New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-02-10
LITTER THE STORM.

|
| One Of the most remarkable features oi Inc
extreme midwin,er weather has been the mag
ntude Of the area affected by it. Mr.. Dunn
J computes the radius " Fridays storm as IuilS
! LOGO miles or four times as great as iha' oi ''''
| famous blizzard OF 1888. That is stupehuous
area for a single storm: but the severlt! vi 'ie
winter has not been confined 10 slnse WIN
| or to any single country. Inc Meu'ei ''"'"
| as well as Florida has been chiiied ny "'"''
| frosts There has been a driving sh""H''' III "
Nice and there have been nail showers "'non7
| the olive groves of Southern l'aiy. No' on'
has single storm circle been descripeu iio' ',''
Bermudas and the Maritime provinces ~ ~.
Carolinas and the Lakes. with an ou'er TN VI
| zero weather covering the greater part oi N'i'"
| America. but there is hardly European oou"
try from Russia TO Southern Spain which mas
not suffered from unusually severe winter
| weather.
There are several compromising au'an'aseS
for the discomfort Of an 0ld1aslloheu "in'ei'
One is the elimination OF the so-called wih'er
naradise as a highly favored resort. Whch Il
storm I'm Christmas week kills all the orange
trees in Florida, and another in early feDruary
sends the mercury below freezlng-point as lar
down as Jupiter Lights there Is less discomfort
with the climate in Northern towns when the
sbarpedged winds are blowing cold and raw ana
the deep SHOWS are drifting drearily. With Er-
rome icebound and billiards shifting the fragrance
of West Indian pineapple groves ana the vine
and the pomegranate of the Mediterranean, where
can a more genial winter paradise be round
than ones own home high though the latitude
NAV be and Indictment the climate out of doors!
Such weather as that of last week equaliZes
sectional advantages and promotes contenlment
and ncace New-York and Boston are found To
no in The same zone of zero weather with At
,anta Jacksonville and Little Rock and have
sunerior facilities for steam and furnace heat
indoors: and there is sleighng in Virginia ana
Texas with a touch Of genuine. inVlsora'hs
Northern winter weather i'll the 'aroiliaS III"
the Gulf ports, while beyond the Atlantic from
the shiyering benumbed Riviera. comes the
word that five or six inches Of snow nave fallen
in single day.
The subsistence OF all talk about radical
changes OF climate during the last generation
is another marked advantage obtained from Inc
sharp wintry weather \ great amount OF III
telectual force which could i'll he spared from
other and more practical spheres of thought
has been expended upon vague conJeciures re-
spectng the causes Of a long series OF mia Win
ters very unlike the Old-fashioncd kind To when
the Pilgrim Fathers were acclimated. and which
tho oldest inhabltant remembers rs occurring
"when he was boy An inshOre bulge in the
course Of the Gulf Stream. a subtle change or
complexion I'm the suns spots. the destruction OF
forests and The shrnkage Of river courses have
been seriously debated in strcetcar and board
ing in city clue and crossroads grocery,
c1,oI lo If
mate. which everybody ought to have accepted
with feeling Of gratitude in silence without al
tempting to explain il. sudden outbreak Of
genuine Plymouth Rock weather clears the
whole field Of discussion and sweeps all the
theories ont OF sight. An old fashioncd winter
proves that the Gulf Stream is where It was,
and that the sun spots have not changed color;
and that popular observations on altered condi-
tons Of climate are excellent sport for the ola
gentleman in the moon.
ANYTHING that Is abnormal In a seasons az.
perence, whether phenomenal cold or a blizzard
with long Itinerary across the continent ana
remarkably quick transit facilities for making
the rounds. tends 10 dispcl the idea that he
earth is machine wound mp once for all al
creation and left 10 90 Of itself without rcsula-
ton or guidance If one season were like an
other. III would DP HdTu'T W D'i'N' WIN nv
Psalmist that clouds and storms. lightning ana
rain sunshine and hail are ministers OF Al
mighty intelligence fulfilling His word. Naria
tons Of climate help 10 make II plain that The
whole course Of Nature is constantly and closely
ordered. that nothing happens 10y chance. and
that there is healing in the wings Of the storm,
a breath Of life in the movement Of ocean tide
and overland air current and processes of daily
superintendent and mercy in the heavens above
and in the earth beneath.