68 On the supposed Change^ ^c. 



the snow which falls Hes only a few days, and always 

 goes off with a great deal of wet. 



From a careful comparison of these facts, it appears 

 that the weather, in modern winters, is more inconstant, 

 than when the earth was covered with wood, at the first 

 settlement of Europeans in the country ; that the warm 

 weather of autumn extends farther into the winter 

 months, and the cold weather of winter and spring en- 

 croaches upon the summer ; that the wind being more 

 variable, snow is less permanent, and perhaps the same 

 remark may be applicable to the ice of the rivers. These 

 effects seem to result- necessarily from the greater quan- 

 tity of heat accumulated in the earth in summer, since 

 the ground has been cleared of wood, and exposed to the 

 rays of the sun ; and to the greater depth of frost in the 

 earth in winter, by the exposure of its uncovered surface 

 to the cold atmosphere. 



But we can hardly infer, from the facts that have yet 

 been collected, that there is, in modern times, an actual 

 diminution of the aggregate amount of cold in winter, 

 on either continent. 



