Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-03-11
Memorable Winters.

zane early in December. The Intensely low
f.,opcraturcs through which we have passed
noy serve to show that these boreal phenomena
re hot to be altogether confined to q colonial
0. primeval age.
w. know that in the remote periods OF Eu:
r,,,can civilization the climate OF the Did
Word was much colder than it now Is. The
Italian sky" now the boast for all that Is soft
and genial, must have worn a iorbludlng and
y,ry different aspect when the classic annallStS
d,,cgihc the streets of Rome as blocked with
IT,, aud snow, the Tiber as solldIy frozen over
md when the tender herds were the prey OF
;rn,t The flirest valleys Of Central Europe,
now famous for their verdure aud vintage,
we're IL those early periods the abode ofthe Arc
,;r clk and reindeer aud the streams Which
'n~;nra ,hrm, as Gibbon tells US, were an
na,l, covered with firm bridges OF ice, which
III, barbarian armies securely crossed. Even
IN coun,aratlveiv mndcrn times intense cold has
visited large por,ons OF Europe. La 1903 the
E,tic WAS clothed with an immense sheet
or ice, over which Charles y. marched his Gu
r army from IIoiSt4iD to Denmark, a dis
,,nc. Of fifty miles. There are not wanting
several instances, extending as far as 1923,
w;uu the Thames was 50 thickty coated with
ice as to furnish safe entertainment to large
r.ir, While lust after our Western country was
settled. at the close of the last century, the Ice
covered sea around Holland was the theatre OF
aWintcr campaign.
.lraro. the distinguished French physicist,
a,rnl.t.d 10 argue from the collected annals OF
extreme Waters that the climate of the CONT
rrnis had in the lapse OF ages of the worlds
- M chances
the lig!l of the present century, now nearly
,I,rccquartcrs passed, such view must be dis
r.ricd. Whether We accept the ten year ey-
rc Of hot and cold years, or whether we adopt
the cycle OF forty years, indicated by the rlgo-
y,,l> Winters Of 1909, l749, 1889, 1880 and
4 >--71!, Including the present, We Ind great
nineteenth century will compare IN severity
with many that can &c named in the previous,
] the medieval aad the classic periods, IN which
8 latter Ovid mentions the fact that the waves OF
q The EuXlne or Black Sea were strong y con
4 gcacd
4 The colonial records of America give but
q very mc2grr accounts of accurate thermome-
q lllc data, but few facts show that our climate,
q cod as this Winter has been, is not as rlgorous
9 2> when the present century opened. MIR.
b Jefferson states in his valuable papers, that
g N i'>O the Chesapeake Bay was frozen solid
n ;:om It's head to the mouth Of the Potomac
81 liver, and at Annapolis, where it is more than
g IKE miles between the nearest points OF land,
81 the Ice was 50 firm that loaded carriages went
81 1Trr It, From this and other phenomenal oc-
! unrenccS the Virginia philosopher inferred
& lal, when the country was cleared the extreme
coI! would be diminished. The old records
2 Of American climate, such as those Of Rush and
z No.Hey, indicate Winters of greater severity
ltaa low occur. Samuel Williams, OF
Harvard. the learned author Of series OF
l.r@ometric observations during the last
Jar; Of the previous century, computed the
.a.ae Of Winter climate at Boston at ten or
twelve degrees from 1850 to 1888. As before
'Inaei, there are no thermometric records
sufficiently comprehensive to afford iuterentlal
"irr>onS as to climatic changein 10 the West
''i The valley of the Mississippi but the early
ar,Ult> oi the first settlers and explorers all 60
. ,how extremes of cold greater than are now
ale!lcnccd. The Canadian settlers, until at
= 'hc middle of the last century, found the
mate around Quebec too severe Tor corn to
.!r'.
Necrtaia that our collcst Winters since 1900
ave n"l attained the low temperatures OF the
F'eedlng five decades, in one of which, as we
,"r sen cen the Chesapeake Bay was frozen
w. he v inter of 1856 was marked by ex-
.A'ary ana extensive refrigeration, holding
~ MYERS from St. Louis to Philadelphia III It's
H'F 'rcm December to late in March; but
was an exception, and yet can hardly be
';"." WIN the early colonial Winters in point
sb,n,,,m 49,, "'v,mit has been made to explain these
NI,.,, r, W terrestrial climate by the changes
~ '.," .I mas wrought upon the foreSt-covercd
5,,p,;n ~. ointment aud drainage of the soil,
AyLa,L'!s. ~ diminished rainfall and snowfall.
fr< :'li> be theoretically correct or not the
anr,i ,n''n ,'r'i Inc same; and they furnish addi
't,'4 '!at the aerial shell of the earth is
H., ,,,j ,Js physical change, as well as the solid
VI" Inc deep sea beds.-N. !. Herald.
.o"sEES s,,,',.f! IN TIE Track OF WAR.-There
5>, otn.nS >ot,n; singular and quite romantic to
,r,,H Yte' ''tNS, the botaniSts in the fact that
Ill., '"an ". VI the PruSSian armies in France,
nq.," >@''rN'S grounds, the siege lines and
a. "'t marked with flowers, not the ia
3D. lr,'"rf> OF France but of the Father
.~r.,, ''I1 n around Paris is this phenomenon
,a,I i ll'l!dredS OF flowers, unknown hith-
>. ',tS II >o,i. hut dear to the German heart,
h,..,,'' ,"'r russian army, formerly tracked
;,r. "'i1S, wrecked ambulanccS, and all
av'i 'sTF and confusion of war, can now be
a> WY y The strange flower blooming in the
'D' he'ds and the borders of the vine
.tIN,cNIf tN;If pEorrEp CouSrRY.-Thc is
ID, m;.t "it'i,ldoes Is more thickly settled than
i""h her 30o,0O0,0O0. With superficial
o;.wn! ;n! a!Gnt lGG square miles, without any
N'Tithout manufactures ofany descrip-
,p,,,> [u'r'y >n agricultural colony, she actually
Ir ,tp reputation Of lSO, 900 souls, or over
,u>,c,,,n.: ,nS square mile! To find the means
She iGa'lHn G'l, Tor this coopcd up mob of peo-
Frry ,.h has brought under cultivation nearly
nl: and and" =, " ,r her lo6,47O acres of culturabIc
p,> an ' ~ 10 the superficial observer, she pre-
NeI in in>,tct = g, OF wealth and prosperity unex-
'rssni ~ 'ne Vest Indies, and hardly to be
III any other part of the world.