The Portland daily press., 1893-01-18
A COLD MORNING.
How the Mercury Danced Ycsterday-very
Cold in Portland and Vicinity-Ice in
the Harbor-yarious Thermometers.

COD In Portland and Nicinlty-lco III
the Harbor-yarious Thermometers.
Yesterday morning was the coolest yet
of this winter of remarkably cold days.
low readings of the thermometer. The
stage drivers and milkmen all come in
thrashing their arms, rubbing their noses
and blowing their fingers. These, the
railroad men, and other wayfarers, re-
ported below-zero situations like this:
At Libby's Corner, Deering, 1872; Lining
ton, 26o; WATERFORD, 2So; Danville juno
ton, 25o; Woodfords, 1872; Yarmouth, 200.
In the city there was nothing quite like
this, although Park Commissioner
Smiths thermometer at the corner of
Portland and Green streets reached l2o.
At the office of the Government Weather
Bureau the thermometer recorded min
imum temperature of 50 below zero.
On the whole this shows very cold
world; but it might be worse. Mr.. Mills,
of the firm of Mills 6 McMasters, steve
dores for the European steamers, was in
from Montreal yesterday and reported
that 1So and 200 below zero was the regu-
lar thing there. Mr.. Ross, of the Donald
son line office, has been paying visit to
his home at Quebec. He found the mer-
curry 500 below zero there. Last Friday
the ST. Lawrence froze over, forming a
bridge of ice. This, however, was soon
broken by the boats.
Portland harbor wore wintry aspect
yesterday morning. That part lying along
Eastern Promenade and exte nding down
| between the Diamond Islands and the
Foreside, as far as the deep ocean waters
of Hussey's Sound, was more solid than
ever. The day before the tug Belknap
had tried to break around to Back Bay,
ond had been forced to give it up on1ac-
count Of the thickness of the ice.
In addition, yesterday morning, ice
had formed across from the Grand Trunk
wharves to the Breakwater, and from
thence upward the whole harbor was
frozen. During the day, however. the
ice was broken up so that the ferry boats
made tolerable time. A band of ice re-
| manned, however, across the lower por-
tion of the harbor-
The large schooner Douglas Dearborn
of Philadelphia was in the harbor pre-
pairing to venture into the mouth of the
Kennebec as far as Bath. Her prepara-
lions consisted of mailing boards about
six feet long along her hull in such way
as to cover the water line and receive the
impact of all floating ice. She was thus
armored when she left Philadelphia, but
In the Delaware river and on Nantucket
shoals the floating ice chewed them up.
This ice is very hard on vessel and will
even cut through the planking if there is
no protection,
| The fleet of coasters left the harbor
Monday night; but came back yesterday,
having found it too bad to proceed.
There was, throughout the city yester-
day, feeling of compassion for the poor
people of Russia, who are having it 75'
below zero.
1t does not seem quite certain how it
is there, as they use different thermomet-
ers in Europe. In England and in Hol-
land, as in America, the Fahrenheit ther-
mometer is in use. In France and gen
orally on the continent of Europe Gel
sius's scale commonly called the Cent?
grade thermometer. is used, while in
Russia and Germany the Reaumur tier
mometer is employed. These thermom-
eters differ much.
Fahrenheit placed his zero mark 32o
below the freezing point of water, be-
cause he enormously thought that the
entire absence of heat was fonnd at 320
below the freezing point, Between
freezing point and boiling point Fahren-
heit divided his thermometer into $50
degrees.
The Centigrade thermometer puts zero
at the freezing point and divides the
i space between the freezing and boiling
| points into 100 equal parts.
/ The Reaumur has the same zero as the
Centigrade, but divides the space be
tween freezing and boiling into so parts.
The temperature of boiling water is
therefore 1902 by the Centigrade, 212o by
Fahrenheit's and 500 by Reaumur's.
Reductions from one thermometer to
another may be made by these formu-
las:
F=9-5 C4+32=9-4 R-t32.
C=5-4 R=5-9 (F-32
/ RIB C=4-9 (F-32.)
| 1t is probable the 75o below reported
from Russia means the Fahrenheit
scale.
Ward Two Statesmen