I906J ABBE— BENJAMIN FRANKLTN AS METEOROLOGIST. 127 



but are soon melted, and soon absorbed. After which, the winds, that blow 

 over the country on which the snows had fallen, are not rendered so cold as 

 they would have been, by those snows, if they had remained; and thus the 

 approach of the severity of winter is retarded; and the extreme degree of 

 its cold is not always at the time we might expect it, viz., when the sun is 

 at its greatest distance, and the day shortest, but some time after that period, 

 according to the English proverb, which says, " As the day lengthens, the 

 cold strengthens " ; the causes of refrigeration continuing to operate, while 

 the sun returns too slowly, and his force continues too weak, to counteract 

 them. 



During several of the summer months of the year 1783, when the effects 

 of the sun's rays to heat the earth in these northern regions should have 

 been the greatest, there existed a constant fog over all Europe, and great 

 part of North America. This fog was of a permanent nature; it was dry, 

 and the rays of the sun seemed to have little effect towards dissipating it, 

 as they easily do a moist fog, arising from water. They were indeed ren- 

 dered so faint in passing through it, that, when collected in the focus of a 

 burning-glass, they would scarce kindle brown paper. Of course, their 

 summer effect in heating the earth was exceedingly diminished. 



Hence the surface was early frozen. 



Hence the first snows remained on it unmelted, and received continual 

 additions. 



Hence perhaps the winter of 1783-4, was more severe than any that hap- 

 pened for many years. 



The cause of this universal fog is not yet ascertained. Whether it was 

 adventitious to this earth, and merely a smoke proceeding from the con- 

 sumption by fire of some of those great burning balls or globes which we 

 happen to meet with in our course round the sun, and which are sometimes 

 seen to kindle and be destroyed in passing our atmosphere, and whose smoke 

 might be attracted and retained by our earth; or whether it was the vast 

 quantity of smoke, long continuing to issue during the summer from Hecla, 

 in Iceland, and that other volcano which arose out of the sea near that island, 

 which smoke might be spread by various winds over the northern part of the 

 world, is yet uncertain. 



It seems however worth the inquiry, whether other hard winters, recorded 

 in history, were preceded by similar permanent and widely extended summer 

 fogs. Because, if found to be so, men might from such fogs conjecture the 

 probability of a succeeding hard \yinter, and of the damage to be expected 

 by the breaking up of frozen rivers in the spring; and take such measures 

 as are possible and practicable, to secure themselves and effects from the 

 mischiefs that attend the last."^ 



Franklin's argument may be condensed as follows : The soil is 

 warmed during summer, and its heat comes back to warm the air 

 during winter. Its efifect on the air is felt until snow accumulates 



^ See Sparks, "Life of Benjamin Franklin," Vol. 6, 455-457. 



