40 
REMARKS ON THE WEATHER. 
REMARKS ON THE WEATHER 
FOR DECEMBER. 
From the first to the tenth the weather was beautifully mild; and 
while the now numerous varieties of Chinese Chrysanthemums -were 
ornamenting every garden and court-yard about London, and market- 
gardeners sowing their first crops of radish, reports were received 
that sudden frost had not only arrested some of our whalers in the 
North Sea, and frozen the upper part of the Baltic and the Rus¬ 
sian rivers, but was also ravaging the vegetation of Germany, France, 
and even that of Spain ! On the latter-mentioned day, however, 
winter set in with a vengeance: the thermometer fell above fourteen 
degrees below the freezing point, which laid all tender vegetation 
prostrate. The frost was equally severe on the eleventh, but soon 
after began to relent, and passed away without snow or any rain to 
speak of. 
This sudden visitation has given opportunity to fill the ice-houses, 
and has put gardeners on the alert to protect vulnerable crops, and 
also put them on their guard against future attacks, which every 
day may be expected; for though we have had frequent changes from 
sharp to mild air since the frost—and changeable weather is always 
expected in the last quarter, or about the change of the moon—yet 
the present direction of the wind, blowing keenly from the north, 
the threatening aspect of the sky, and the cheerless face of the 
earth, at this moment partly covered with snow, are all indications 
that winter is confirmed, and therefore frigifuges and the festive com¬ 
forts of the season must enable us to wait with patience the return 
of spring. 
December 2 ( jth , 1835. 
