At Fort Fillmore, El Paso, New Mexico, in latitude 32°03, the mean temperature for
| May | is | 68° |
| June | " | 78°, 5′ |
| July | " | 80°, 1′ |
| August | " | 83°, 8′ |
| September | " | 77°, 9′ |
| And for the whole period, | 77°, 1′ |
At Santa Fé, New Mexico, the mean for
| May | is | 66°, 9′ |
| June | " | 72°, 5′ |
| July | " | 75°, 3′ |
| August | " | 72°, 9′ |
| September | " | 62°, 3′ |
| And for the whole period, | 69°, 3′ | |
| Mean of the two united, | 73°, 2′ |
The mean of Western Texas is about 2° higher than at Fort Fillmore, and of Utah not materially different; and the mean of Central Asia between 38° and 45° does not materially vary from them.
Now, it is perfectly evident that during May and September the temperature of Central Asia is far below that of the Indian Ocean and India, and never materially exceeds it. Central Asia is hot, “burning,” if you please, compared with more elevated, fertile, or better watered territory in the same latitude, and so it has been characterized; but not so, compared with the Indian Ocean, or India, where the sun is vertical. During the greater part of the time, therefore, that the monsoons are in full blast, Utah, Texas, and New Mexico, and Cobi, and the burning plains of Asia, are from 5° to 10° colder than the temperature of the place where the monsoons are blowing. Would not such a fact be perfectly conclusive in any other science except theory-swathed meteorology?
2d. The theory assumes that the heated air has an ascensive force, which causes it to rise and create a vacuum, and this vacuum, by its suction, draws in the adjoining air, which immediately ascends. The adjoining air, drawn away from its locality, leaves a vacuum, and that is filled by another rush from the S. W., and so on, till the Indian Ocean is reached, and the monsoons are accounted for.
Now, look at the difficulties:
The highest temperature that can be assumed for the air over Cobi, at any time, without disregarding facts and analogy, is 100°. What is the ascensive power of an area of atmosphere of 100°? For this we have no problem or formula, although problems and formulas abound in the science. Professor Espy relied on heated air only to give the storm a start. His main reliance was on the latent heat supposed to be given out during condensation, for his ascensive storm power. But over these “burning plains” there is, according to the theory, no storm or cloud, or condensation on which that supposed reliance for expansion can be placed. What, then, is the ascension force of air at 100°? We ought to know, for we sometimes have it as high, or within two or three degrees as high, in all the eastern and middle States.
The monsoons blow at from twenty to twenty-five miles an hour, and sometimes more. Is that the ascensive force of air at 100°? At 25 miles an hour it would be 2,200 feet; at 20 miles, 1,760 feet; and at 10 miles, 880 feet per minute.