228 THE NATURAL HISTORY 



the same juncture, as the author was informed by accurate cor- 

 respondents, at Lyndon, in the county of Rutland, the thermometer 

 stood at 19 ; at Blackburn, in Lancashire, at 19 ; and at Manchester 

 at 21, 20, and 18. Thus does some unknown circumstance 

 strangely overbalance latitude, and render the cold sometimes 

 much greater in the southern than the northern parts of this 

 kingdom. 



The consequences of this severity were, that in Hampshire, 

 at the melting of the snow, the wheat looked well, and the 

 turnips came forth little injured. The laurels and laurustines 

 were somewhat damaged, but only in hot aspects. No evergreens 

 wer*e quite destroyed ; and not half the damage sustained that 

 befell in January 1768. Those laurels that were a little scorched 

 on the south-sides were perfectly untouched on their north-sides. 

 The care taken to shake the snow day by day from the branches 

 seemed greatly to avail the author's evergreens. A neighbour's 

 laurel-hedge, in a high situation, and facing to the north, was 

 perfectly green and vigorous ; and the Portugal laurels remained 

 unhurt. 



As to the birds, the thrushes and blackbirds were mostly de- 

 stroyed ; and the partridges, by the weather and poachers, were 

 so thinned that few remained to breed the following year. 



LETTER LXIII. 



TO THE SAME. 



As the frost in December 1784 was very extraordinary, you, I trust, 

 will not be displeased to hear the particulars ; and especially 

 when I promise to say no more about the severities of winter 

 after I have finished this letter. 



The first week in December was very wet, with the barometer 

 very low. On the 7th, with the barometer at 28 five tenths, 

 came on a vast snow, which continued all that day and the next, 

 and most part of the following night ; so that by the morning of 

 the 9th the works of men were quite overwhelmed, the lanes 

 filled so as to be impassable, and the ground covered twelve or 

 fifteen inches without any drifting. In the evening of the 9th 

 the air began to be so very sharp that we thought it would be 

 curious to attend to the motions of a thermometer : we therefore 

 hung out two ; one made by Martin and one by Dollond, which 



