UINITED STATES. 



But what will appear more surprising, is, that at 

 •Quebec, and even as far north as Hudson's bay, at 

 Prince of Wales' and York forts, in the latitude of 

 59 degrees, a heat from 28 to 31 degrees is experi- 

 enced for twenty or thirty days, which is so much 

 the more oppressive as the body is not accustomed 

 to it, and it is accompanied with a dead calm, or a 

 hot and moist breeze from the south which is suffo- 

 cating. Now, as in Winter the thermometer in these 

 countries falls as far as 30 and 32 degrees below the 

 freezing point, and even to 37 degrees at Prince of 

 Wales's fort, we have here a scale of variation 

 from heat to cold of 60 or 66 degrees of Reau- 

 mun 



In the middle states, as the south part of New 

 York, all Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, 

 the Winters are shorter, and the snow less copious, 

 and less permanent, seldom continuing more than fif- 

 teen or twenty days; but the cold is neither less ri- 

 gorous nor less piercing. It commonly sets in about 

 the Winter solstice, and continues severe for six or 

 seven weeks, but it begins to be felt as early as the 

 end of October. 



At Philadelphia, for instance, in the latitude of 

 39 deg. 55 min. which answers to that of Madrid, 

 Valencia, Naples, 8cc. the thermometer is several 

 days, every W^inter, at 8 and 10 degrees below the 

 freezing point ; and sometimes down to 12 or 14 de- 

 grees below it ; nay, two Winters following, those 

 of 1796 and 1797,* it was as low as 17 and 18 de- 

 grees, several days successively, 



* Mr. Volney's statement here is correct. On the 6th of Decem- 

 ber, 1797^ after a very stormy day, the Delaware was frozen coin- 



1 



