132 Observations on the Season of 1816, 



pttmted, and repl ,nted again till the middle of June ; the 

 lust produced r.o >:orn at ail. i presume there has not 

 I much more than one-third of a crop, and that mostly 

 soft; in maHy or most places, the blades of the young 

 corn were killed by the frost about the middle of May ; 

 and in the fail, frost came when the corn was completely 

 in the milk. The first frosts seem to h>ve been harder, 

 or more severe, than usual, which did much damage to 

 com ami buckwheat; in a greater degree along creeks and 

 small streams ot water, his remarkable the contrast be- 

 tween the crops on the high and low lands ; and the low 

 more especially by the rivulets. Cold seems to be gene- 

 rated by moisture, or at least this appears to facilitate the 

 transition from heat to cold ; but if the source from which 

 the pluvial particles arise be very copious, and warmer 

 than the surrounding atmosphere, the case will be revers- 

 ed ; and we shall find it, in those instances, to be warmer 

 than m other pi »ces. This is verified every year by the 

 stfie of our htrge rivers ; the lakes of Canada also bear 

 testimony to this ; the season in the fall of the year being 

 much milder contiguous to the lakes than farther off: as 

 water is a mue.h more dense body than air, the transition 

 fr m heat to cold, and viee versa, will of course be slower. 

 During the summer, those large bodies of waiter h ve in- 

 creased their temperature, till it has nearly arrived to that 

 of the atmosphere ; and as the latter in the autumn is still 

 growing cooler^ the farmer is incessantly giving out heat ; 

 which has a very salutary effect on the adjacent country ; 

 thefngh, on the same principle, in the spring of the year, 

 the lakes ; being covered with ice, are continually, till it 

 is dissolved and for s^rne time after giving out cold ; 

 which has a very unsalutary influence on vegetation. The 



