Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1852-12-09

liquely across the Atlantic. They evapo-
rate from the sea as they 60. aud impinrinc
al right angles upon the South American
shore line that extends from Cape 81. Rogue
to Cabo La Nela, they carry into the nte.
nor the yapor that forms the clouds tina,
give the rain that supplies with water the
Magdalena, the Oronoco, and the northern
tributaries Of the Amazon.
The volume of water DISCHARGED by these
rivers into the sea is expressive ufthe ouan-
tiiy which those northeast trade winds take
up from the sea, and, carrying 10 the clouds
precipitate upon the watershed that is drain
ed by these streams. They are bat pipes
and cutters which nature has placed under
the caves OF the great watershed that has
the Andes for a ridge pole, the Caribbean
sea and the North Atlantic for cstern.
: he trade wind REGION Of the North At
lantic affords the water surface wheuct.ghe
evaporation is carried on that supplies. eith
rams, dews, and moisture. New Granada.
Venezuela, the three Guayanas, and the
Atlantic slopes of Ecuador.
Ga the other hand, the southeast trade
winds commence 20 blow about the parallel
ct 80 or 30 degrees south. They come.
too, obliqucly across the Atlantic, and
strike perpendicularly upon the South A
mercan coast line, which extends from Cape
ST Rogue towards Cape Horn They pass
INTO the interior with their whole load of
moisture, every drop OF which is wrung
from them before they pass the Andes.
The quantity of moisture which IS taken
up from the sea and ralned down upon this
wonderfully fruitful country, may be seen
~ what the La Plata and the Amazon dis
charge back into the sea-
Now, there Is no country in the world.
which has to windward, aud so exactly to
windward Of 1t, such an extent of ocean in
the trade wind region consequently, there
rs no intcrtropical country IN the world that
is so finely watered as Is this great Amazon
country of South America.
Along the Atlantic coast Of the United
States, along The coast of China and the
east of n. Holland, the land breads along
with the direction of the trade winds of
those regions. These wiuds, with their
moisture travel along parallel with the land;
they do not blow perpendlcularly upon IT,
nor push their yapols right across 1t into
the interior, as they do IN South America.
The consequence is, none Of these inter-
tropical counties can boast of streams and
waicrcourses like those of South America.
The shore line of Eastern Africa is ar
ranged like that of the South American
watershed, but it has not enough TO wind
ward to supply the vapor to feed springs
enough to make large rivers.
The southeast trade-wlnds, when the
monsoons of the Indian ocean will permit
them to blow, strike perpendicuarly upon
the east coast of South Africa, as they do
upon that of South America In the Amer
ican case they blow perpetually; in the A.
irican case for not half the year. They
therefore cannot give Africa half as much
rain as South America receives.
At Cape Guardafui the right angie of .he
African coast line is formed, as it is at
Cape st. Rogue for America. But the
winds which cross this line between Cape
81. Rogue and the Isthmus have uayersed
the Atlantic ocean and Carnbbean sea,
hence they reach the land dripping with
moisture; whereas ia Africa the northeast
trade winds, which cross the coast line
from Cape GuardafuI TO the islhmus of
Suez, have sucked up vapors from the Red
sea only; therefore the quantity OF mois-
lure which these winds carry into the ia
leuon of Africa is not by any means so
great as that which those of the Atlantic
carry over into South America. The diff
ference is as great as the difference of the
eyaporating surface exposed to the north
east trade winds, by the Atlantic on the one
hand aud the Red sea ON the other.
The two systems of trade winds, the
northeast and the southeast, meet ia the IN
terror of South America, somewhere be-
tween the equator aud the lsthmns. This
place of meeting is place of Gains, and
where it is there 1t is RAINY.
This and other meteorological agents
divide the seasons IN the norll ern portions
of South America, especially the valley OF
the Oronoco, into the rainy and tie dry
six months of constant rain, SIX months of
blighling drought. Not so ia the valley Of
the Amazon. There the weather Is agree
able all the year round; aud though more
RAIN falls there in some months than IA 9TH
ers, as II does here with US, str there, as
here, it may rain aud does ram any day in
the year.
Now, think that any one who has fol-
lowed me with map, will perceive why
! this interrupted region OF South America.
or that part OF It's watershed which, from
Panama TO the parallel of 30 degrees or 30
degrees SOUTH slopes towards the Atlantic,
has aud oughl to have the most remarkable
climate IN the world. We have seen that
Eastern Africa, aud Eastern Africa alone,
resembles II IN conhguration of shore line
alone for the cooperating surface aud the
supplies Of yapor are wanting, aud there-
fore South Africa cannot be nearly SO well
supplied with rams, aud consequently with
rivers, as Is South America.
In all other Intercepted regions of the
world in India, in Western Africa, New
/ Holland, aud Polynesia, the year Is divided
out INTO the rainy season aud the dry, dur
ing the latter OF which little or no water
nails, springs 90 dry, aud cattle perish, aud
dead bodies poluie the air. Then, t,o,
stalks forth ia those countries " tlie peslll-
ence that walkelh IN darkness"
Ia the valley of The Amazen no such
conduion exists There The fall of water.
though coplous--the rlyer Amazon is the
ram pauqe-is not compressed within few
months nor accompanied by the terrible
hurricanes and iornadoes which rage at tho
change of seasons ia India.
Because the Amazon is in a tropical
country the public is disposed TO Judge OF
lis climates by comparing them with the