in the Temperature of Winter. 37 



of the rivers and frost in the country generally; and not 

 of the ice in Boston harbor : And it is remarkable that 

 the time mentioned is the same as that in which the win- 

 ter of New-England, in ordinary seasons, now breaks 

 up, viz. about the 20th of February. 



I will only observe further on this point, that in Win- 

 throp's Journal, which comprehends the events of four- 

 teen years, from the first settlement of Boston, from 1630 

 to 1644, we have positive evidence that Boston harbor 

 was usually open, and that vessels entered and departed 

 in the midst of winter. The freezing of the bay, in the 

 extremely severe winter of 1642, and the passing of 

 loads on the ice, are described as rare occurrences ; and 

 what is more explicit, Governor Winthrop declares, 

 *' The frost was so great and continual this winter, that 

 all the bay was frozen over so much and so long, as the 

 like, by the Indian relation, had not been these forty 

 years." Yet this frost lasted only from the 18th of Ja- 

 nuary to the 21st of February, old stile, about five 

 weeks.... iS'd-e p. 240. This evidence is decisive of the 

 question, and utterly disproves the opinion of a change 

 of climate. On the 18th of January, O. S. 1644, Bos- 

 ton harbor was open..../S'^6' p. 321. 



If Dr. Williams is unfortunate in his facts, he is still 

 more so in his reasonings and deductions. The follow- 

 ing is a specimen. 



In 1782, the river between Boston and Charlestown 

 was frozen, so that horses and sleys passed over, for five 

 or six days. The ice was permanent from February 

 2d to the 10th. During that time the lowest point of 

 cold by Farenheit was 9°; the highest 28^^, and the 

 mean of the temperature 13°. From this statement, the 

 Doctor concludes, that the freezing of the bays mention- 

 ed by Wood about the year 1630, could not take place in 

 a less degree of cold than 13°. He found from seven 

 years observations, that the mean temperature of De- 

 cember was, in these years [from 1780 to 1788] 29° 4 ; 

 that of January, 22° 5; and that of February, 23° 9. 

 Hence he concludes, that the change of temperature at 

 Boston since the year 1630 must have been from " ten 

 to twelve degrees," 



