The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-02-03
JACK FROST AND BOREAS
4 VARIED WINTER SEASON IN NEW
HAVEM
Skating and Ict-Harvesting - The
GrOund-hog Sees His Shadow and
Predicts n Tardy Spring-The Cold


Ground-hog Sees His Shadow and
Predicts Tardy spring-The Cold
Weather Everywhere.
There will be ice enough this summer
il the present cold continues any
longer. A week ago there wasn't any
ice suitable for cutting and all the
local companies were half expecting to
import their stock from Canada.
But If the cold is favorable to some,
it is unfavorable to others. A pathetic
story of poor Armenian woman who
was forced to steal because OF the cold
weather was reported at the city court
yesterday. officer j. j. McAvoy arrest
ed her for stealing shingles from the
lumber yard of j. Gibbs Smith & Co.
She said she had no wood to burn, and
that she had no money with which to
purchase fuel. She stole unconsciously,
believing that she was taking scraps of
wood which were not valuable. The
Rev. Mr.. Morgan, rector Of Christ
church, interceded in her behalf, and
no complaint was made against her.
She will be relieved by the parishioners
of Christ church.
But, after all, the cold snap is well
come visitor. The ice out at Lake
Whitney is in excellent condition, and
supports considerable skating The gay
crowds make very pretty picture as
they glide over the dazzling surface Of
elastic ice, brought into prominent re-
lief by the background Of the blue hills
and naked trees.
Hockey players are inevitable and ir-
resistlble. They dash hither and thither
after the elusive block, with a supreme
Indifference for the safety of the other
skaters.
If sleighing could be added to the
would assume the carnival appearance
of the northern cities 1t is unfortu-
nate that there is not more snow and
an unf1uctuating temperature. Sleigh
ing tobogganing and coasting are the
heartiest of pleasures and contribute
highly to the winter entertainment Of
fered by the towns of Canada. The
manufacturers of sleighs are sorry that
it doesn't snow, but people living near
the green are just as glad that there
is not the usual-or unusual glacier
there this winter
The present weather to the older citi-
zens recalls the days of 1856, when the
New Haven harbor was completely
frozen, so that the merchants used to
drive down on the ice. After the navi-
bod o1D =
the ice was broken. at an expenditure
Of $780, An hour afterwards a warm
rain fell, and all the ice was rapidly
dissolved.
To-day the local tugs are very busy in
the harbor, shifting the vessels Of coal
barges from one dock to another. There
is great deal of floating ice in the
lower harbor, but it is not sufficiently
troublesome to stop navigation. AT
some of the wharves, the vessels were
securely frozen in the ice yesterday
and it required the services
IF the tugs to break out channel for
them to move about. There is a great
1eal Of ice on the shores of the harbor
and down on the flats.
If one can argue anything from the
results of Candlemas day, the spring
will be tardy one this year The old
that long since passed into
sort of proverb. "On Candlemas day
you must leave half your wood and
lalf your hay" meaning that the Win
Ter is one-half accomplished.
The ground hog is Immediately asso-
,lated with Candlemas day AS the
oroverb goes, he issues from the hole |
IN that day and tries to see his shadow |
n the ground. If the weather is warm
Ind sunshiny so that he can see his !
shadow he goes back into his hole and |
stays for a period Of six weeks. This |
that the winter will last I'M
ii after the middle of March If on
he contrary, the day is cloudy so that |
lie cannot see his shadow he stays out
md grubs for his living. This indi-
ates that there will be an early spring.
As he saw his shadow yesterday the
inference with those who hold allegi-
nee to the proverb is that winter isn't |
lalf over yet.
Although the sun shines brightly as
n summer time, low temperatures are
COMMON everywhere in the east and
northeast to-day While tho coolest
lace in this country is at Mortified,
It., where it is 90 below zero, at Parry
found it is rs below also Albany Is
below, Duluth s, Huron 2, Morhead g.
Portland q and st. Paul 2, while zero
Weather is common throughout the Ohio
alley and eastward. Locally it dropped
} 4.3 above last night which made the
ecord TO the year, and beat that of
thursday by one degree. Previous TO
esterday the coolest of the year was
s above on December 81.
Last year at this date it was II de-
rees above zero.