The Monmouth inquirer., 1925-02-19
How yveather Makea Ijs WORK

The ideal climate is said to be found
IN many parts Of the world, but no
one knows exactly what it is, The
whole matter depends on our defint-
ton of ideal" If we are looking sim
ply for rest and pleasure a warm and
sunny climate is probably the best.
If we want to go fishing something
different is preferable. The most es-
sential fact in the lives of the major
ity of mankind is work Therefore
the climate which is best for work is
ideal from that point Of view.
If we take efficiency in the daily
work OF our life as our standard it is
possible to measure what people &C.
tually do under different climatic con
ditions, and thus to form an estimate
of the best kind of climate. From the
work of about FIVE hundred factory
operatives in southern Connecticut and
of about eighteen hundred students at
West Point and Annapolis have pre-
pared curves showing the relative eff
ficiency under different conditions of
temperature, humidity and storminess.
These curves, based on investigations
among large number of individuals,
agree with similar curves prepared on
the basis of smaller number of peo-
pie by two Danish psychologists
Lehman and Petersen, In Copenha-
gen. The two sets of data show that
the physical activity of the races of
western Europe Is greatest when the
average temperature is about 60 de-
grees-that is, on days when the Their
mometer goes down to perhaps so or
IS degrees at night and rises to about
65 or 70 degrees by day. Mental &C
tivity, on the other hand, is greatest
when the average is little below 40
degrees-that is, on days which may
have a frost at night.
Since life consists Of both mental
and physical activity, and each is es-
sential to success, the most favorable
conditions would seem to be those
where the temperature never falls far
below the most propitious point for
mental work or rises above the opti-
mum for physical work. In other
words, If the mean temperature were
the only thing to be considered, the
best climate would be one where the
average in winter is about 40 and
the average In summer about 60 de-
grees. Only few parts Of the world
are blessed with such conditions.
The most important of these, both
in area and in population, is England.
Next comes the northern Pacific coast
of the United States, from Oregon to
the southern part of British Columbia
Here, unfortunately, the mountains
rise above the sea, and so prevent the
favorable conditions from penetrating
far inland. A third highly favored
area is found In New Zealand, espe-
cially the southern island. This, like
its two predecessors, is recognized as
one of tee highly advanced parts OF
the earth. The fourth and last OF the
places where the mean temperature is
particularly favorable is not generally
SO recognized. It lies In Patagonia
and the corresponding part of Chill
between ATTITUDES AS and so S. Few
people 1--we here, and we are apt to
think of it as If relatively slight value.
II differs from fhe other three regions
In having deficient rainfall except in
the western part, which is extremely
mountainous.
From what has just been said 1t
must not be inferred that the climates
of England, the northern Pacific coast
of the United States, New Zealand and
Patagonia are necessarily ideal. Mean
temperature is by no means the only
important condition. In the first place,
not only a deficiency of moisture, as
In large part of Patagonia, but an ex-
cess, as in the mountains of southern
Chilli or in Ireland, which otherwise is
almost as favored as England, may
hamper a country. Such conditions
produce not only an adverse economic
effect by making agriculture difficult
but also direct effect upon peoples
capacity for work. A moderate de
gree of dampness-that is, a relative
humidity Of from So per cent. in sum
mer to 80 per cent. in winters favor
able, but when the summers are wet
or the winters very dry people do not
work SO well. Ellsworth Huntington
in HarDers Magazine.