, 1876-10-07

pie have assembled from all parts OF Tue
county bringing for display and compar.
ison the productions Of soil, and hand,
and brain, it is not inappropriate to note
: few of the peculiarities Of climate, sml
and geographical position which make
Washington Territory, particularly the
Puget Sound portion of it, an exceeding
" desirable home for the sons of honest
toll and trade.
For those who enjoy moist atmos-
phere our climate is probably tile best,
certainly one Of the best, in the world !;
being free from those extremes OF heat or
cold which form the chief drawbacks to
much of this North America and other
continents. The climate of the south
west corner of Washington Territory has
u mean average temperature s degrees
colder in summer and 30 deg. warmer in
in winter tlan that of the city of Quebec,
the latitude OF both places being almost
identical. Stelacoom, whose latitude
is AZ deg. 10 MN. North, has an average
summer temperature of 90 deg. and IN
average winter temperature of 30 deg,
only one degree colder in winter and II
deg. cooler in summer than Norfolk in
Virginia, which is more than 10 degrees Of
latitude farther south. These figures
are sufficiently remarkable without men
tioning the great and sudden extremes OF
summers heat and winters cold which
often render eNistance very uncomtort-
able, and betimcs almost uncomfortable, in
other portions of this continent east OF
the Rocky Mountains.
1t is fashionable among many Puget
|, Saunders to abuse our climate as though
it were II compound of rain, clouds and
gloom. Perhaps there is some excuse for
the abuse this year, on account of mis-
take that the weather clerk seems to
have made, whereby our usual summer
has been left out of this year. But the
regular climate of Puget Sound is m eX-
ceedingly desirable one; and think oil
who have lived few years in this re-
gion will agree with me when | say, that
if the climate of paradise is very much
superior to our summers many of us
ought to be more in earnest about get
ting ready to go there when the proper
time arrives. Our clouds and rains have
been greatly over rated as the following
figures will prove. From observations
taken in Portland and published in the
congressional report of 1868, find that
during eleven years, less 3 months, end
ing in 1868, there were 90 days marked
showing, 5sS showery, GS3 rainy, and
1853 pleasant. We all know that the
climate of Puget Sound so nearly resem-
bles that of Portland ESQ far rs clouds
and sunshine are concerneD that similar
observations would show similar results
almost identical. think very few of
the Atlantic States can show as large a
proportion OF pleasant days, and we know
that some Of their unpleasant days and
those in the great Mississippi valley are
good deal more like Pandemonium
than anything ever known in this portion
of the world.
Again the ram gauge at Astoria which
has the dampest climate Of all this new
North West, except perhaps Cape Flat
terry, indicates an average annual tall OF
about 80 inches. This is not much in eX
cess of the rainfall in New York and st.
Louis, the former being Al inches and the
latter 40. tits, however, greatly in excess
of that in San Francisco, whose average
annual rain fall is only 81 inches. But
we have all heard OF the terrible droughts
which often burn up the crops of the
Golden State, and compel the thirsty in
| Hdulu1uIS W DctuOuu tic uusCuCe VI bilht
very moisture about which so many OF
our citizens complain. In spite of the gen.
orally received opinion that this damp.
ness is unhealthy, statistics, carefully col
lected, prove that our climate is one of
the most salubrious in the world. BY
comparing the rates of mortality of the
Pacific Slope with those of some older
states the following facts have been OBJ
tanned: "The deaths in Arkansas in
1860 were at the rate of one person out
of every 4S; Massachusetts and Louis
lana lost one in 81; Illinois and Indiana
one in 81; Kansas one in 6s; Vermont,
the healthiest state on the Atlantic Slope,