FRO 
a brief account of which may not be improper to be 
here inferte’d. 
The autumn began with cold north and eaft winds, 
and early in November the nights were generally 
frofty; though the froft did not enter the ground 
deeper than the fun thawed the following day , but to- 
ward the end of November the winds blew extremely 
cold from the north, which was fucceeded by a great 
fnow, which fell in fuch quantities in one night, as to 
break off large arms, as alfo the tops of many Ever- 
green-trees, on which it lodged. After the fnow had 
fallen, it began to freeze again, the wind continuing to 
blow from the north •, the days were dark and cloudy 
for fome time, but afterwards it cleared up, and the 
fun appeared almoft every clay, which melted the fnow 
where expofed to it, whereby thefroftpenetrated deeper 
into the ground. It was oblervable, that, during thefe 
clear days, a great mill; or vapour, appeared in the 
evenings, floating near the furface of the ground un- 
til the cold of the night came on, when it was fuddenly 
condenfed, and difappeared. About the 8 th of De- 
cember, the nights were extremely cold ; the fpirits in 
the thermomoter fell 1 8 degrees below the freezing 
point, and on the ioth of the fame month the froft 
was as fevere as had been known in the memory of 
man ; the fpirits of the thermometer fell to 20 de- 
grees below the freezing point. At this time vaft 
numbers of Lauruftinufes, Phillyreas,. Alaternufes, 
Rofemary, Arbutus, and other Evergreen-trees and 
fhrubs began to buffer •, efpecially fuch as had been 
trimmed up to heads with naked ftems, or had been 
clipped late in autumn. At this time alfo there were 
great numbers of large deciduous trees difbarked by 
the froft, as Pear-trees, Plane-trees, Walnut-trees, 
with many other forts, and it was chiefly on the weft 
and fouth-weft fide of the trees, that the bark came 
off. 
About the middle of December the froft abated of 
its intenfenefs, and feemedto be at a Hand till the 23d 
of the fame month, when the wind blew extremely 
fharp and cold from the eaft, and the froft increafed 
again, continuing very fharp till the 28 th day, when 
it began to abate again, and feemed to be going off, 
the wind changing to the fouth , but it did not con- 
tinue long in this point, before it changed to the eaft 
again, and the froft returned, though it was not fo 
violent as before. 
Thus the weather continued for the moft part frofty, 
till the middle of March, with a few intervals of mild 
weather, which brought forward fome of the early 
flowers ; but the cold returning, foon deftroyed them : 
fo that thofe plants which ufually flower in January 
and February, did not this year appear till March, 
and before t,hey were fully blown, were cut off by the 
froft ; of this number were all the Spring Crocufes, 
Hepaticas, Perfian Irifes, Black Hellebores, Meze- 
reons, with fome others. 
The Cauliflower plants, which were planted out of 
the beds in the open ground, during the intervals be- 
tween the froft, were moft of them deftroyed, or fo 
much cut, that they loft moft of their leaves ; the ear- 
ly Beans and Peas were moft of them killed, and many 
fruit and foreft trees, which had been lately removed, 
were quite deftroyed. The lofs was very great to 
fome curious perfons, who had been many years en- 
deavouring to naturalize great numbers of exotic 
trees and fhrubs, abundance of which were either to- 
tally killed, or deftroyed to the furface of the ground j 
amongft this number there were many forts deftroyed, 
which had endured the open air many years, without 
receivingthe leaft injury from the cold, fuch as Paffion 
Flowers, Cork-trees, Ciftufes, Rofemary, Stoechas, 
Sage, Maftich, and fome others. In fome places the 
young Afh and Walnut-trees were killed ; but when 
the froft went off, there appeared to have been much 
more damage done in the gardens, than there really 
was, which occafioned many people to dig up and de- 
ftroy large quantities of trees and fhrubs, which they 
fuppofed were killed ; whereas thofe who had more 
patience, and fuffered them to remain, fared better $ 
for great numbers' of them ftiot out again; fbme frdni 
their ftems and branches; arid others from their roots* 
the following furnmer. 
Nor was the froft more fevere in England, than iri 
other parts of Europe •, but, on the contrary, in com- 
parifon, favourable ; for in the fouthem parts of 
France, the Olives, Myrtles,, Ciftufes, Alaternufes, 
and feveral other trees and fhrubs, which grow 
there almoft fpontaneo.ufly, were either deftroyed, of 
at leaft were killed to their roots ; and about Paris, and 
the northern parts of France, the buds of their fruit- 
trees were deftroyed, although they remained doled, 
fo that there Werevery few bloffoms which opened that 
fpring. The Fig-trees were in feveral parts of France 
quite killed, and in England their tender branches 
were deftroyed, fo that there was very little fruit on 
thofe trees the following furnmer, except where they 
Were protected from the froft. 
In Holland the Pines and Firs; with feveral Other 
trees, which are natives of cold countries, were great- 
ly injured by the cold ; and moft of the trees and 
fhrubs, which were brought from Italy, Spain, or the 
fouth parts of France, which had been planted in the 
full ground, in that country, were entirely killed, 
though many other forts, which had been brought 
from Virginia and Carolina, efcaped very well in thb 
fame gardens ; but the perfon who fuffered moft in 
that country, was the learned Dr. Boerhaave, who had 
been feveral years endeavouring to naturalize as many 
exotic trees and fhrubs as he could pofftbly obtairi 
from the feveral parts of thfe world, great numbers of 
which were entirely deftroyed by the froft this winter. 
In fome parts of Scotland they hot only loft many of 
their curious flowers, plants, and trees, but great 
numbers of fheep, and other cattle, were buried 
under the fnow, where they perifhed, and many poof 
people, who went to look after their cattle, were 
equal fufferers with them, being buried in the fnow, 
which in fome places fell eight or nine feet deep iri. 
one night. 
It has been obferved by thermometers, when that 
kind of hovering lambent fog arifes (either mornings 
or evenings) which frequently betokens fair weather; 
that the air, which in the preceding day was much 
warmer, has, upon the ablence of the fun become 
many degrees cooler than the furface of the earth; 
which being near 1500 times denfer than the air, can- 
not be fo foon affebted with the alteration of heat and 
cold ; whence it is probable, that thofe vapours which 
are raifed by the warmth of the earth, are by the cooler 
air foon condenfed into a vifible form. The fame 
difference has been obferved between the ebolrtefs of 
the air, and the warmth of water in a pond, by put- 
ting a thermometer, which hung all night in the open 
air in furnmer time, into the water, juft before the 
rifing of the fun, when the like reek, or fog, was 
rifing on the furface of the water. 
In the year 1739-40, we had another fevere winter, 
which did great mifchief to the gardens, fields, aftd 
woods, the effebts of which are yet, and will be many 
years, felt in Europe. Some particulars of thefe 
depredations, may not, perhaps, be unacceptable t@ 
the reader, if they are here mentioned. 
The wind fet in blowing from the north and north- 
eaft, about the autumnal equinox, and continued to 
blow from the fame quarter, with little variation, up- 
ward of fix months. Early in November, there was a 
continued fharp froft for nine days, in which time 
the ice upon large ponds, and other ftanding waters, 
was frozen fo hard as to bear perfons who fkated there- 
on ; but toward the end of November the froft abated, 
and there was little more than flight morning frofts 
until Chriftmas day, when it froze pretty hard that 
morning, and continued every morning fo to do ; but 
on the 28th day of December, the wind blew with 
great ftrength from the north-eaft, and brought on 
fevere cold ; that night the froft penetrated very deep 
into the ground, and the next day, vfz. the 29th, the 
wind changed to the fouthward of the eaft, and blew 
with great fury ; the thermometer fell this day t: 
twenty 
