FRO 



a brief account of wliich may not be improper to be 



here infcrtcd. 



The autumn began with cold north and eall winds, 

 and early in November the nights were generally 

 frofty, though the froft did not enter the ground 

 deeper than the fun thawed tlve following day *, but to- 

 ward the end of November the winds blev/ extremely 

 cold from the north, which was fuccecded by a great 

 fnovv, which fell in fuch quantities in one night, as to 

 break off large arms, as alfo the tops of many Ever- 

 reen-trees, on which it lodged. After the fnov/ had 

 alien, it began to freeze again, the wind continuing to 

 blow from the north ^ the days were dark and cloudy 

 forfome time, but afterwards it cleared up, and the 

 fun appeared almoft every day, which melted the fnow 

 •where expofed to it,wherebythefroflpcnetrateddeeper 

 into the ground. It was obfervable, that, during thefe 

 clear days, a great mill or vapour, appeared in the 

 evenings, floating near the furface of the ground tin- 

 til the cold of the night came on, when it was fuddenly 

 condcnfed, and difappeared.' About the 8th of De- 

 cember, the nights were extremely cold -, the fpirits in 

 the thermomoter fell i8 degrees below the freezing 

 point, and on the loth of the fame month the froft 

 was as fevcre as had been known in the memory of 

 . man ; the fpirits of the thermometer fell to 20 de- 

 grees below the freezing point. At this time vaft 

 . numbers of Lauruftinufes, Phillyreas, Alaternufes, 

 Rofemary, Arbutus, and other Evergreen-trees and 

 ihi*ubs began to fuffer; efpecially fuch as had been 

 .' trimmed up to heads with naked ftems, or had been 

 \ clipped late in autumn/ At this time alfo there were 

 great numbers of large deciduous trees difbarked by 

 ■ the froft, as Pear-trees, Plane-trees, *Walnut-trees, 

 ,. with many other forts, and it was chiefly on the weft 

 ' and ibuth-weft fide of the trees, that the bark came 





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iAbout the middle of December the froft abated of 



'.its intenfencfs, and feemed to be at a ftand till the 23d 



-.of the fame month, when the wind blew extremely 



;4Karp and cold from the eaft, and the froft increafed 



continuing very fliarp till the 28th day, when 

 . it began to abate again, and feemed to be going off, 

 ' the wind changing to the fouth ; but it did not con- 

 '.tinuelong in this point, before it changed to the eaft 



^again,^,an4 the froft returned, though it was nptfo 

 . violent as before, ■ . ., . . . . ■• . 



again. 



Thus the weather continued for the moft part Frofty, 

 ' till the middle of March, with ^ few intervals of mild 

 ij weather, which brought forward fome of the early 

 flowers i but the cold returning, foon deftroyed them : 

 :. fo that thofe plants which ufually flower in January 

 ^ and February, did not this year appeajr.^till March, 

 and before they were fully blown, were cut off by the 

 froft; of this number were all the Spring Crocufes, 

 Hepaticas, Perfian Irifes, Black Hellebores," Mez'e- 

 reons, with ki^Wc^mJ:^^:^^^ Zv^, 



■.The Cauliflower plants, 'which were planted out of 

 the beds in the open ground, durirjg the intervals be- 

 tween the froft, were moft of them cteftroy ed, ^or_fo 

 much cut, that they loft moft of their leaves'; the ear- 

 ' ly Beans and Peas were moft of them killed, anSi many 

 ^ fruit and foreft trees, which had been lately remoVed, 

 were quije deftroyed. ... The lofs was very great to 

 . feme curious perfons, who had been many years en- 

 aeavouring to naturalize great numbers of exotic 

 trees and flirubs, abundance of which were either to- 

 tally killed, or deftroyed to the furface oiTtKe gf9un*^ ; 

 amongft this number there were many forts deftroyed, 

 ' ■ ^'^"^^h l^ad endured the open air many years, without 

 receiving the leaft injury from the cold, fuch as Paffion 

 Flowers, Cork-trees, Ciftufes, Rofemary, Stoechas^ 

 Sage, Maftich, and fome others. In fome places the 

 young Afli and Walnut-trees were killed ; but when 

 the froft went off, there appeared to have been much 

 more damage done in the gardens, than there really 

 . was, which occaflofted many people to dig up and de^ 

 . Itroy large quantities of trees and flirubs, which they 

 luppofed were killed^i, whereas thofe who had more 



patience, and fufFered_ them tp remain, fared better ; 



^ Pv O 



for great number- of rhcm ihot our agai^, fom 



their ftcms and bninclics, xwA othcrrs rroauh.cir roots, 

 the following furnnK*r. 



Nor was the froft more ftvere 



cfiorri 



other parts of Europ 



favourable ; 



bu 



m England, than in 

 I, on ihc contrary, in com- 



panion, 



France, the Olives 



and fcveral other trees and fl^.rub 



lie ; for in the icuthern parts of 

 5, Myrdcs, Ciftufes, Alatc-rnufcs, 



Wind 



1 



grow 



there almoft fpontaneoufly, were either deftroyed, or 

 at leaft were killed to their roots ^ and about Paris, and 

 the northern parts of France, the buds of their fruit- 

 trees were deftroyed, although they remained clofcd, 

 fo that there v/erevery fe\y blcflfciiis which opened that 



iprin 



g- 



The Fig-trees were in feveral parts of France 



quite killed, and in England their tender branches 



were deftroyed, fo that there was very little fruit on 



thofe trees the follov/ing funmier, except where they 

 were protected from the froft,^ 



In Holland the Pines and Firs, with feveral other 

 trees, which are natives of cold countries, were great- 

 ly injured by the cold j and moft of the trees and 

 ftirubs, v/hichwere brought from Italy, Spain, or the 

 fouth parts of France, which had been planted in the 

 full ground, in that country, were entirely killed^ 

 though many other forts, which had been brought 



. from Virginia and Carolina, efcaped very well, in the 

 fame gardens ; but the perfon who fuffcred moft in 

 that country, was the learned Dr. Boerhaave, who had 



. been feveral years endeavouring to naturalize as many 

 exotic trees and flirlibs as ,he could poflibly obtain 

 from the feveral parts of the. world, great numbers of 

 which were entirely deftroyed by the froft this winter. 

 In fome parts of Scotland they not only Jgft many of 

 their curious flowers,, plants, and trees- but great 

 numbers of flieep, and other cattle, were buried 

 under the fnow, where theyperiflied; and many poOir 

 people, who went to look after their. cattle, were 

 equal fufferers with them, being buried in th^ fnow, 

 which in fome places fell eight or nine feet deep in 

 one night. . 



, It has been obferved by thermometers, when that 

 kind of hovering lambent fog arifes (either mornings 



■ or evenings) which frequently betokens fair weather, 

 that the air, which, in the preceding day was much 



-warmier, has, upon the ablen^e of the fun become 



■ many dep;rees cooler than the furface of the earth, 

 which beino; near 1^00 times denfer than the air, can- 

 not be fo foon afFe<9:ed with the alteration of heat and 

 cold; whence it is j^robable, that thofe vapours' which 



_ are raifed by the'warmth'of the earth,'^^re by thfe cooler 



;■ air fopjti^ condenfed into.^a^vij^^k fbrmrjj^XK^^ 

 -^ differenqe Fas been obleryed between^the^ coolntrfs_ of 



. the an-j'anS the warmth of water in -a., pond, by puc- 



i ting a thermometer, which hung all night in the open 



; air m fummer time, into the water, juft before the^ 



' "Hfing of the fun, wReri the. like j-fcky.qr^^^ was 



., rifi'ng on the furface of the jyater. \^^i.''i^ifx:^^'t^^^^' 

 " III the year 1739-40, we had another fevcre Winter^ 

 , \vhich did, great mifchief to the gardens, fields, and 

 .woods, the effefts of which are yet, and will be many 



felt in Europe. ^^Some particulars of theie 



? 



I 



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...years, 



. depredations, "may not, perhaps, be unai5ceptable to 



...the reader, if they are here mentioned. 



■ I-il'/rf 



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h 



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IjThe wind fet in blo>Ying fronithe hortk an^ nojth-; 



'. eaft, about the autumnal eqiiinox, and continued to 

 blow from the fame quarter, with little yariatipn, up* 



vward of fix months.' Early in November, there was a 

 continued ftiarp froft for nine days, in which time 

 the ice upon large ponds, and other fiahding' waters^ 

 was frozen fo hard as to Bear perfohs^^'ho floated there- 

 on; but teward the isndofNovetp^c/jihe froft abated, 



.^and there was litde^^rnpre^^.thaii lligh^t iTiqrnjng frofts 

 until Chriftmas^,day,,^'>vhen i| fi-oze^ hard that 



morning, and continued every morning io to do \ but 

 on the 28th day of December, the wind blew with 

 great ftrength from the nortK-eaft, and brought on 



. fevere cold ^ that night the froft penetrated very deep 

 into the ground, and the next day, viz, the 29th,. the 

 wind changed to the fouthward of the taft, and blew 



; with great fury j the thermometer fell this jiay^^i 



- . ... twenty- 



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