climate of Tennessee forms a medium between the warmth of the south and the cold of the north; it may be correctly viewed as the middle climate of the United States, and proves peculiarly congenial to northern constitutions. There is no country in America where diseases are so rare, where physicians have so little practice, and where children are more robust and healthy. Snow falls in winter, and sometimes to a considerable depth; but the summer, particularly in the higher ground, is mild, and accompanied with excessive heat. Apples, pears, and plums are raised here in great perfection; and in sheltered situations it is thought that the fig might be cultivated to advantage. Maize is planted early in April; cotton is the staple of agriculture. Within the limits of this state, most of the forest trees of the western country are found in abundance.
In Kentucky the climate is not so mild as that of Tennessee. It is however mild and temperate. Grape vines flourish here of prodigious size. All the grains, pulses, garden vegetables, and fruits of the temperate climate abound. The wheat of Kentucky is excellent, but hemp and tobacco are her staples.
The climate of Missouri is temperate, though variable. Winter continues in its severity for about two months, from the latter part of December to the last of February; but even during this interval there are many warm and pleasant days. Snow seldom remains on the ground more than sixty hours; and its maximum depth is generally about six inches. Frequently the rivers are for weeks frozen sufficiently hard for the passage of loaded teams. Trees sometimes blossom in March, and the spring months with occasional cold, have days as pleasant as those of summer. From the sandy and warm texture of the soil, and the openness of the country, the heat in summer is very great, and would be oppressive, except for the prevalence of agreeable breezes. Another characteristic of the Missouri climate, is its extreme dryness; evaporation is rapid, and the average amount of rain falling in the year is estimated at eighteen inches. Long and steady rains so common in the eastern states, seldom occur; the summer rains are generally thunder showers. The autumn months are delightful, serene, temperate, and salubrious.
The part of Ohio lying within this division of climate is moderate in respect to climate; suffering neither from excessive cold or the reverse. Along the banks of the Ohio river it is more mild than in the central and mountainous regions; and the difference is owing to the difference of latitude and elevation. The winters vary in severity, being sometimes quite mild; in other years the rivers are frozen for eight or nine weeks. Severe cold generally continues from the last week in December through the first in February. Summer heat in the valley of the Ohio is oppressive, but of short duration. Autumn is temperate, pleasant, and healthy. Nowhere in the world, says Mr. Flint, is the grand autumnal painting of the forests, in the decay of vegetation, seen in more beauty than in the beech forests of Ohio. The richness of the fading colors, and the effect of the mingling hues baffles all description. On the whole, a great farming community, like that of Ohio, could scarcely desire a better climate for themselves, their cattle, and stock of all kinds; or one, in which a man can work abroad, with comfort, a greater number of days in the year.
Indiana has much the same temperature with Illinois and Missouri. The winters are mild, and seldom last in their severity more than six weeks; during this period, the slower streams are generally frozen, and afford a safe passage on the ice. In the middle and southern parts of the state snow seldom falls to a greater depth than six inches. Trees begin to be green early in April, and the peach blossoms in March. A large number of shrubs put forth their flowers before the leaves, and from this the spring vegetation is singularly beautiful. Illinois has in general the same climate with Missouri, and its productions are the same as those of that state; being, however, somewhat lower, it is more subject to inundation, and consequently the air is more humid. The portions of Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, comprehended within this division, partake the general character of climate with those we have particularly described.
4. The region possessing a warm climate lies between the temperate, and a line drawn from Cape Henry in a circular direction, and passing above Tarboro, and through Fayetteville, Columbia, Augusta, Milledgeville and Fort Jackson in Alabama, and thence a little south of west across the Mississippi, and on to the Sabine river, in the latitude of Nacogdoches, in Texas. In this region the winters continue from about the first of January to the first of March; and the summers from the first of May to the middle of October. The weather is pretty settled and steady, and, except in swampy or marshy situations, the country is generally healthy. This region includes the interior and central parts of North Carolina, the northern and western parts of South Carolina, the northern parts of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
In the northern and western parts of South Carolina, the land is mountainous, and the climate generally salubrious. The air is dry, and in winter cold; but it is generally mild and delightful. The highlands of North Carolina that lie within this district are healthy and pleasant; the days in summer are hot, but the nights are refreshed by cool breezes. The northern and hilly region of Georgia is as healthy as any part of the states. Winter continues from the middle of December to the middle of February. The northern parts of Alabama, in the districts of hills, springs, and pine forests, are generally healthy. In winter the still waters often freeze; and the summers are not much hotter than they are many degrees farther to the north.
The climate of the northern part of Mississippi, in places removed from stagnant waters, is healthy. Heat in summer is intense; and during the latter month of that season and the first of autumn, even the residents in the healthy districts are exposed to severe bilious attacks. In compensation, however, they are free from the pulmonary affections which occasion so much destruction in the more northern regions. The productions of this state are the same with those of Louisiana.
5. The hot region extends from the southern extremity of the warm, to the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico. It comprises all Florida, and the southern parts of the Carolinas,39 Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, with the greater portion of Louisiana.
The climate of Florida may be considered in some respects as a tropical climate. From the first of July to the first of October, the air is sultry, and the heat exceedingly oppressive. This may be considered the unhealthy season, during which fevers are prevalent, but even at this time the climate of St. Augustine is salubrious and pleasant, and is a place of resort for those who are desirous of avoiding sickness. During this period the range of the thermometer is between eighty-four and eighty-eight degrees, and it sometimes rises above one hundred. Even in winter, the influence of the clear vertical sun is always uncomfortable; in the peninsular parts, water never freezes, though there are sometimes slight frosts. In this climate the most delicate orange trees flourish and bear delicious fruits; the air is generally pure and mild, and the breeze pleasant. Heavy dews fall, and the night air is exceedingly humid. The rainy season commences early in winter; in February and March there are severe thunder storms by night, followed by days of great clearness and beauty. The peninsula is visited by tornadoes, and at the time of the autumnal equinox, hurricanes and destructive gales occur.
In the southern and eastern portions of the Carolinas, the summers are very hot, sultry, moist and unhealthy. The extensive and rapid decomposition of vegetable matter engenders exhalations, which unite with the miasmata of the swamps, and create an atmosphere loaded with the most deleterious qualities. Intermittent and bilious fevers are frequent and severe. In the low country the summer lasts seven or eight months; and though the winter frost is sometimes severe enough to kill the tender plants, it seldom lasts more than three or four days, or penetrates the ground above two inches. Spring commences about the middle of February, and green peas are often in the market by the middle of March; but the weather varies very much till about the first of May, when it becomes steadily warm, and continues increasing in heat till September, when it begins to moderate. Almost every person whose circumstances permit, removes to a more healthy situation during this period, and a vast number go to the northern states in the summer, and return in the fall. The period of going north is mostly from the middle of May to the middle of July, and of returning, from the middle of October to the middle of November. The anxiety that prevails during that period is extreme, and when it is over, the inhabitants congratulate one another
