But all countries, except the very mountanous, when first cleered, are infested with intermittants. Peeple on the fronteers of New York and Vermont, are trubbled with it, especially in low flat tracts of land. The surface of a wilderness iz cuvered with leevs and rotten wood; at the same time, it iz moist, the rays of the sun being excluded by the trees. Therefore when peeple first settle in a wilderness, they are not immediately attacked with intermittents. They must lay open the surface of the erth to the action of heet and wind; the noxious effluvia then begin to rize, and wil infect the air, til the whole surface of the erth iz dry and sweetened by the heet of the sun. The amazing difference in the state of a cultivated and uncultivated surface of erth, iz demonstrated by the number of small streems of water, which are dried up by cleering away forests. The quantity of water, falling upon the surface, may be the same; but when land iz cuvered with trees and leevs, it retains the water; when it iz cleered, the water runs off suddenly into the large streems. It iz for this reezon that freshes in rivers hav becume larger, more frequent, sudden and destructiv, than they were formerly. This fact should be attended to by the settlers in a new country, that they may gard against sudden and extraordinary freshes in the erection of mills and bridges.
It iz vulgarly suppozed that the wether in summer iz hotter in the suthern states than in the northern. This opinion iz not accurate. The truth iz, at particular times, the northern states experience a greater degree of heet than iz ever known in the suthern. In the summer munths, the mercury in Farenheit often rizes, in the middle of the day, much higher at Boston, than at Charleston, in South Carolina. Thus in July, 1789, the mercury roze to 90° or upwards no less than six days, and once to 93°, in the vicinity of Boston; whereas at Charleston, it roze but once to 88° during the same munth, and but four days to 87°. Besides the meteorological obzervations I hav, were made at Boston, at one o'clock, P. M. and in Charleston, at two o'clock, when the heet iz usually the greatest. In August, the same yeer, the mercury roze at Boston[165] four days to 90, and once to 95°; but in Charleston, it roze but once to 89°. The remark then ought not to be, that the heet at the suthward iz greater; but that it continus longer; that iz, the aggregate quantity of heet in the suthern latitudes, exceeds that in the northern. I hav taken some pains to ascertain the difference, and omitting decimals, here giv the result of my enquiries.
The meen degree of heet for the whole munth of July, 1789, in Charleston, South Carolina, by Farenheit's thermometer, waz az follows:
| At 6 o'clock, A. M. 74° | — Total meen of the month 78. | |
| At 2 o'clock, P. M. 83 | ||
| At 10 o'clock, P. M. 77 |
For AUGUST, 1789.
| At 6 o'clock, A. M. 75 | — Total meen 77 neerly. | |
| At 2 o'clock, P. M. 83 | ||
| At 10 o'clock, P. M. 72 |
The meen degree of heet, at Spring-Mill, a few miles from Philadelphia, for July, waz 74.
The meen degree of heet, at Boston, for July, waz
| At 7 o'clock, A. M. 67 | — Total meen 71° neerly. | |
| At 1 o'clock, P. M. 80 | ||
| At 9 o'clock, P. M. 67 |
For AUGUST.