n of what at
first sight appear to be anomalies: we know, for instance, 'that
plants will flourish perennially in the British isles which are killed
by the frosts of winter in places lying considerably to the south upon
the continent; thus the laurel, that bears our winters steadily in
Ireland and the west of England, and is only affected by very severe
frosts in our eastern counties, is killed by the winters of Berlin,
equally fatal to the myrtle, the fuchsia, and a host of other shrubs
which attain considerable age and size in the western portions of the
British isles. Again, Canada, which lies south of Paris, has the
climate of Drontheim, in Norway; while at New York, lying in the
latitude of Naples, the flowers open simultaneously with those of
Upsala, in Sweden. Moreover, those very countries suffering so severe
a winter's cold, enjoy a summer's heat far exceeding ours, since the
snow lies for months on parts of Germany which yet receive sufficient
heat in summer to ripen the grape and Indian corn.'

The principal modifying causes are winds and water. Islands, and
countries bordering on the ocean, have a much more equable climate
than those which lie in the interior of continents, and will have a
greater prevalence of moist south-westerly winds. The average annual
quantity of rain in the British islands is from 28 to 30 inches; on
the continent, it is less; the fall in Holland is estimated at 26
inches, and in Denmark and North Germany, at 20 inches--the greatest
fall occurring in summer and autumn, as in England. Then with respect
to winds, we find those from the west most prevalent over what Mr
Henfrey distinguishes as the north European plain, as is the case in
our country. 'The west wind blows more frequently in England than in
Denmark, more there than in Russia. The predominance is most marked in
summer; in the winter, the easterly winds are almost as frequent as
the westerly upon the continent, which is not true of the British
isles.' Sometimes, however, the south-westerly winds, which bring our
genial April showers, continue to arrive with their watery burden
until late in the summer, to the detriment or destruction of
grain-crops; and yet this same wind, losing its excessive moisture as
it sweeps onward over the continent, is highly favourable to the
husbandman in Southern Russia. The years 1816 and 1817 were cases in
point.

The meteorology of Russia affords some striking contrasts: the yearly
rain-fall