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Show t 42 3 Wake with foft touch, wi~h rofy h.ands unbind The firuggling pinions of the WESTERN WIND; Chafe his wan cheeks, his ruffled plumes repair, And wring the rain-drops from his tangled hair. Blaze round each froit:ed rill, or fl:agnant ·wave, And charm the NAIAD from her :li.lent cave ; where, lhrined in ice, like N lOBE fhe mourns, And clafps with hoary anns her empty urns. 435 Oftht Wejhrn Wind. I. 430. The principal frofl:s of this country are accompanied or produced by a N. E. wind, and the thaws by a S. W. wind; the reafon of which is that theN. E. winds confifl of regions of air brought from the north, which appear to acquire an eafierly direCtion as they advance; and the S. W. winds conlifl: of regions of air brought from the fouth, which appear to acquire a weflerly diretl.ion as th ey advance. The furfacc of the earth nearer the pole moves flower than it does in our latitude; whence the region~ of air brought from thence, move flower, when they arrive hither, than the earth's furface with which they now become in contaCt ; that is they acquire an apparent eafl:erly direetion, as the earth moves from wefl to eafl: fafl:er than this new part of its atmofphere. The S. W. winds on the contrary confifl of regions of air brought from the fouth, where the furface of the earth moves fafler than in our latitude ; and have therefore a weiterly direetion when they arrive hither by their moving fafier than the furface of the earth, with which they are in contact ; and in general the nearer to the wefl: and the greater the velocity of thefe winds the warmer they {hould be in refpeCl: to the feafon of the year, fince they have been brought more cxpeditioufly from the louth, than thofe winds which have lefs weflerly direction, and have thence been lef.<> cooled in their pa!fage. Sometimes I have obferved the thaw to commence immediate! yon the change of the wind, even within an hour, if I am not miflaken, or fooner. At other times the S. W. wind has continued a day, or even two, before the thaw has commenced; during which time fome of the frofly air, which had gonefouthwards~ is driven back over us; and in confequence has taken a weflerly direetion, as well as a fouthern one. At other times I have obferved a frofl: with aN. E. wind every morning, and a thaw with aS. W. wind •very noon for fcveral days together. See addition<~! note, No. XXXIII. [ 43 ] Call your bright myriads, trooping from afar, With beamy helms, and glittering fhafts of war; In phalanx :firm the FrEND oF FRosT affail, Break his white towers, and pierce his cryfral mail ; 440 To Zembla' s moon-bright coafl:s the Tyrant bear, And chain him howling to the Northern Bear. '' So when enormous GRAMPus, iifuing forth From the pale regions of the icy North; Tht Fimd of Frofl. I. 439· The principal injury done to vegetation by frofi ~s fr~m the expanfion of the water contained in the ve!fels of plants. Wate~ converted mto 1ce occupies a greater fpace than it did before, as appears by the burfimg of bottles .filled with water at the time of their freezing. Hence frofi deflroys thofe plants of our dland firfl:, which are mofi fucculent; and the mofl fucculent parts firfi of other plants; as their leaves ancllafl: year's ilioots; the veffels of which are diflended and burH. by the expanG on of their freezing fluids, while the drier or more reGnous plants, as pw~s, yc~s, laurels, and other ever-greens, are lefs liable to injury from cold. T.he tr~es m vall1es are on this account more injured by the vernal frofl:s than thofe on eminencies, bec~ufe their early fucculent ilioots come out fooner. Hence fruit trees .cove~ed b~ a fix-wch coping of a wall are lefs injured by the vernal frofl:s becaufe the1r bcm.g fll!el~ed from lhowers and the defcending night-dews has prevented them from bemg modl at the time of their being frozen; which circumHance has given occaGon to a vulgar error amongfl: gardeners, who fuppofe frofl to defcend. As the common heat of the earth in this climate is 48 degrees, tho~e tender trees which will bear bending down, are eafily fecured from the fro~t by fprea~lllg them upon the ground, and covering them with fl:raw or fLrn. This p~rucularl~ f~u~s fig tr~es, a~ they eafily bear bending to the ground, and are furnifhed. wnh an ac~1d JUice, wh1ch fecures them from the depredations of infetl.s i but are ncverthcl<:fs liable to be eaten by mice. s~e additional notes, No. XII. G2 |
