Climate, Considered Especially In Relation To Man

PREFACE THE preparation of a volume on Climate for The Science Series was suggested to me by the Editors in October, 1904. I was asked to prepare a book which can be read by an intelligent person who has not had special or extended training in the tech- nicalities of the science, . . . the book to be such as would not compete with strictly meteorological text-books, but to handle the broad questions of climate. It so happened that it was then already in my mind to prepare a book dealing with certain large relations of climate, which might serve as supple- mentary reading for the students in my course on General Climatology in Harvard University. The to write present volume is an attempt on my part a book which shall meet the wishes of the Editors of The Science Series and at the same time fit the needs of my students. Climate is based on lecture-notes which have been accumulating for the past ten years. It does not attempt to present any very new or original material, but it does aim to co-ordinate and to set forth clearty and systematically the broader facts of climate in such a way that, as desired by the Editors, the general reader, although not trained in the technicali- ties of the science, may find it easy to appreciate them. At the same time, the needs of the teacher and student have been kept constantly in mind, and the subject-matter has been arranged in such a way as seems best to adapt it for purposes of thorough study. Climatemay be considered in a way as supplementing the first volume of Dr. Julius Kamis Handbuch der Klimatologie, an English translation of which was prepared by me and published in 1903. In that book, the standard work of its kind in the world, theprinciples of climatology are clearly set forth. My present volume deals with matters which are either omitted altogether in the Handbook, or else are very briefly treated therein. Climate is wholly independent of Hanns splendid work, except in so far as my study of that book inspired me to prepare this one. The general scope and purpose of the different sec- tions in Climate are as follows. The Introduction is essentially a very condensed synopsis of the first six chapters of Hanns first volume, with the addition of some other matter. Chapter I gives the classification of the zones. Chapters a sketch of II and III give a brief summary of the general climatic types which result from the control of land and water, and of altitude, over the more important elements of climate. Chapters IV, V, and VI are intended to give an outline of the climatic characteristics of the zones in a simple and vivid form, with the least pos- sible use of tabular matter. For further general in- formation on this subject, reference may be made to the world-charts of temperature, winds, cloudiness, rainfall, etc., given with greater or less completeness in the various text-books of meteorology, and, very fully, in the Atlas of Meteorology. In ChapterVII the attempt is made to give a survey of some of the re- lations between weather and climate and a few of the more important diseases. Little information on this subject is readily accessible to the general reader. The life of man in the tropics, the temperate zones, and the polar zones is considered in Chapters VIII to X. No attempt has been made to discuss this subject in detail, for to do so would far exceed the limits set for this book. It has rather been myplan to pick out typical illustrations here and there, as suggestions...