26 JANUARY 1878, Page 14

THE CLIMATE OF THE DANUBE.

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.' ]

SIR,—A correspondent has asked you lately why the Danube is oftener frozen than the Rhine. Supposing it to be so, the reason is simple. The Danube is nearer to the vast continental region of Asia, and farther from the ocean, than is the Rhine. Earth absorbs heat, and parts with it more rapidly than water, and for this reason continental climates are more extreme than oceanic ones,—that is to say, hotter in summer and colder in winter.—I