6i0 Remarks upofi the Winter of IS29^30\ 



which continued during the remainder of that month, the 

 greater part of January in the following year, and on to the 

 end of the first week in February, a period, on the whole, 

 of nearly two months. 



The weather, however, during all this time, was far from 

 being equally severe. As the frost itself came on very gra- 

 dually, so after its commencement the degree of cold was very 

 gradually increased ; and, for a few days, the range of the 

 thermometer was inconsiderable, the mercury seldom rising 

 above, nor yet falling many degrees below, the freezing point. 

 -But after the 21st the cold became greater; and from the 

 23d to the end of the month, during which interval the ther- 

 mometer on one occasion descended to 15^, the mean tem- 

 perature was only 26*2°. Throughout the last fortnight of 

 the year, snow fell more or less nearly every day, notwith- 

 standing a high and rising barometer. This appeared, for 

 the most part, in the character of flying storms from the 

 north-east. 



It is remarkable that the commencement of the new year 

 was characterised by more snow, which continued falling at 

 intervals throughout the 1st of January, although the baro- 

 meter, at 9 A.M. on that day, had reached the unusual eleva- 

 tion of 30*61. The temperature, however, at this time rose ; 

 and from the 3d to the 8th, with the exception of one night, 

 there was a slight interruption of the frost, attended at inter- 

 vals by much fog and mizzling rain : still the thermometer, 

 during that period, was seldom many degrees above the freez- 

 ing point, and in only two instances as high as 40°. These 

 occurred on the 5th and 7th of January, both of which were 

 extremely fine days, and the only ones at all pleasurable 

 to the feelings which had been experienced for upwards of 

 three weeks. Indeed, on the second of these occasions, we 

 were almost induced, from the promising appearance of the 

 sky, to anticipate some decided change of weather ; but our 

 hopes were soon at an end. The very next night after the 

 7th, the thermometer fell again several degrees below the 

 freezing point, attended by more snow ; and from that time to 

 the 7th of February there was scarcely any further variation 

 in the weather at all, it being marked by one continued suc- 

 cession of frost and snow, with keen winds, principally from 

 the east and north-east ; or when no snow, by alternations of 

 mist and sunshine. But though, in general respects, the wea- 

 ther presented a very uniform character during this period, 



the author speaks of copious mists as generally accompanying the setting in 

 of long frosts. 



