210 QUARTERLY JOURNAL. 



the mean for all the observations which have been made, it appears 

 sufficiently exact for all our purposes. 



In order to obtain a correct expression of the leading characters 

 of the climate of New-York, it is essential that its territory should 

 be divided into districts, inasmuch as an expression for the whole 

 state, taking the mean temperature, for instance, as that expression, 

 will only approximate to the object sought. We propose, there- 

 fore, to divide the state into the six following districts : 1. Long- 

 Island J 2. Valley of the Hudson ; 3. Valley of the Mohawk ; 4* 

 District north of the Mohawk, extending from the east line of the 

 state to Lake Ontario ; 5. District southwest of the valley of the 

 Mohawk, extending from the valley of the Hudson to the vicinity 

 of the smaller lakes ; 6. District west of the smaller lakes. 



The climate of the state may be examined in reference to its 

 mean temperature — the extremes of heat and cold — the length and 

 forwardness of the seasons, and the progress of vegetation. By 

 obtaining the results of each of the districts, and comparing them 

 with one another, and with that of the state at large, we shall ob- 

 tain all the important facts in regard to its climate. The length 

 and the forwardness of the seasons, and the progress of vegetation, 

 is determined by the appearance of robins, and other birds of pas- 

 sage : the blooming of trees and plants j the ripening of strawber- 

 ries ; the commencement of the hay and wheat harvest, and the 

 first killing frost. The mean time of these for the whole state for 

 fifteen years, ending with 1842, and also the mean temperature, 

 and mean of the annual extremes, is shown in the following table, 

 which may serve as a standard of reference in examining the same 

 kind of facts in the different sections of the state : 



I 



