The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1872-05-14

deep on level over the railway lines, all
traffic was stopped, and St. Pe;ersburgh
was shut up four days without mail bag,
letter or paper from the outer world.
From the last week in December to
February extraordinary weather prevail
ed in Australia, and Christmas, which
should there be of summer temperature,
was, to the wonder of all, cold as win.
ter.
February I'd witnessed thunder, light
nings and snow squalls in Southern Ver-
mont while violets purpled the borders
in New Orleans, with hot weather in
Georgia and Florida and warm and dry
in California Then on the 4th and 9th
a cold wave swept from the center of the
continent to the Atlantic the mercury
at Norfolk, Va, went to To below at
Cheyenne it was $50 below on Mount
Washington, on the 4th, it was 40 % be-
low, and the next day $50 below and
the wind over 100 miles an hour! Can
ada and New England had their coldest
winter blasts, aud Somerset river, in
Massachusetts,, froze over for the first
time in many years. How can human
nature endure such violent climatic chan
ges ? Then, while on the 12-l4 a great
snow fell all over the North, East river
at New York was bridged with ice !;
Gothamites protested it was the sixth
snow storm of the winter, and roundly
declared that no such weather had been
experienced in that metropolis for twen-
ty-five years, fierce gales filling the air
and cold chilling the bones. At the
same time, Wyoming Territory was hav-
ing a most delightful winter, no snow,
days bright and warm, sheep unted in
the fields, and Jacksonville, Fla, revell-
ed in orange, plumb and peach blossoms,
with the mercury at 500 above-too
high for natural season. The 10th
brought the most terrific thunder and
lightning storm in California ever known
in twenty years, and skating on the ice
at Huntsville, Ala. Two most unusual
and astounding events we're these. On
that day the Catcgat was free OF ice.
Two days later there was frost in San
Francisco and robins singing in Massa-
chusetts. On the 23d, there was thun-
der and lightning at Baxter Springs, Kan
sas, and three days later butterflies flew
about in New Hampshire. The month
was mild in England. In Blackheath
it froze but FIVE nights; most remarka-
BILE fact.
If the weather had been frcaky and
spasmodic in other months, March, usu-
ally cold and bosterous, now became
frantic with fever. All features Of the
weather were unreasonable. Violent e.
lectrcal disturbance, with thunder and
lightning, in Chicago and Cincinnati on
the I'd, the Hudson river free OF ice on
the Sd, wild geese and robins migrating
northward on the 9th. opened the ball for
the St. Louis tornado on the Sth, that
seemed to utterly break the winters back,
for the next day the peach trees put forth
blossoms near Boston, and frogs came out
and sang at Blue Hill, Massachusetts,the
season being warm as April. At Lat.
As the ice failed for crossing Lake
Chourio;n during the first. week and IN
the 9th large butterfly fitted through
the sunny air across the door-yard oil the
writer, a phenomenon nerer witnessed
there before. The mercury was 6O -
above-an extraordinary day. On the
1lth ice left the Kenebec in Maine, and
its navigation was resumed this being
the earliest on record since the settle
ment of the State. The 18th was actu-
ally hot day in Boston, and windows
and doors were opened freely, as in May.
The whole Of the rivers Of the Eastern
States were clear of ice to-day, and farm-
ers plowed their fields. Ice left the Mis-
sssippi at Winona the 18th, and the next
day was spring day in the Atlantic
States, with green grass and swelling buds
all about On the 18th the great lakes
and Canada and New England rivers
we're navigated, peach trees were In full
bloom in Little Rock, k..with the thcr-
mometer exhibiting IS the willows
bujded in Connecticut, boys chased the
butterflies through Central Park, New
York, and as if nature had reversed all
its order, grasshopper's nest, with young
ones, was picked up in the field in Mainel
On the 10Th, all ice left Champain at
its north end, and two days later sloops
sailed on the lake, and the North river
steamers began their summer trips be-
tween New York and Albany. All a.
long the parallel of Connecticut to the
west, willows, poplars, hazel and maple
we're In bursting bud, and on the 2lst
"May flowers" were pluckea over the
fields of Maine. Even as far north as
Jacksonville, n. b., butterflies were fly-
ing about outdoors. The whole first
half of March was the warmest first half
known for period of AZ years. At the
middle of the month roads were dry aud
dusty, and in the watercarts were used.
The Baltic was open for nav asigation on
the 25th they had dandelions, spring
flowers, and spice of snow at New York
on the Goth; tree toads sang in Connect
icut on the 9th. and fruit tr,e, bloomed
in South Illinois on the 29th. Was it
March ? The almanac said so, but peo-
pie shook their heads and wondered.
What did it mean? In both Great Br-
tain and the United States the tempera-
ture all the mouth was of singular mild
ness. With butterflies born in the open
air and sailing about the fields in Decem-
bcr, February and March, what would
April bring?
1t brought open water and free navi-
cation at Buffalo, and Champlain free Of
ice from end to end at its opening, frogs
on the lst and swallows on the 7th, with
lilacs on the 10th at latitude 45 ., the
season being month earlier than usual.
A burst of heat of unparalleled intensity
fell on the land on the Sth The mercu-
ry scared to heights before unheard Of
in all this latitude in April. Cherry and
,'ear trees, whose blooming is allotted to
May, burst into full blossom. 1t was
August in April" said Il writer. At
New York the thermometer recorded