118 
NATURAL HISTORY OF CANADA. 
no set of particles can overcome that repulsive 
force, so as to form themselves into a new 
arrangement, viz. into an angle of 60". There- 
fore, the water remains in a fluid stale ; but 
as soon as it becomes agitated, the equilibrium 
is immediately destroyed ; the motion, which 
is impressed on the particles, is the means of 
bringing some of them nearer to some than to 
others. A union is the consequence ; and 
when two particles are thus united, of course 
their sphere of attraction is enlarged, and 
other particles will be soon drawn into con- 
tact, and that soft, half fluidj half solid mass, 
is the result.' Some time after, he showed 
me the following passage in Parkes's Chemical 
Catechism, not as attempting a solution of it, 
but showing that the fact had been noticed 
before : — ' If, when the air is at 22°, we expose 
to it a quantity of water in a tall glass, with a 
thermometer in it, and covered, the water 
gradually cools down to 22" without freezing, 
though 10 degrees below the freezing point. 
Things being in this situation, if the w^ater be 
shaken, part of it instantly freezes into a 
spongy mass, and the temperature of the whole 
instantly rises to the fi^eezing point.' The 
question has difficulties which are still unex- 
plained. 
" C — There go the sleighs ! how merrily 
they slide along with their jingling bells ! I 
think there is no motion, not even that of a 
swift boat upon a smooth sea, so pleasant as 
the riding in a sleigh on a bright sunny day, 
or moonlight night. Protected from the cold 
'by the warm bear-skins, or buffiilo robes, we 
glide noiselessly along, and see the fences and 
trees shoot by us, without a jolt or shake to 
remind us that it is ourselves who are moving ; 
while the tinkling of the bells on the horse's 
neck pleases the ear, and all is gratification ! 
Oh ! it is the beau ideal of travelling ! 
" -F. — Sleighing-time is a season of general 
festivity : most farmers possess these vehicles ; 
and as the agricultural operations have now 
ceased, and they are not immediately pressed 
with work, some time is devoted to excursions 
of friendship and pleasure ; and even the 
travelling which business requires is made an 
agreeable recreation. 
" C — How do the farmers employ them- 
selves during the winter season generally ? 
" -F". — The feeding and tend ng of their 
cattle and other stock, a daily employment, 
consumes much of the short days, and the 
supplying of the immense fires which we are 
compelled to keep up, makes considerable in- 
roads upon the residue. The grain is threshed, 
and cleaned, and carried to market, with 
other produce. — After this, or at intervals, the 
greatest portion of the winter's labour is per- 
formed in the forest, in felling and splitting 
cedars for fencing-rails, cutting hard-wood for 
the twelvemonth's supply of fuel, (which, with 
the drawing it to the homestead on large sleds, 
forms no small part of a winter's woik,) and 
cutting and drawing logs for the saw-mill. 
So that no part of a Canadian farmer's time 
can be considered without eiuployment, though 
in winter he does contrive to snatch a few 
days from toil, to devote them to amusement. 
" C. — I see a little bird creeping up the 
perpendicular trunk of a maple tree ; it looks 
just like a mouse in size, colour, and manners : 
is it a species of Nuthatch ? 
" 1*\ — No : our Nuthatches are all of a light 
blue colour above ; this is the Brown Creeper 
( Certhia faviiUay-is), a bird much resem- 
bling that family in appearance and habits, 
but with a slender curved bill. It does not 
appear to be common with us, or if it is, it 
must be very shy, as I have seldom seen it. 
It crawls about the trunks and limbs in every 
direction with great agility, in search of small 
insects, which are lodged in crevices of the 
bark, and similar situations. 
" C — In cutting up a partly decayed birch 
tree a few days ago, I found it bored with 
long cylindrical passages, in several of which 
I found white flat grubs, with large bx'own 
heads, and six feet ; in one I found a Buprestis 
alive, a dark brown species with lighter marks. 
The larvae probably belonged to this species. 
" F. — I should not think that our little 
Certhia can capture such insects as these, its 
bill not being at all calculated for boring : 
these constitute the appropriate prey of the 
Woodpeckers, whose sharp, steel-like bill tears 
away the wood, and digs into their hidden 
recesses ; the bird perceiving, by unfailing 
instinct, the direction in which they lie con- 
cealed. 
" C. — I have lately seen the Winter Gnat 
(Tricliocera /riemalis), with pretty plumose 
antennae, playing in the windows of our 
house. 
" F. — Yonder is a flock of Snow Buntings 
( Eniheriza nivalis) in their white winter 
plumage. They are not uncommon, though 
in some winters I do not recollect having seen 
any : they fly in flocks, and often flit about 
the orchards and barn-yards : when a flock of 
them is perched on a tree, their bright plumage 
in the sun presents a very beautiful appear- 
ance, looking like a number of silver orna- 
ments sparkling among the boughs : they also 
show to advantage in flight, seen against a 
black, clouded sky, full of snow and storm ; 
at which time they are very active. They are 
restless birds, never long in a place, and when 
one moves, all follow. In Newfoundland they 
are rather common. 
" C. — Yesterday, a flock of Yellow-birds 
(Fringilla tristis) was hopping about the 
