Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 9).djvu/248

 The climate of this country, like that of other parts of North America, is subject to extremes of heat and cold. We experience something like the summer of tropical regions; the winter of Russia; the spring of England; and the autumn of Egypt. The range of the thermometer is well exemplified by a compilation from the register kept by Colonel Mansfield, near Cincinnati, for eight years; 1806 and 1813 included.

Lowest         Highest  Range 1806, 9°                  94        85° 1807, 11° below zero,      95       106 1808, 4 do. 98      102 1809,  2 do. 94       96 1810,  7 do. 91       98 1811,  8 do. 96      104 1812,  5 do. 96      101 1813, 10 do. 97      107 Mean range nearly 100°.

The greatest range known at Cincinnati is 116°. At Salem, in Massachussets, a range of 100º was long ago deducted from observations.

At Jeffersonville, in Indiana, a range of 96-1/4° appears on the register for six months past. The third column in the following table shows the greatest change of temperature that occurred in each month, between eight o'clock A.M. and two P.M.; a period of six hours.

{216} Maximum     Minimum        Range January,         50°         2° above zero,      30° February,        78          4 do. 38 March,           70         23 do. 35 April,           92         20 do. 24 May,             79         50 do. 27 June,          98-1/4       50 do. 36

As the above observations extend only to a space of six