United States. The oaks of the United States ought to be divided into two sections; the first including the species which blossom and produce ripe fruits in the course of the spring, summer, and autumn of the same year; the second section, those of which the fruit requires an interval of eighteen months 'to arrive at full maturity. It is worthy of remark, that the woods which furnish the species of the first section (including also the first species of the second section) are of a much better quality.

FIRST SECTION.-1. White oak, Quercus alba. Is found throughout the whole extent of the United States, but it abounds most to the west of the

*For this list of the Forest Trees of the United States, with their local situation, growth, and the uses to which they are applied, the author is indebted to the North American Sylva of F. A. Michaux, who was pleased to revise this Catalogue.

mountains in the states of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Height from 70 to 80 feet. Of all the species of oak, this is the best wood, and the most used.

2. Mossy cup oak, Q. olivaformis. In the Genessee country, and on the banks of the North river, above Albany. In a moist soil. Height from 50 to 60 feet. This species is not common, and its wood is not employed.

3. Over cup white oak, Q. macrocarpa. In the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. In a fertile soil. Height from 50 to 60 feet. The wood is of a pretty good quality, and supplies the place of the white oak, when it cannot be procured.

In

4. Post oak, or Box white oak, Q. obtusiloba. In the middle, southern, and western states. an indifferent soil. Height from 30 to 50 feet. Wood of a good quality.

In

5. Over cup oak, or Water oak, Q. lyrata. the low and maritime parts of the southern states, and the Floridas. In a moist soil. Height from 70 to 80 feet. Wood not employed.

In a

6. Swamp white oak, Q. discolor. Throughout the whole extent of the American territory, except in the low parts of the southern states. moist soil. Height from 70 to 80 feet. Wood of a pretty good quality, seldom used.

7. Chesnut white oak, Q. Prinus palustris. In the low parts of the southern states, and Louisiana.