KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



85 



THE MONTH IN PROSPECT. 



MARCH. 



Through hedge-row leaves, in drifted heaps, 



Left by the stormy blast, 

 The little hopeful blossom peeps, 



And tells of Winter past. 

 A few leaves nutter from the woods, 



That hung the season through, 

 Leaving their place for swelling buds 



To spread their leaves anew. 



When we have safely passed through 

 the asthmatic months of January and Febru- 

 ary, we feel as if we had a right to look forward 

 to a pleasing change. These two months are, 

 invariably, very trying to an invalid. So much 

 rain, so much damp, and so many keen, biting 

 winds, have we to contend with ; that we had 

 need be case-hardened to arrive at the month 

 of March, in anything like good-health. Eng- 

 land ! — thy subjects are well-tried ! 



It is a prevalent notion, that the climate of 

 this country has altered. The winters are 

 assuredly now much milder than they were 

 in the end of the last, and beginning of the pre- 

 sent century. Mr. Knight tells us, that the 

 winters seventy years ago were much more 

 severe than they had been for some time pre- 

 vious to his writing the following remarks, 

 in 1829. Horticultural Transactions, Yol.V II., 

 p. 536 . — " There are, 1 believe, few persons 

 who have noticed, and who can recollect, the 

 state of the climate of England half a century 

 ago, who will not be found to agree in the 

 opinion that considerable changes have taken 

 place in it ; and that our winters are now 

 generally warmer than they were at that 

 period ( 1779 ). The opinion of such persons 

 would be entitled to very little attention, if 

 they were adduced to prove that our climate 

 has grown colder ; because they themselves, 

 being far advanced in life, and therefore less 

 patient of cold, and being also incapable of 

 bearing the same degree of exercise which 

 kept them warm in youth, — might be readily 

 drawn to conclude that the severity of our 

 winters has increased. But when their evi- 

 dence tends to prove that our winters have 

 become warmer, it cannot, I think, be reason- 

 ably rejected. My own habits and pursuits, 

 from a very early period of my life to the 

 present time, have led me to expose myself 

 much to the weather, in all seasons of the 

 year and under all circumstances. No doubt 

 whatever remains in my mind, that our win- 

 ters are generally a great deal less severe 

 than formerly." To come to the point 

 about this, a table has been prepared and 

 published, from the mean monthly tempera- 

 tures of eighty years, including the period 

 from 1771 to 1851. 



From this it appears, that fifteen winters 

 out of the twenty, between 1771 and 1791, 

 were severe ; and that only seventeen out of 

 forty winters, between 1811 and 1851, had that 



character, or little more than half. The preva- 

 lence of numerous very cold winters is thus 

 traced to the period between 1771 and 1791. 

 The winter is severe when the mean of the 

 four months, from November to February 

 inclusive, is below 36°. Nine such occurred 

 in the eighty years ; and five of them between 

 1775 and 1795, or more than half in the ear- 

 liest twenty years. 



With regard to the months of December 

 and January, it may be briefly stated — that 

 the former of these is reckoned unusually cold, 

 when its mean temperature is at or below the 

 freezing point ; and there were only five in- 

 stances of this in the period of eighty years, 

 three of which occurred between 1784 and 

 1796, and the other two in 1840 and 1846. 

 January is intensely cold when its mean tem- 

 perature is below 30°. There are six in- 

 stances of such, in the eighty years ; four be- 

 tween 1776 and 1795, and only two in the 

 present century — namely, in 1814 and 1838. 

 The latter will be well remembered, for, 

 under its influence plants perished that had 

 withstood all the other extremely cold 

 Januarys, even those of which the mean tem- 

 perature was still lower than that of 1838, the 

 mean of which was 27.79°; whilst that of 

 January, 1814, was 26,71°, and of January, 

 1795,795.26 751. 



Thus it becomes evident, that severe winters 

 were unusually prevalent between 1771 and 

 1791 ; that in the first ten years of that period 

 the months of January were excessively cold ; 

 that the next ten years, the winters maintained 

 fully an average temperature ; that those of 

 the next ten years were still warmer ; between 

 1811 and 1821 they fell below the average ; 

 but since that time, they have been generally 

 above it. 



Cold and ungenial as are the months of 

 January and February, yet is there much 

 passing out of doors, during their continuance, 

 that merits observation, and amply repays 

 one for a morning ramble. When the sun 

 shines, we enjoy a walk on a winter's day be- 

 yond expression. The eye sees quite suffi- 

 cient to prompt the mind ; andthe mind awak- 

 ened, furnishes quite a feast for reflection. 

 If we do not see things grow thus early, we 

 can yet see how they are protected from the 

 influence of cold, and praise the providential 

 care that holds them all in life. Every field, 

 every hedge, every lane, has a speaking voice. 

 Turn which v/ay we will, we cannot help 

 seeing that — 



There lives and works 

 A soul in all things, — and that soul is God. 

 He marks the hounds which winter may not pass, 

 And blunts his pointed fury ; in its case, 

 Russet and rude, folds up the tender germ, 

 Uninjured, with inimitable art. 



The plants, early in the year, are provided 

 by nature with a sort of winter quarters, 



