128 POUCH WAYS MADE SMOOTH. 



the end of February. The winter of 1768-69 was marked 

 throughout by alternations of rain and frost ; thus from the 

 middle of November to the end of 1768 there were * alter- 

 nate rains and frosts ; ' in January and February, 1769, the 

 weather was ' frosty and rainy, with gleams of fine weather 

 in the intervals ; then to the middle of March, wind and rain.' 

 The last half of November, 1769, was dry and frosty, 

 December windy, with rain and intervals of frost, and the 

 first fortnight very foggy ; the first fortnight of January, 1770, 

 frosty, but on the i4th and i5th all the snow melted and to 

 the end of February mild hazy weather prevailed ; March 

 was frosty and bright. From the middle of October, 1770, 

 to the end of the year, there were almost incessant rains ; 

 then severe frosts till the last week of January, 1771, aftei 

 which rain and snow prevailed for a fortnight, followed by 

 spring weather till the end of February. March and April 

 were frosty. The spring of 1771 was so exceptionally 

 severe in the Isle of Skye that it was called the Black 

 Spring ; in the south also it was severe. November, 1771, 

 frost with intervals of fog and rain ; December, mild and 

 bright weather with hoar frosts ; January and the first week 

 of February, 1772, frost and snow ; thence to the end of the 

 first fortnight in March, frost, sleet, rain, and snow. 



The winter of 1772-73 would fairly compare with the 

 mildest in recent years, except for one fortnight of hard frost 

 in February, 1773. For from the end of September to 

 December 22 there were rain and mild weather the first ice 

 on December 23 but thence to the end of the month foggy 

 weather. The first week in January, frost, but the rest of the 

 month dark rainy weather ; and after the fortnight of hard 

 frost in February, misty showery weather to the end of the 

 first week in March, and bright spring days till April. 



There were four weeks of frost after the end of the first 

 fortnight in November, 1773, then rain to the end of the 

 year, and rain and frost alternately to the middle of March, 



1774- 



In 1774-1775 there seems to have been no winter at all 



