56 CLIMATE.
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country is not obstructed by high walls, as
is the case in the neighbourhood of Vevay
and Lausanne.
Of the climate of Geneva, I shall only
speak comparatively, for we can judge little
of the real state of the climate, as it
affects health and comfort, from tables of
the mean temperature of the atmosphere,
and the annual quantity of rain that falls.
At Geneva and its vicinity, the sky, in
the months of November and December,
is much covered with clouds, which hide
the mountains, but do not, like our autumnal
fogs, often descend so low as to touch
the ground in the valley. These clouds
seldom rise higher than about 1800 feet
above the lake. On ascending to that elevation,
the atmosphere is often quite clear,
and the higher Alps are seen rising through
the vapour, like mountainous islands in the
midst of the ocean, splendidly illumined
by the sun. The atmosphere of Geneva
is sometimes obscured by clouds for several
weeks in the. winter, while Lausanne and
Vevay, at the other end of the lake, are
enjoying bright sunshine all the day ; but
the weather is often beautifully fine in the
month of February, and from the middle
CLIMATE. 51
of April to the end of October, the climate
may generally be called delightful.
As Geneva is situated 1220 English feet
above the level of the sea, the difference
of mean temperature between this city and
London is considerably less, than the difference
of latitude would indicate. The
summers are seldom oppressively hot, and
in this respect the climate is different from
that of'Lyons, which is only half a degree
further south. The difference of the latitude
from that of London is most sensibly perceived
in winter at Geneva, by the increased
length of the days, and this is made still
more perceptible by the clearness of the
atmosphere; indeed Geneva enjoys two
hours more useful day light than London,
in December and January.
The number of frosty days at Geneva in
winter, may, perhaps, somewhat exceed
those in England, though on an average
the temperature may be nearly the sam e;
but the cold is more severely felt at Geneva,
being generally accompanied by the
bise, an easterly, or north-easterly wind,
which is dry, keen, and penetrating, and
when violent, often produces an inflammation
of the throat and trachea, attended