NEW ENGLAND CLIMATE. 140 



have been done for the decision of the whole question as to 

 change of climate." The venerable pear tree of Gov. Endicott, 

 had its times of Co-Bering been pmictually recorded by its seven 

 successive generations of proprietors, might have put all dispute 

 at rest. "We possess no ancient registers of this description 

 kept with the exactness which Mr. Lowell recommended, and 

 which he actually put in practice at Roxbury through a period 

 of thirty-two years. But we have a similar record kept, on the 

 whole, with great regularity, by the late Eev. Thomas Smith, of 

 Portland, Maine. His diary of the seasons extends, with a few 

 unimportant exceptions, from 1722 to 1786, thus reaching back 

 to a century and a quarter ago. It appears from several 

 observations, made by him between the years 1751 and 1773, 

 that the average time of the blossoming of the cherry at Port- 

 land, during that period, was between the 12th and 13th of May. 

 Mr. Lowell states that the average at Roxbury, for several 

 years since the commencement of this century, was May 8th ; 

 and from observations made by Gen. Dearborn in the same 

 city, from 1835 to 1847, inclusive, it appears that this average 

 should be fixed precisely at the same date within a fraction of 

 a day. When we consider that Portland lies north of Boston 

 by more than one degree, these facts, to which many of a similar 

 purport might be added, would seem to form evidence as con- 

 clusive as, under the circumstances, could reasonably be expect- 

 ed, against any supposition of a perceptible change in our 

 climate since the settlement of our country. Besides, had such 

 a change occurred to any material extent, we should find some 

 proofs of its existence in what are called our half-hardy plants, 

 that is, plants which are a little, and only a little, too tender to 

 be exposed without protection throughout the year. Could it 

 be shown, for example, that that most beautiful evergreen, the 

 English Ivy, which has been cultivated by our florists for more 

 than half a century, could now endure our winters better than 

 formerly, this would furnish a proof of the softening of our 

 climate which it would be difficult to set aside. But we shall 

 search in vain for any instance of this description. Among the 

 many species of trees and shrubs which have been cultivated in 

 our gardens for two or three generations, it may be safely 

 asserted that there is not one wliich appears to have increased 



