Influence of Climate in North and South America; Showing the Varied Climatic Influences Operating in the Equatorial, Tropical, Sub-Tropical, Temperate baixar o livro de graça

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1867 edition. Excerpt: ... most suitable for the growth of wheat. The butternut and the walnut are only sparingly distributed in the forests. In other parts of this region, where the subsoil is of a compact sand, the maple and the beech divide the land betwixt them. Maple and beech land is not so good for wheat, as there is usually more accumulation of vegetable matter, which renders it too soft, so that the plants are more liable to be thrown by the spring frosts, and the crop on such land is more subject to rust and mildew. The beech and maple land, however, is well adapted for spring and summer crops, such as Indian corn, barley and potatoes. Dr. Lindley, I believe, was the first to suggest that the distribution of forest trees over particular soils was regulated more by the physical condition than by the chemical composition of soils. In the general truth of this opinion I quite concur, and it is amply borne out in the facts which I have just stated regarding the oak and hickory, and the beech and maple soils, inasmuch as the adaptation of the first to winter wheat, and the last to spring crops, shows that it is the physical condition that determines the fitness of the soil for cultivated crops; for we have only to bear in mind that winter wheat, barley, oats and Indian corn are identical in chemical composition." The Southern section of the State, below the "Highlands," is a most favored spot. Here, and on Long Island, are annually produced the cereals, grasses, early vegetables, and fruit in abundance, most of which is taken to the New York market. The mean annual temperature of the City of New York is 51; the seasons ranging as follows: --Spring 48 70', Summer 70 10', Autumn 54 50v, Winter 31 40'; the mercury sometimes falling below zero, and...