30 Dr. Forry on the Climate of the United States, Sfc. 



been unusually cold and dry, with one or two light falls of snow, 

 which, with the previous coat, has just been dissolved by the 

 warmth of the solar rays without any rain. The ice on the Mis- 

 sissippi, which broke yesterday, [March 30th,] is now moving off 

 en masse J' ^ 



Scarcely does a winter elapse that the Hudson River is not fro- 

 zen over even in the vicinity of the city of New York; while 

 Philadelphia, and even Baltimore, lying on the same parallels 

 which in Europe produce the olive and the orange, have their 

 commerce often interrupted from the same cause. The Delaware, 

 which is the latitude of Madrid and Naples, is generally frozen 

 over five or six weeks each winter. Ev^en the Potomac becomes 

 so much obstructed by ice that all communication with the Dis- 

 trict of Columbia by this means, is suspended for weeks. Fur- 

 ther north, the mouth of the St. Lawrence is shut up by ice during 

 five months in the year ; and Hudson's Bay, notwithstanding it 

 is in the same latitude as the Baltic Sea, and of thrice the extent, 

 is so much obstructed by ice, even in the summer months, as to 

 be comparatively of little value as a navigable basin. 



We find, however, even on our northern coast, a climate com- 

 paratively mild. As Nova Scotia is perfectly insular, with the ex- 

 ception of a neck of land eight miles wide, and is so much inter- 

 sected by lakes and bays that nearly one-third of the surface is 

 under water, the mercury seldom rises above 88° in summer, or 

 sinks lower than 6° or 8° below zero in winter. In addition to 

 this, some influence must be exercised by the Gulf Stream, which 

 strikes upon this part of the coast, " in tides of from 60 to 70 feet, 

 overflows the country to the distance of several miles, and con- 

 verts the mouths of streams, fordable at low water, into extensive 

 arms of the sea, where whole fleets may ride at anchor." 



The meteorological phenomena of Canada, Nova Scotia, New 

 Brunswick, and Newfoundland, according to the data furnished 

 in the British Army statistics, are in perfect harmony with the 

 laws of climate developed in the United States. The climate 

 of Nova Scotia, from the causes just stated, exhibits a marked con- 

 trast to that of Lower Canada on the same parallels. In New- 

 foundland, the climate is similar to that of Nova Scoiia ; but the 

 summers, in consequence of the melting of the icebergs on the 

 coast, are less warm, of shorter duration, and subject to more sud- 

 den vicissitudes.. In Canada, remote from the Lakes, the climate 



