The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1897-12-09

upon he climatic conditions Of the far
north. These show, says the Indian
apolis news, what had already been
suspected by scientists, that, SO far as
a minimum temperature is concerned,
h highest northern ATTITUDES are
more favorably situated than many re-
gions lying full fifteen or twenty de-
grees approximately 1,000-1, 400 miles,
farther to the south. The lowest read
ing Of Nansen's thermometer, regis
tered on board the Fran, was 61.5 de-
grees Fahrenheit, or some IL to Is de-
grees higher than the minimum noted
by the British polar expedition Of 1876
8, and 8 degrees above the minimum
of Kane. The lowest winter tempera-
ture recorded by Mr.. Peary was So de-
grees Fahrenheit. In strange contrast
to this in itself sufficiently severe tenn
p%erature are the rigors Of certain less
favored localities lying south. Thus, in
the Kara sea-, which lies between Nova
Zembla and Siberia, and whose center
is approximately crossed by the sew
enty-third parallel of latitude, a tem-
p%erature Of 81 degrees is by no e
uncommon, and the sea, partly from
this cause and partly from the fact
that 1t is largely choked with ice, has
justly received the name Of the lice
cellar Of Eurasia.
At Yakutsk, in Siberia, a w~ell-known
governmental post, lying considerably
southwark or outside of the arctic cir
Gle, a temperature of from 70 to 80
degrees below Is reported almost an
nually; and at Verkhojansk, which is
situated almost within the same broad
region, but somewhat ON the polar side
OF the circle, there is a registry of 80
degrees for the month Of January, 1894.
Prof. Mohn, the distinguished Norwe-
g1an scientist, asserts, moreover, that
at the Russian station at the mouth
Of the Lena river, Siberia, the extraor-
binary low temperature of "a degrees
Fahrenheit has been recorded.
That man should be able to endure,
one might say almost with impunity,
such excessive severity of climate Is
not a little remarkable, and it is more
surprising when 1t is considered in con-
nection with his endurance of the op-
posite extreme, that is, the highest
summer temperature. We have as yet,
perhaps, no absolutely reliable data for
the highest sun temperature on the
earth's surface, but it may safely be as
sumed to be in the neighborhood Of or
even beyond $50 degrees. 1t is claimed
by Alexander Won Humboldt that Rit-
chic ohSarvod noar MouryouL In north
ern Africa, a temperature Tin a meas
ure reflected from the desert sands) of
1875 degrees in the shade, which is prob
ably the highest that comes author
itatively from the records Of travellers.
If this is true, then there can be little
doubt that the sun temperature was
fully 16 degrees higher. With the two
extremes before us, then. we have for
the human subject a climatic resistance
of at least 244 degrees, or 80 degrees
mor than is found in the range be-
tween zero and the boiling point OF
water. How much more than this man
could endure it is difficult to say, but
doubtless many degrees could yet be
added to either side of the thermome-
trio scale without materially or neces.
sarily affecting his system. His re.
s~istance to the temperature of furnace
| rooms, as is evidenced in the work Of
stokers on board the transatlantic lin.
| ers, is an indication of this. And ye'
more the remarkable experiments re-
Gently conducted by the eminent ply
sicist Raoul Pictet upon his own per
son, when by artificial processes HI
subjected his body to a temperature o
165 degrees.