Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-01-22

New York, Jan. 22.-Thc extraordinary
heat wave, which stretched from the
Mississippi Valley TO the Atlantic Coast
yesterday, carried the thermometer in
this city up 10 90 degrees, That, how
ever, was at least 10 degrees cooler than
some central portions of the State. a
thick blanket of mist, drawn by the sud
den heat from the waters surrounding
the city, shut out the sun and tempered
its ardent rays to fured and foeced man.
The rest of the heat wave was found i'm
Ohio. IL was officially declared the
hottest midwinter spell since 1890"
The hottest hour of the day in this
city was 8 o'clock in the afternoon, when
the sun broke through the clouds. BE
tween 3 and 6 p. m. the temperature
stood at % degrees, the maximum. Over
the greater part of the heated region the
highest temperatures were recorded at
noon. The minimum heat was "A degrees
at A o'clock yesterday morning The nv-
erage temperature was 80 degrees. The
average temperature on January 2l in
this city for twenty-five years has been
80 degrees. AT midnight last night the
mercury stood at so. One year ago the
mercury stood at 30.
The highest temperature prevailed in
the region about Lake Erie The ther-
mometer reached y degrees at Erie Pa,
and II at Cleveland. The unofficial re-
port from Syracuse, the hottest point in
this State, gave the maximum as ~ de-
grees.
On the heels of this remarkable spell
of weather" is following a cold wave
bringing a sudden drop of about 40 de-
grees This touch of real winter, it Is
expected, will be felt in this city and its
vicinity by this evening. Cold wave
warnings were given last night from the
lakes TO the Eastern Gulf States.
Despite the blanket of mist which en-
folded the city most of the city, crowds
were out in holiday attire. Furs were
under the ban, and men in anything but
light spring overcoats looked mcomfort-
able. Every park was crowded and every
drive filled. Every man who owned a
horse drove or rode il, and livery stables
raised prices, Just as they do when there
comes "A heavy snow and sleighs are in
demand.
The scene on Fifth avenue at noontimC
resembled the Easter parade On River
side Drive n great throng was out in tn,
afternoon According to those in charge
of Grants Tomb all records for visitohs
were broken yesterday.
Twelve thousand persons visited Coney
Island. Before o'clock in the Afternoon
the city playground had that appearance,
OF prosperity which marks it during the
dog days. The regular visitors late in th,
evening came to swell the numbers of tn,
afternoon. The fakirs, with the foresight
which is characteristic, were all ready foi
business in peanuts, rattles and catch
pennies.
Three concert halls We're open anC
about half dozen picture galleries
Drinks were to be had without even tn,
use of the sign language These places
did roaring trade, the news of whicl
Travelled so fast that presently the ping
pang' of shooting galleries could be hear,
in the land and the howl Of the frank
/ furter man.
The crowd spread itself along Surf ave
nue. and the Brighton Beach Boardwalk
10 Manhattan Beach. The sea was per
! fectly calm and the air was soft an,
/ sleepy. Twelve hathers, among then
| Magistrate Tighe of Brooklyn took a dir
and all seemed 10 enjoy IT,
There was much talk yesterday anon,
amateur scientists about the change o
| climate and the probable relation 10 th,
weather of "sun spots' such as were OBJ
served late last sumer Some scientist,
have theorized that the spots meant tina