as if burnt up by the most excessive heat; and, in very strong frosts, walnut trees, ashes, and even oaks, are sometimes split and cleft, so as to be seen through, and this with a terrible noise, like the explosion of fire-arms. In cold countries, the frost often proves fatal to mankind; producing gangrenes, and even death itself. Those who die of it have their hands and feet first seized, till they grow past feeling it; after which the rest of their bodies are so invaded, that they are taken with a drowsiness, which if indulged, they awake no more, but die insensibly. It also sometimes seizes the abdomen and viscera, which on dissection are found to be mortified and black.

The great power of frost on vegetables is sufficiently known: but the differences between the frosts of a severe winter, and those which happen in the spring mornings, in their effects on plants and trees, were never perfectly explained till by Messrs. Du Hamel and Buffon, in the Memoirs of the Paris Academy. The frosts of severe winters are much more terrible than those of the spring, as they bring on a privation of all the products of the tenderer parts of the vegetable world; but then they are not frequent, such winters happening perhaps but once in an age; and the frosts of the spring are in reality greater injuries to us than these, as they are every year repeated. In regard to trees, the great difference is this, that the frosts of severe winters affect even their wood, their trunks and large branches; whereas those of the spring have only power to hurt the buds. The winter frosts happening at a time when most of the trees in our woods and gardens have neither leaves, flowers, nor fruits upon them, and have their buds so hard as to be proof against slight injuries of weather, especially if the preceding summer has not been too wet; in this state, if there are no unlucky circumstances attending, most trees bear moderate winters very well: but hard frosts, which happen late in winter, cause very great injuries even to those trees which they do not utterly destroy. These are, 1. Long cracks following the direction of the fibres. 2. Parcels of dead wood enclosed round with wood yet in a living state. And 3. That distemperature which foresters call the double blea, which is a perfect circle of blea, or soft white wood, which, when the tree is afterwards felled, is found covered by a circle of hard and solid wood.

The opinions of authors about the exposition of trees to the different quarters, have been very different, and most of them grounded on no rational foundation. Many are of opinion that the effects of frosts are most violently felt on those trees which are exposed to the north, and others think the south, or the west the most strongly affected by them. There is no doubt but the north exposure is subject to the greatest cold. It does not, however, follow from this, that the injury must be always greatest on the trees exposed to the north in frosts: on the contrary, there are abundant proofs, that it is on the south side that trees are generally most injured by frost: and it is plain from repeated experiments, that there are particular accidents, under which a more moderate frost may do more injury to vegetables, than the

most severe one which happens to them under more favorable circumstances. It is plain from the accounts of the injuries trees received by the frost in 1709, that the greatest of all were owing to repeated false thaws, succeeded by repeated new frosts. But the frosts of the spring furnish abundantly more numerous examples of this truth; and some experiments made by the count de Buffon, in his own woods, prove incontestably, that it is not the severest cold or most fixed frost that does the greatest injury to vegetables. This is an observation directly opposite to the common opinions, yet it is not the less true, nor any way discordant to reason.

We find, by a number of experiments, that it is humidity that makes frost fatal to vegetables; and therefore every thing that can occasion humidity in them, exposes them to these injuries, and every thing that can prevent or take off an over proportion of humidity in them, every thing that can dry them, though with ever so increased a cold, must prevent or preserve them from those injuries. Numerous experiments and observations tend to prove this. It is well known that vegetables always feel the frost very desperately in low places where there are fogs. The plants which stand by a river side are frequently found destroyed by the spring and autumnal frosts, while those of the same species, which stand in a drier place, suffer little or perhaps not at all by them; and the low and wet parts of forests are well known to produce worse wood than the high and drier. The coppice wood in wet and low parts of common woods, though it push out more vigorously at first than that of other places, yet never comes to so good a growth; for the frost of the spring killing these early top shoots, obliges the lower part of the trees to throw out lateral branches: and the same thing happens in a greater or less degree to the coppice wood that grows under cover of larger trees in great forests; for here the vapors, not being carried off either by the sun or wind, stagnate and freeze, and in the same manner destroy the young shoots, as the fogs of marshy places. It is a general observation, also, that the frost is never hurtful to the late shoots of the vine, or to the flower-buds of trees, except when it follows heavy dews, or a long rainy season, and then it never fails to do great mischief, though it be ever so slight. The frost is always observed to be more mischievous in its consequences on newly cultivated ground than in other places; and this is because the vapors, which continually arise from the earth, find an easier passage from those places than from others. Trees also which have been newly cut, suffer more than others by the spring frosts, which is owing to their shooting out more vigorously. Frosts also do more damage on light and sandy grounds, than on the tougher and firmer soils, supposing both equally dry; and this seems partly owing to their being more early in their productions, and partly to their lax texture suffering a greater quantity of vapors to transpire. It has also been frequently observed, that the side-shoots of trees are more subject to perish by the spring frosts than those from the top; and M. Buffon, who examined into this with great accuracy, always found the

effects of the spring frosts much greater near the ground than elsewhere. The shoots within a foot of the ground quickly perished by them; those which stood at two or three feet high bore them much better; and those at four feet and upwards frequently remained wholly unhurt, while the lower ones were entirely destroved. A series of observations have prc7ed, beyond all doubt, that it is not the hard frosts which so much hurt plants, as those frosts, though less severe, which happen when they are full of moisture; and this clearly explains the account of all the great damages done by the severe frosts being on the south side of the trees which are affected by them, though that side has been plainly all the while less cold than the north. Great damage is also done to the western sides of trees and plantations, when after a rain with a west wind the wind turns about to the north at sunset, as is frequently the case in spring, or when an east wind blows upon a thick fog before sunrising.

It should be added that frost is in the northern parts of the world a constant assistant in preserving meat. It has also other recommendations, and becomes an important assistant of their architecture, in the hands of the Esquimaux tribes. Their winter huts are built entirely of snow frozen into a solid mass. The snow is formed into blocks, which laid over each other, and gradually bending inwards, terminate in a regular dome, sometimes nine or ten feet high. A plate of ice forms the window. When clusters of these huts have had their intervals filled up with snow and drift, they cannot be distinguished from the surrounding plain, and may be walked over; hence the idea of Greenland subterranean habitations; but, when the roof is thinned by thawing, a leg is apt to come down through it. The entrance is long, and under ground, as described by Scoresby. In the interior, raised benches of snow, covered with skins, serve for sitting or sleeping on. Heat, light, and cooking, are afforded by one lamp, having a wick eighteen inches long, fed with oil or blubber, and which, when lighted through its whole length, makes a most brilliant and beautiful flame. Close to it the temperature is raised to thirty-eight degrees, but in receding falls to twenty-three degrees, and cannot be raised higher without the danger of melting this frail mansion. In spring, indeed, the dripping causes much inconvenience, and brings on severe colds. These mansions, however, are said to be much more comfortable than those roofed with skins, the heat and closeness of which produce very bad effects.

Captain Franklin mentions a curious fact with regard to frozen fish in his late Journey to the Polar Seas. It may be worthy of notice here, he says, that the fish froze as they were taken out of the nets, and in a short time became a solid mass of ice; and by a blow or two of the hatchet were easily split open, when the intestines might be removed in one lump. If in this completely frozen state they were thawed before the fire, they recovered their animation. This was particularly the case with the carp, and we had occasion to observe it repeatedly, as Dr. Richardson occupied himself in examining the

structure of the different species of fish, and was always, in the winter, under the necessity of thawing them before he could cut them. We have seen a carp recover so far as to leap about with much vigor, after it had been frozen for thirty-six hours.' p. 248.

A few pages onward he gives us the following statement of other effects of extre1ne cold in these regions. The weather during this mont (December) was the coldest we experienced during our residence in America. The thermometer sunk on one occasion to 57° below zero, and never rose beyond 6° above it; the mean for the month was-29.7°. During these intense colds, however, the atmosphere was generally calm, and the wood-cutters and others went about their ordinary occupations without using any extraordinary precautions, yet without feeling any bad effects. They had their rein-deer shirts on, leathern mittens lined with blankets, and furred caps; but none of them used any defence for the face, nor did they need to do so. Indeed we have already mentioned that the heat is abstracted most rapidly from the body during strong breezes, and most of those who have perished from cold, in this country, have fallen a sacrifice to their being overtaken on a lake, or other unsheltered place, by a storm of wind. The intense colds were, however, detrimental to us in another way. The trees froze to their very centres, and became as hard as stones, and more difficult to cut. Some of the axes were broken daily, and by the end of the month we had only one left that was fit for felling trees. By entrusting it only to one of the party who had been bred a carpenter, and who could use it with dexterity, it was fortunately preserved until the arrival of our men with others from Fort Providence.

'A thermometer hung in our bed room at the distance of sixteen feet from the fire, but exposed to its direct radiation, stood, even in the daytime, occasionally at 15° below zero, and was observed more than once, previous to the kindling of the fire in the morning, to be as low as 40° below zero. On two of these occasions the chronometers (Nos. 2149 and 2151), which during the night lay under Mr. Hood's and Dr. Richardson's pillows, stopped while they were dressing themselves.'-pp. 254, 255.

We subjoin a chronological list of some of the most remarkable frosts recorded in history.

A. D.

220. The frost in Britain that lasted five months.

250. The Thames frozen nine weeks. 291. Most rivers in Britain frozen six weeks. 359. Severe frosts in Scotland for fourteen weeks.

508. The rivers in Britain frozen for two months.

558. The Danube quite frozen over. 695. The Thames frozen six weeks; booths built on it.

759. Frost from October 1st, till February 26th,

760.

827. Frost in England for nine weeks. 859. Carriages used on the Adriatic Sea.

923. The Thames frozen thirteen weeks.

987. Frost lasted 120 days; began December 22d.

998. The Thames frozen five weeks.

ground. The vines and fruit-trees were destroyed, and famine ensued.

In 1067 the cold was so intense, that most of the travellers in Germany were frozen to death or the roads.

1063. The Thames frozen fourteen weeks.

1076. Frost in England from November till April.

1114. Several wooden bridges carried away by ice.

1205. Frost from January 14th till March 22d. 1407. Frost that lasted fifteen weeks.

1434. From November 24th to February 10th, Thames frozen down to Gravesend. 1683. Frost for thirteen weeks. 1708-9. Severe frost for many weeks. 1715. The same for many weeks.

1739. One for nine weeks; began December 24th.

:742. Severe frost for many weeks.

1747. Severe frost in Russia.

In 401 the Black Sea was entirely frozen over. In 462 the Danube was frozen, and Theodomir marched over it to avenge his brother's death in Suabia.

In 763 the Black Sea and the Dardanelles were both frozen over. The snow in some places rose fifty feet high, and the ice was so heaped in the cities as to push down the walls. In 800 the winter was intensely cold. In 822 the great rivers of Europe, such as the Danube, the Elbe, and the Seine, were so hard frozen as to bear heavy waggons for a month. In 860 the Adriatic was frozen.

in 874 the winter was very long and severe. The snow continued to fall from the beginning of November to the end of March, and incumbered the ground so much, that the forests were inaccessible for the supply of fuel. In 891, and again in 893, the vines were killed by the frost, and the cattle perished in their stalls.

In 991 the winter lasted very long, with extreme severity. Every thing was frozen; the crops totally failed; and famine and pestilence closed the year.

the snow lay very long.

In 1133 it was extremely cold in Italy; the Pa was frozen from Cremona to the sea; the heaps of snow rendered the roads impassable, the wine casks were burst, and even the trees split, by the action of the frost, with immense

noise.

In 1179 the snow was eight feet deep in Austria, and lay till Easter. The crops and vintage failed; and a great murrain consumed the cattle.

The winters of 1209 and 1210 were both of them very severe; insomuch that the cattle died for want of fodder.

In 1216 the Po froze fifteen ells deep, and wine burst the casks.

In 1234 the Po was again frozen; and loaded waggons crossed the Adriatic to Venice. A pine forest was killed by the frost at Ravenna. In 1236 the Danube was frozen to the bottom, and remained long in that state.

In 1269 the frost was most intense in Scotland, and the ground bound up. The Categat was frozen between Norway and Jutland.

In 1281 such quantities of snow fell in Austria as to bury the very houses.

In 1292 the Rhine was frozen over at Breysach, and bore loaded waggons. One sheet of ice extended between Norway and Jutland, so that travellers passed with ease; and, in Germany, 600 peasants were employed to clear away the snow, for the advance of the Austrian army.

In 1305 the rivers in Germany were frozen, and much distress was occasioned by the scarcity of provisions and forage.

In 1316 the crops wholly failed in Germany. Wheat, which some years before sold in England at 6s. a quarter, now rose to £2. In 1323 the winter was so severe, that both horse and foot passengers travelled over the ice from Denmark to Lübeck and Dantzic. In 1339 the crops failed in Scotland, and such a famine ensued, that the poorer sort of people were reduced to feed on grass, and many of them perished miserably in the fields. Yet in England wheat was at this time sold so low as 3s. 4d. a quarter.

In 1344 it was clear frost from November to March, and all the rivers in Italy were frozen

over.

In 1392 the vineyards and orchards were destroyed by the frost, and the trees torn to pieces.

The year 1408 had one of the coldest winters ever remembered :-Not only the Danube was frozen over, but the sea between Gothland and Oeland, and between Norway and Denmark; so that wolves, driven from their forests; came over the ice into Jutland. In France the vineyards and orchards were destroyed.

A. D. In 1423 both the North Sea and the Baltic were frozen. Travellers passed on foot from Lübeck to Dantzic. In France the frost penetrated into the very cellars. Corn and wine failed, and men and cattle perished for want of food. The successive winters of 1432, 1433, and 1434, were uncommonly severe. It snowed forty days without interruption. All the rivers in Germany were frozen; and the very birds took shelter in the towns. The price of wheat rose, in England, to 27s. a quarter, but was reduced to 5s. in the following year.

In 1460 the Baltic was frozen, and both foot and horse passengers crossed over the ice from Denmark to Sweden. The Danube likewise continued frozen two months, and the vineyards in Germany were destroyed.

In 1468 the winter was so severe in Flanders, that the wine distributed to the soldiers was cut in pieces with hatchets.

In 1544 the same thing happened again, the wine being frozen into solid lumps. In 1548 the winter was very cold and protracted. Between Denmark and Rostock, sledges drawn by horses or oxen travelled over the ice.

In 1564, and again in 1565, the winter was ex

tremely severe over all Europe. The Scheldt froze so hard as to support loaded waggons for three months.

In 1571 the winter was severe and protracted.

All the rivers in France were covered with hard and solid ice, and fruit trees, even in Languedoc, were killed by the frost. In 1594 the weather was so severe, that the Rhine and the Scheldt were frozen, and even the sea at Venice.

The year 1608 was uncommonly cold, and snow lay of immense depth even at Padua. Wheat rose, in the Windsor market, from 36s. to 56s. a quarter.

In 1621 and 1622 all the rivers of Europe were frozen, and even the Zuyder Zee. A sheet of ice covered the Hellespont, and the Venetian fleet was choaked up in the lagoons of the Adriatic.

In 1655 the winter was very severe, especially in Sweden. The excessive quantities of snow and rain which fell did great injury in Scotland.

The winters of 1658, 1659, and 1660, were intensely cold. The rivers in Italy bore heavy carriages, and so much snow had not fallen at Rome for several centuries. It was in 1658 that Charles X. of Sweden crossed the Little Belt, over the ice, from Holstein to Denmark, with his whole army, foot and horse, followed by the train of baggage and artillery. During these years, the price of grain was nearly doubled in England; a circumstance which contributed, among other causes, to the restoration.

In 1670 the frost was most intense in England and in Denmark, both the Little and Great Belt being frozen.

In 1684 the winter was excessively cold. Many forest trees, and even the oaks in England, were split by the frost. Most of the hollies

A. D.

were killed. The Thames was covered with ice eleven inches thick. Almost all the birds perished.

In 1691 the cold was so excessive, that the famished wolves entered Vienna, and attacked the cattle, and even men.

The winter of 1695 was extremely severe and protracted. The frost in Germany began in October, and continued till April; and many people were frozen to death.

The years 1697 and 1699 were nearly as bad. In England the price of wheat which, in preceding years, had seldom reached to 30s. a quarter, now mounted to 71s.

In 1709 occurred that famous winter, called, by distinction, the cold winter.' All the rivers and lakes were frozen, and even the seas, te the distance of several miles from the shore. The frost is said to have penetrated three yards into the ground. Birds and wild beasts were strewed dead in the fields, and men perished by thousands in their houses. The more tender shrubs and vegetables in England were killed; and wheat rose in its price from £2 to £4 a quarter. In the south of France the olive plantations were almost entirely destroyed; nor have they yet recovered that fatal disaster. The Adriatic Sea was quite frozen over, and even the coast of the Mediterranean about Genoa; and the citron and orange groves suffered extremely in the finest parts of Italy.

In 1716 the winter was very cold. On the Thames, booths were erected and fairs held. In 1726 the winter was so intense, that people

travelled in sledges across the Strait, from Copenhagen to the province of Scania in Sweden.

In 1729 much injury was done by the frost, which lasted from October till May. In Scotland multitudes of cattle and sheep were buried in the snow; and many of the forest trees in other parts of Europe were killed.

The successive winters of 1731 and 1732 were likewise extremely cold.

The cold of 1740 was scarcely inferior to that of 1709. The snow lay eight or ten feet deep in Spain and Portugal. The Zuyder Zee was frozen over, and many thousand persons walked or skaited on it. At Leyden the thermometer fell 10° below the zero of Fahrenheit's scale. All the lakes in England froze, and a whole ox was roasted on the Thames. Many trees were killed by the frost, and postilions were benumbed on their saddles.-In both the years 1709 and 1740 the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland ordained a national fast to be held on account of the dearth which then prevailed.

In 1744 the winter was again very cold. The Mayne was covered seven weeks with ice; and at Evora, in Portugal, people could hardly creep out of their houses for heaps of snow. The winters during the five successive years 1745, 1746, 1747, 1748, and 1749, were all of them very cold.

In 1754, and again in 1755, the winter was particularly cold. At Paris Fahrenheit's ther