MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER 
THE GREAT SHOW STORM OP JANUARY, 1857 
&{ie toblu 
most promoted,—and they are the paramount in¬ 
terests of the Nation,—all classes would be bene¬ 
fited, were Congress to provide for a system of 
Land Meteorological Observations. The subject 
is eminently worthy the consideration and action 
of our Statesmen and Legislators.” But we are 
detaining the reader from the preliminary report 
of Lt. M., and will refrain from further remarks.— 
[Ed. Rural. 
EEPOHT TO THE NAVY DEPARTMENT. 
Observatory, Washington, ) 
February 5, 1857. j 
Sib: — Letters in answer to the circular issued 
on the 23d ultimo, from this office have already 
been received from the States along the Atlantic 
seaboard. They contain statistics enough con¬ 
cerning the great snow Btorm of January, 1857, to 
justify a preliminary report of its march over this 
part of the country. 
The hour when it commenced and the hour 
when it ceased to snow constituted very notable 
features by which the march of this storm conld 
be traced. The precise moment of the commence¬ 
ment, however, was not very well marked; for 
there was a light fall of snow, which, after an hour 
or two, increased into a very heavy fall. Hence 
observers at the same place are sometimes found 
Jittering an hour or so in their reports as to the 
commencement of the snow fall * 
There has not yet been time to receive full re¬ 
turns from the States south of Virginia. So far, 
however, as returns have been received, the fall of 
snow, with a furious north wind, appears to have 
commenced simultaneously in Virginia and North 
The storm then marched against the 
“It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good.” 
The truth of this old adage is shown in a very 
striking manner by the Great Snow Storm of Jam, 
'57. Though it carried suffering to man and beast 
wherever it went—and it extended from Georgia 
to Maine—it has demonstrated what may be done 
by extending, for the benefit of the whole country, 
the field of Lieut. Maury’s Meteorological re¬ 
searches. 
We have recently published two articles upon 
this subject, and a hill is now pending before 
Congress the object of which is to authorize such 
extension, as well as the establishment of a daily 
system of 'telegraphic Reports of the Weather. 
We uow spread before our readers Lt. Maury’s 
preliminary report of the great storm- It shows 
clearly enough that, if his plans be adopted, the 
country, or some part of it at least, would have 
warning several hours in advance of every Btorm 
that marches through the land. 
Let each farmer make his own estimate of the 
value of such warning, even though it occur to 
him but once a year. About harvest time, for in¬ 
stance, he is told that a storm has commenced in 
Georgia, and is traveling toward the North at the 
rate of 25 or 30 miles an hour, for that is about 
the rate at which this storm traveled. Why, a 
of 12 hours, at such a time, might save a 
For Mooro’g Rural New-Yorker. 
A MORNING I’SALM. 
room seemed to be hlieci witu various auu inter¬ 
mingling colors. The grounds around the castle 
are inclosed by a very high wall, seven miloslong, 
and in regard to the wealth of the proprietor, I 
heard it asserted that from his slate quarries 
alone, he derives a yearly revenue of five hundred 
thousand dollars, besides whieh he possesses other 
large estates. 
Walk to Carnarvon. 
On the following morning we started for Carn¬ 
arvon, which was ten miles distant. The weather 
was cool and fine. Heavy masses of clouds cast 
dark Bhadows on the landscape, and moved grand¬ 
ly across the bine sky. The road led through a 
valley with rocky hills rising on either side, occa¬ 
sionally bearing a small forest, which sheltered 
picturesque stone cottages. Most of the valley 
was in meadow, 
f Entered aceordin* to Act of Congress, In the year 1856, by D. 
n T. Moork, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for 
the Northern District of New York.] 
BY G. W. BUNGAY. 
Thj sfey-lark seeks the distant bine 
Which bends to clasp the waking earth ; 
Each blossom wears a crown of dew ; 
The morn rejoices in her birth. 
Pure as the dew dissol ed in air, 
Like Incense rising from the sod, 
Shalt be tny morning’s praise and prayer, 
While faith shall wing my heart to God. 
The limpid stream which smoothly flow* 
Like liquid light through meadows green. 
Makes richest music as it goes. 
And beautifies the enamoured scene. 
Frail herbt and flowers that drooped at eren. 
Look sky-ward now wilb grateful eyes. 
And breathe their sweeteBt praise to Heaven 
For blessings Crsm the earth and skies. 
The robin on yon blossomed spray, 
From his note-book of fragrant flowers, 
Sings hymn* of praise, ob Gov, to-day. 
For somrner sunlight, seed and showers. 
Oh grant that idle, sinful words 
Stain not to-day these lips of mine, 
But let my song be like the birds, 
My thoughts Like balm of fragrant Tine. 
BY GLEZEX F. WILCOX. 
The mowera were busy in the 
fields, the ring of the scythe sounded out on the 
clear morning air, and the breeze bore to tls the 
fragrance of fallen grass and flowers. Carnarvon 
is one of the oldest towns in Wales, and its cele¬ 
brated castle, which was begun by Edward the 
1st, is a most massive and extensive structure, 
even in Its ruins, the outer walls inclosing two anil 
We traversed its long 
many fields were nearly covered with smooth 
round stones, about the size of those used for 
paving. The fences are mostly stone walla, for 
which there is ample material. 
On approaching the Meifci Straits, a curve in 
the road allowed ns a sight of the great tubular 
bridge before we entered it. To the left,spanning 
the water with its airy lines, we saw the famous 
suspension bridge. The speed of the train dimin¬ 
ished, and passing two guarding lions, supported 
on massive pedestals, it plunged into partial dark¬ 
ness, and with a noise like prolonged thunder, 
passed through the long iron tithe, and emerged 
into daylight. I could not perceive the slightest, 
vibration in the bridge; it seemed, indeed, like 
passing over solid rock. Again we plunged into 
darkness, and speeding through a long tunnel, the 
triii u stopped in a valley between two tunneled 
hills, and stretching away to the left we saw the 
city of Bangor. 
We walked into the town, and soon found com¬ 
fortable quartora at tho Red Lion, and in a snug 
little room, btfore one of tboso open grates in 
which the fire burns so pleasantly, wc discussed 
our supper, aud the prospect of sight-seeing on the 
morrow. A violent storm of wind and rain arose 
during the night, and the water dropping on the 
tiles, recalled to memory tho chamber in the old 
whoso weather-stained but 
a half acreB of ground 
corridors, looked over its battieiueuted walls, 
climbed to the summit of the Eagle tower, which 
is the loftiest in the pile, and the only one that 
yet possesses a perfect staircase, and from the top 
saw Snowdon on one side, and on the other Cam- 
bay and the island of Angtcsea, and thgn 
warning 
crop. 
To establish this system, get it under way, and ! 
publish its results, will only require $18,000.— 
What is $18,000 for an object like this, and to a 
country, like this, with an overflowing Treasury? 
Why, the experiment alone, even if it were an ex¬ 
periment, would be worth the investment Bat 
there is no experiment about it,—lor the facts 
presented by Lt. Maury in the subjoined report, 
show that the plan is entirely practicable. 
No measure of greater value and importance to 
the Agricultural Interests of the Country has been 
presented to Congress for a long time, and we 
earnestly hope that our readers in the East and 
West, North and South, will take care that their 
Representatives in the National Legislature—both 
Senate and House—shall give it proper considera¬ 
tion. As we remarked in a previous number, 
“though the interests of Agriculture would be 
arron 
descending, examined the dungeon of the fortress, 
which is a dark hole sunk thirty or forty feet in 
the earth, into which prisoners were lowered by 
ropes. 
English Pedestrians. 
In the court yard we met a couple of English 
pedestrians, and in the conversation which ensued, 
finding we were all bound in one direction, con¬ 
cluded to join company. One of them, a physician, 
a resident of Oxford, was a perfect specimen of an 
English tourist. He had started oa a trip of only 
a few days, yet his outfit was complete in every 
respect, and probably he did not use one-hulf of 
what he carried. He wore a loose frock coat and 
a low-crowned, wide-brimmed hat of a kind I have 
never 3een anywhere but in England. He carried 
an enormous knapsack on his back, aud by bis side 
hung a portfolio with sketching and writing ma¬ 
terials, and an umbrella dangled from his belt. In 
one hand was a serviceable cane, and in the other 
the infallible guide-book. He generally marched 
a little in advance, with his eyes bent on the 
ground, and evidently wished to be undisturbed in 
his contemplations. His companion was footsore 
and dispirited, and could hardly be persuaded to 
leave Carnarvon. 
To Llanberris. 
Our course was towards Snowdon. The road 
was level enough, and the couutry bare and barren. 
At every step the sterility increased and rocks 
became more abundant. In the mountiina are 
extensive slato quarries, and frequent blasts rever¬ 
berated among the peakfl. Hundreds of white 
stone cottages inhabited by the laborers, stand on 
the slopes and in the valleys. I was quite sur¬ 
prised to find the Welsh language spoken so ex¬ 
clusively utuong the laborers and common people; 
indeed, a majority of them cannot understand 
English. We stopped at a cottage by the wayside, 
and the woman could barely understand oar ques¬ 
tions, and when we departed wished us good morn* 
ing, although it was near sundown. 
We met many of the country women who wore 
black fur hats. Some of them had high taperiHg 
| crowns and wide brims, and others resembled our 
' common wool hats. The oldorly women generally 
I wore underneath their hats, white caps which 
were tied beneath the chin, and bad an abundance 
of rutiles on the sides. 
Carolim 
wind through Virginia into the New England 
States. It did not reach as far as Hamilton, Cana¬ 
da, on one hand, bat on the other it is known to 
have extended into Nova Scotia, if not further. 
The following tabular statement has been com¬ 
piled by Lieut. Bennett from the reports, so far 
as they have been received. It will serve to show 
the parts of the country from which farther re¬ 
ports are most wanting, and perhaps induce all 
who keep a meteorological record, to send extracts 
from it for the week commencing 14th January, 
1856: 
farm-house, under 
sheltering roof, I have listened so often to the 
wild music of the tempest, and fallen asleep amidst 
the irregular pattering of the departing shower. 
In the morning I saw a woman in the street, lead¬ 
ing a donkey which carried panniers; she wore a 
black fur hat somewhat resembling our modern 
cylinders. 
The Menai Bridges. 
Our first move was for the bridges, which are 
about four miles from Bangor, and coming first to 
the suspension bridge, we were permitted to cross 
it by paying a penny. The distance between the 
main towers is five hundred and fifty-three feet, 
and more than a hundred feet below flow tho 
green salt waters of the Straits. The carriage 
ways are not suspended from wire cables, as in 
most suspension bridges of recent construction, 
but from chains composed of angular bars of 
wrought iron. The bars are about ten feet long. 
Five of them are placed side by side, and the ends 
linked to others by means of iron bolts, the whole 
forming a chain 1,714 l'eet in length. Four of these 
chains are placed together, and support one side 
of a carriage way. There are two carriage ways, 
and between them a path for foot passengers.— 
From tho centre wo could view the tubular bridge 
to great advantage. Eastward are the mountains 
Thermom¬ 
eter. 
Thermom- 
I eler. 
Ending of storm. 
Depth of snow. 
1S57—January. ] 
Wind. 
Beginning of storms. 
5K p. m. 18 
Night. IS 
Night. 18 
9 a. m. 19 
Noon. 19 
2 p. m. 19 
19 p. m. 19 
19 
11 a. m. 1.3 
12 m. 19 
Evening. 19 
8 a. m. 19 
Noon. 19 
Night. 18 
1 p. m. 19 
12 m. 19 
8 *. in. 19 
12 m. 19 
3 p. m. 19 
Morning. 19 
10)sJ a. m. 19 
12 m. 19 
5 a. in. 29 
3 p. m. 19 
8 p. m. 19 
Evening. 19 
19 
19 
1 p. m. 19 
Night. 19 
Morning. 20 
Evening. 19 
9 p. m. 19 
12 m. 19 
4 p. tu. 19 
Evening. 19 
Night. 19 
3 p. m. 19 
Daylight. 19 
Evening. 19 
19 
8 p. tn. 19 
Sunset. 19 
20 
5 p. m. 19 
2 p. m. 19 
Evening. 19 
9 p. m. 19 
}i inch. 
i inches. 
18 do. 
12 to 15 inches. 
Edisio Island,.. 
Augn on, Georgia. 
Nor'l College, N. C.,.. 
Koxobci, N. O,. 
frov idcuco, Vo.,. 
Bowling Green, Va.,.. 
Augusta county. Va.,. 
Kanawha Salines,.... 
Ji,»(inline co, Ky„... 
Middlebur&Va.- 
Uiesbnrg, Va.,. 
Berryvillc, Va.. 
Martinaburg, Va.,... 
PcrrymanavUlq,. 
Snrott Creek, lid,... 
Monrovia. Md,. 
Hagerstown, Mil,... 
Coehranville, Pa.,... 
Philadelphia. 
Brifdil, r;l-.. 
Willingboro', X. J,.. 
IaimbertsvUle,- 
Morristown, N. J.,... 
Newark, N. J. 
Newark. N J,__ 
Brooklyn, N. Y,. 
Babylon, 1- X,—... 
New York,. 
Blackwell's Island,.. 
Wheeling. Va,. 
N. E. Dutchess co,.. 
..... 
Smith Held, K. I,. 
Harranl College,.... 
losti a . 
Salem, Mass,-... 
Salem, Mass. 
West Koxbury,. 
I o u Mlieid Centre. 
North Bridgewater, -. 
Worcester. Mass, ... 
Newhuryport. 
Troy. N Y. 
CooBt-TstOWn,.. 
Rochester. X. Y.. 
Charleston, N. H,... 
I'ortlniid. Me,.. 
Portland. Me.. 
West. 
West 
North East. 
South. 
North. 
South West 
North East. 
W. and N. \V. 
N. N. W. 
North East 
North. 
North. 
North East. 
North East. 
North East 
North West 
N. N. W. 
North. 
North East 
North. 
North East 
North West 
N. N. E to N. E. 
North. 
North. 
15 to 13 inches. 
12 to 15 do. 
10 to 12 do. 
12 inches. 
II) to 12 inches. 
S inches. 
10 do. 
18 inches. 
8 to 10 inches. 
9 inches. 
sero 
7 to 8 inches. 
16 inches. 
9 to 12 inches. 
13 inches. 
North East. 
North West 
North. 
North East* 
N N W 
North. 
North East. 
N. W. and N. N. E. 
North. 
North East. 
North East 
N. N. W. 
N. W. to N. 
North West 
North East 
North East. 
North. 
North East. 
North. 
N. N. B. 
North. 
N. N. W. 
North East 
9 inches. 
24 do. 
Noon. IS 
3 p. tn. 18 I 
No snow. 
Night. IS 
3 p. in. 18 
7 p. tn. IS I 
5 p. tn. 13 i 
764 p. m. IS | 
8 p. m. 18 | 
Evening. 18 
S' p. m. 18 
Evening. 18 
Morning. 18 
9 p. m. 13 | 
7 p. m. 18 
9 p. m. IS | 
030 a. in. 19 
19 
Daylight. 19 
10 p. m. 18 ( 
10-SOp. m. 18 
24 inches. 
17 do. 
18 to 20 inches. 
18 inches. 
S to 9 inches. 
zero 
10 inches. 
18 inches. 
12 do. 
12 do. 
10 do. 
Gardiner, Me, 
• Indications of a snow storm—very cold—and Thermometer at Zero. 
From Bertie county, North Carolina, to Wash- How 
ingtou, the course of the storm was due north, and spared 
the time three or four hours. From Washington have b 
to New York it was about fourteen hours on the of othi 
march, with a furious gale “right in its teeth,” ] s 
thence to Boston it flew at railway speed, making ’Thje in 
the distance in six hours; and thence it arrived at t { ie a <, 
Portland, Maine, at 11 P. M. of the ISth; thus By ext 
making its march in the “wind’s eye” from North ] 0 gica 
Carolina to Maino in about twenty-six hours. establi 
The cold, the wind, and the fall of snow, all ot promj 
which were marked by violence, appear each to of the 
have had its own rate of march. the hu 
How far this storm may have been felt out at sea of a!n 
is not yet known, for there has not been time to great 
receive reports from the vessels that are co-op- ipj ie 
crating with us in these investigations. It is 
This costume gave them 
an odd appearance, aud when some distance away, 
at the first glance yon would imagine they were 
a large pair of gray whiskers. After sundown we 
passed along the first Lake of Lloubems, and 
stopped for the night at the Dalbadorn Inn, at the 
foot of Snowdon. 
Of all tho provinces of France, Brittany is the 
richest in religious sentiment. The country where 
are found the most extensive aud magnifleeut 
relics of Oruidism, uow reposes most calmly be¬ 
neath the shadow of the cross, Christianity seems 
to have pursued tier triumphs into the lost strong¬ 
holds of that gigantic idolatry which once exer¬ 
cised so marvellous an influence over the human 
mind. Churches raise side by side with Druidieal 
temples, aud many of the stupendous ruins are 
connected by exulting tradition with the victories 
of Christian faith, 
no more, and serves him no better. Such a per¬ 
son needs no other evidence that his heart is 
changed, and his sins forgiven. 
THE JOY OF DOING GOOD. 
Yes there’s a joy in doing good 
The selflsh never know, 
A draught go Jeep, so rieh and pare. 
It sets the heart aglow ; 
A draught so exquisitely rare 
It thrills the soul with bliss 
And lifts it to a heav’nlier world, 
Or make a heaven of this. 
Look Upward. — It is said that the apostles 
“ looked steadfastly towardslieaven>s ho went up,” 
—methinks it is so that we also, as we read or hear 
this wondrous event, should fix eye and heart upon 
that heaven which lie,—the first-born,—has pre¬ 
occupied, that we should feel that in Him a portion 
of ourstloes has departed thitbfr, a sintens type of 
humanity, which keeps its place for the rest; and 
that our'heart, in Christ, being already there, all 
else should struggle with holy impatience, to 
follow. 
One ot these old legends, still 
repeated by the peasantry, declares that the "sto¬ 
ries of Oarnac” owo their origin to a heathen 
army, which chased St. Cornelius into the valley 
because be had renounced paganism. Being close 
pressed and surrounded on all sides, be had re- 
course to prayer, whereupon the whole host were 
petrified in thoir lines as they stood; and thus the 
stories of Carnae were formed. 
Throughout Brittany, tho fields, the causeways, 
tho roads and tha mountains, are dotted with 
churches, chapels, crosses, images, expiatory 
monuments and consecrated chapels. The san¬ 
guinary agents of the revolution had difficult 
work to accomplish in this sturdy province. The 
Britons clung to their religion until the gnillotiue 
was wearied of its victims. The Republican com¬ 
mittees pronounced the penalty of death in vain 
against tint minister who should perform any of 
the functions of the church. "I will pull down 
your belfries,” exclaimed tho famous Jenu-Bon- 
Saint-Audroto the mayor of a village, “in order 
that you may have no more objects to recall to yon 
tho superstitious of past times.” “You must 
leave us the stars, and we can see them further off/’ 
was the memorable reply of the enlightened pea¬ 
sant.— J'ortfotio. 
The Journey op Life.— Ten thousand human 
beings set forth together ou their journey. After 
ten years, one-third, at least have disappeared.— 
At tho middle point of the common measure of 
life, but half are still upon the road.. Faster and 
faster, as the ranks grow thinner, they'that re¬ 
mained till now become weary, and lie down, and 
rise no more. At threescore and ten, a^band of 
some four hundred yet struggle oil At. ninety, 
these have been reduced to a handful of thirty 
trembling patriarchs. Year after year they fall in 
diminishing runubevs. Ono lingers, perhaps, a 
tonely marvel, till the. century is over, ti e look 
a train, and tho work of death is finished. Bishop 
Respectfully, Ac. M. F. Mate 
H on. J. C. Dobbin, 
Secretary of the Navy, Washington. 
There are ‘970 teachers employed in the day 
schools of Philadelphia, and 219 in the night 
schools. The number of pupils in the schools is 
55,017, with a daily average attendance through 
the year of 16,317, and 2,850 waiting admission.— 
Salaries, $303,731; high school expenses, $18,630; 
normal school expenses, $6,635. 
The quantity of water discharged into the sea 
by all tho rivers in tho world is estimated at 39 
cubic miles in a day; hence it would take above 
35,000 years to create a circuit of the whole sea 
through the clouds and rivers. 
i6icii , k"ii n waiaini6iwii«i»5i , iinJ 
