>775- they ate fent at free coft. Some of the crew of the Fre- deric Adolphus, a Swediih veffel, ffiipwrecked on the Plata bank, September the 3d, 1 7 6 1, who landed in their boats before the Chinefe town Katfie, experienced in its fulleft extent the efficacy of an eftabliihment that does fo much honour to mankind. Mr. Mau le, the fupercargo, who likewife was one o f the number, has affured me, that they were all received with the greateft humanity, maintained at the emperor’s expence, and conveyed in one of the larger kind o f Chinefe veffels to the other Europeans at Canton. As in the preceding pages I have made mention o f the ftormy winters at the Cape, it may not be improper to give here a fummary abftradt of my meteorological obfervations fpr the months of May, June, and July. With regard to the . temperature of the air I muft previoufly remind the reader, that I made ufe o f a F a h r e n h e i t ’s thermometer, which was given me by Dr. F o r s t e r at our parting; and that the obfervations taken with it were made in the ffiade, in the open air, between eight and nine o’clock in the morning,, when the temperature of the air was moft like that of the night. I muft farther remark, that the winters at the Cape are in general by no means fevere, and that this winter was reckoned one of the mildeft. During the firft half of May the thermometer kept fluctuating between 53 and 63 degrees; and during the latter half, between 50 and .5 8, excepting on the 27th o f this month, when it was at the loweft, or 49 f, although the day was clear and the fun ffione. The rainy days in this month were the n th , 12th, 15th, 16th, 30th; and among * among thefe the three firft named were the worft, and accompanied with tempeftuous north-weft winds; fo that when I paffed Zout Rivier on the 1 ith, the water was no higher than my horfe’s knees; but when I repaired it on the 15 th, the water had rifen fo high, in confequence of the rain and tide, as to reach up to my faddle. In the month of June the thermometer was between .54 and 60. There was a fall either o f rain or fnoW on the ift, 2d, 3d, 4th, 14th, 27th, and fo on to the 31ft inclufively. Befides thefe, there were a few other cloudy days, attended with a high wind; but the remainder re- fembled our fine fummer days in Sweden. On the 3d, it rained very violently, when it happened that a quantity o f water which, in the preceding days, had been collected on the mountain, burft its way down to the town, and filled the canals there, at the fame time overflowing fome of the ftreets ; fo that for feveral minutes, it rofe to the height of two or three feet againft the houfes. It likewife waih- ed away a fmall wall belonging to a ftone houfe, and carried it under the building, at the fame time ruihing into divers cellars. In July, by reafon of fome intervening affairs that hindered me, I obferved the ftate o f the weather only till the 19th; during that time, the thermometer kept between 54 and 59 degrees. The rainy days were the 6th, 7th, 8th, n t h , 12 th ; clouds without rain on the 3d, 9th; io th , 1 3th, and 14th. T775- March. Vo l . I. Q S E C T .
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