The Portland daily press., 1874-01-07
st. Petersburg.
THE OPENING OF WINTER.

4 correspondent of the Hartford Post.
writing from st. Petersburg, saws: "Tbe
coming on Of winter in st. Petersburg is so
different from the way nature does it in
America, that am inclined to tell you about
it. The Neva generally closes from the 20th
OF November to The first OF December. This
year it was earer-on the 18th of November,
From the first OF November there were lew
fair days-in fact, no day when the sun
shone all day. 1t was cloudy, sour weather,
with much rain but no frost, even at night,
till the first ui November, when a cold snap
came on, since which time there has been
no day when the mercury was above freezing
point. The rays CT the sun are so oblique as
to have little or no effect upou .e atmos-
phere, making the days and nights of nearly
equal temperature, The sun is not on duty
long enough to accomplish much, as it rises a
little beioie nine anu sets before three The
twilight IS OF course very lung.
The colo steadily increased fer perhaps ten
days, when little snCw began to iall and
almost Every day since little has iaen, till
now there Is LerLaps six inches. There has
been little or no wind, though one day it
blew some. and about two inches OF snow iell
which is called here quite storm. ! learn
there are never any snow storms in this part
OF Russia during which more than Two
to six inches oi snow falls. But the
acquisition Of snow is constant 1t
does not appear to come from the
clouds, but the water held in solution in the
atmosphere, wh b is very damp. it being so
near the sea and county perfectly Cat, con-
eeals and ,hryStallZss ana thus falls slowly
hut constantly halt an inch, or perhaps less.
per day. M one carries an um 0relia, as it
does not snow fast enough to get we. in. and
nobody minds it. but they walk, ride or skate
n III do 81
stantly sweeping the sidewalks, crosswalks
and streets. 1t is not in sufficient quantity
to shovel. but is swept into heaps and carried
of, leaving only enough in the streets to in
sure good sleiebing. In this manner / learn
it will tall for month or two longer, auG
while there will be perhaps three or four leet
in the caui try there will never be CROUCH in
this city to impede travel, and | b, We the
horse cars, OF which there are many Iun all
Winter. There Is but one permanent briCge
across the Neva, The Others, of which there
are several. are floating. So when the ice be-
gins 10 run THESE floating bridges are cut apart
in the middle, and the two ends drop down
along the banks. and at once afler the ice is
solid, good walks ale laid across the river at
different points and lighted.
In q short time The barb will be frozen as
far as Cronstadt, aud roads made for driving
there over the ice, with sentry boxes placed
at intervals to assist ayelers should the cold
be so intense as to freeze them, as il often the
case.
4 he mercury has cen down to ten degr es
below zero, Fahrenheit, th, Deh it IS warner
now, We may expect it, however, down TO
thirty and forty, and possibly fifty tOi GAYS.
for such times great wood fires are built ON
an open crate, open on all sides, / mean, but
under ciicu.ar irr cover with hole in the
top, in irunt of all The iheatfes al the pal
ate. Around these ig blazing flies gather
the coachman and servants during the per-
tormances at the theatre, opera. or balls, as
they never 90 home after leaving iheir pas
sengeTs, but wait in the street. As they must
often wait during the greater paIt OF the night,
these fires aIe absolute y Indispensable. What
the poor horses do am not aware, Tor have
not yet seen horse bl: nket, but ave seen
horses driven up smoking hot and stand four
or five hour, uncovered.
Winter here means business, and one must
prepare for il, and once prepared. there is ap-
pareutly no trouble with the cold. Rooms all
have SCuble windows. both sastes fitted in
close and tight. very thick walls, and ale well
stocsed with big podean stoves. which ale
great heaters. Except for lack of v, initiation,
they are, en- tireiy comfortable: but eveIyb dy
lives in flats, as in Paris and other continen-
tai cities.