Penfyhania. Philadelphia,, 383 



about that time, you may judge from the 

 fweet perfume in the air, arifing from the 

 flowers of the vines, that you are near them, 

 though you do not fee them. Though the 

 winters be ever fo fevere, yet they do not 

 affect the vines. Each grape is about the 

 fize of a pea, but further fouthward they 

 are faid to be of the fize of common raifins, 

 and of a finer flavour. Further up in the 

 country, during a part of autumn, they are 

 the chief food of bears, who climb up the 

 trees in order to pluck them. People are 

 of opinion that if the wild vines were cul- 

 tivated with more care, the grapes would 

 grow larger, and more palatable. 



December the 5th. I shall here men- 

 tion two prognofticks of the weather, which 

 were greatly valued here. Some people 

 pretended to foretel that the enfuing winter 

 would not be a fevere one : this they con- 

 jectured from having {qqu wild geefe and 

 other migratory birds go to the fouth in 

 Oc~lober> but return a few days ago in great 

 numbers, and even pafs on further to the 

 north. Indeed the enfuing winter was one 

 of the moil temperate ones. 



Several perfons likewife allured us that 

 we fhould have rain before to morrow night. 

 The reafon they gave for this conjecture 

 was, thgt this morning at fun rifing, from 



their 



