Islands Far
Remote From Any Continent, Or At Least Not Situated Near A Cold One,
Seem In General To Have An Uniform Temperature Of Air, Owing, Perhaps,
To The Nature Of The Ocean, Which Every Where Surrounds Them.
It
appears from the meteorological journals, kept at Port Egmont, on the
Falkland Islands, (inserted in Mr Dalrymple's collection) that the
extremes of the greatest cold, and the greatest heat, observed there
throughout the year, do not exceed thirty degrees on Fahrenheit's
scale.
The latitude of that port is 51 deg. 25' S.; and that of Ship Cove,
in Queen Charlotte's Sound, only 41 deg. 5'. This considerable difference
of site will naturally make the climate of New Zealand much milder
than that of Falkland's Islands, but cannot affect the general
hypothesis concerning the temperature of all islands; and the immense
height of the mountains in New Zealand, some of which are covered with
snow throughout the year, doubtless contributes to refrigerate the
air, so as to assimilate it to that of the Falkland's Islands, which
are not so high." - G.F.
[4] "In the morning, the weather being clear again, Dr Sparrman, my
father, and myself, went to the Indian Cove, which we found
uninhabited. A path, made by the natives, led through the forest a
considerable way up the steep mountain, which separates this cove from
Shag Cove. The only motive which could induce the New Zealanders to
make this path, appeared to be the abundance of ferns towards the
summit of the mountain, the roots of that plant being an article of
their diet.
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