By Professor Ltndley. 



229 



temperature of the last 16 days of the month was 46° ; instead of 

 the temperature which usually occurs at the winter solstice, this 

 corresponds with that generally experienced even after the vernal 

 equinox. The rise of temperature, above that of November, was 

 also greater than what takes place between March and April. The 

 thermometer was seldom below 40° at night, and never at freez- 

 ing. These circumstances all contributed to bring on excitement 

 in the fluids of plants, as was evidently manifested in the pro- 

 duction of young shoots by many species. On Christmas day the 

 thermometer in the shade stood at 54^°. 



In the beginning of January the weather was slightly rainy, and 

 so unusually warm, that the lowest temperature observed on the 

 2nd of the month was 41°, and for each of the four first days the 

 thermometer marked 48° in the day, the wind blowing from the 

 S. and S. W. On the 5th the wind shifted to the N. W. and the 

 temperature began to fall, but up to the 7th the thermometer did 

 not sink below 27°. After this, winter may be said to have set in ; 

 the weather continued to increase in severity till the night between 

 the 19th and 20th, when it arrived at its greatest intensity and 

 the thermometer sank in the morning of the 20th to — 4y°, the 

 ground being scarcely covered with snow. 



In quoting the temperature throughout this paper, I have only 

 taken the observations made upon thermometers placed under or- 

 dinary circumstances. But where the thermometer was so isolated, 

 as to be cut off from the influence of the heat emitted by sur- 

 rounding bodies, the temperature was in reality much lower, as 

 will be seen by observing the column, in the following table, in 

 which the observations upon the radiating thermometer are re- 

 corded. The daily register of the weather during this period was 

 as follows — 



vol. ii. 2nd series. 2 H 



