The most intense cold is usually felt in the month of January; and the weather is either bright and dry, with frost; or foggy, with much snow : Thro' the bashed air the whitening show'r descends, Fall broad, and wide, and fast, dimming the day Snow is formed by the freezing of the water in clouds. It differs from the particles of hoar-frost, in being crystallized; for if we examine a flake of snow by a magnifying glass, the whole of it will seem composed of fine shining spicula, or points, diverging like rays from a centre. As the flakes fall down through the atmosphere, they are continually joined by more of these radiated spicula; and thus increase in bulk, like the drops of rain or hailstones. Snow, although it seems to be soft, is really hard, because it is true ice. It seems soft, because at the first touch of the finger, upon its sharp edges or points, they melt; or, they would pierce the finger like so many lancets. The whiteness of snow is owing to the small particles into which it is divided; for ice, when pounded, will become equally white. But snow is not to be considered merely as a curious and beautiful phenomenon. Besides defending vegetables from the intense cold of the air, and piercing winds, it moistens and pulverizes the soil which has been bound up by the frost; and, as its water has a tendency to putrefaction, it seems, on many accounts, to be admirably fitted to promote vegetation. Another reason of the usefulness of snow, has been suggested by Mr. Parkes. Fur and down afford warm clothing, in consequence of the air they infold within them; atmospheric air being a non-conductor of heat. 'Hence it is that the carpet which covers the earth in winter, is spread out by nature with so light a hand, that it might hold an abundance of atmospheric air within its interstices, to preserve the warmth of those innumerable tribes of vegetables which it is destined to protect.' Ice is composed of a number of needle-like cystals, united to each other; and, the space between these being greater than between the particles of water, this liquid, when frozen, though it is not heavier, yet it occupies more space than before. From this principle of expansion, water-pipes often burst, and hoops fly off from barrels, during an intense frost. To this cause may be attributed the annual diminution of the bulk and height of lofty mountains. The different crevices being filled with water in the summer, this water becomes frozen in the winter; and, by the power of expansion, rolls down vast masses of rock or earth into the neighbouring valleys. By the same operation, the clods of ploughed fields are loosened, and rendered fit for the work of the husbandman. The inclemency of the season compels the numerous tribes of birds to quit their retreats in search of food. The redbreast (sylvia rubecula), the only bird that confides in man, begins to sing. Thomson's often quoted but beautiful description of his annual visit we cannot suppress : Half afraid, he first Against the window beats; then, brisk, alights On the warın hearth; then, hopping o'er the floor, And pecks, and starts, and wonders where he is: Attract his slender feet 2. About the beginning of the month, larks (alauda This bird is called Tomi Liden, about Bornholm; Peter Ronsmad, in Normandy; and Thomas Gierdet, in Germany. 2 or, fearlessly, lights down Upon the basking sheep-dog's glossy fur; GRAHAM. arvensis) congregate, and fly to the warm stubble for shelter; and the nuthatch (sitta europaea) is heard.— The shelless snail or slug (limax) makes its appearance, and commences its depredations on garden plants and green wheat: the body of this creature being covered over with a slimy substance, it can endure the cold much better than the shell-snail. The missel-thrush (turdus viscivorus) begins its song, which is very fine, often with the new year, sitting on the summit of a high tree, in blowing showery weather; whence the inhabitants of Hampshire call it the storm-cock. The hedge-sparrow (sylvia modularis), and the thrush (turdus musicus) begin to sing. The titmouse (parus) pulls straw out of the thatch, in search of insects; linnets (fringilla linota) congregate; and rooks (corvus frugilegus) resort to their nest trees. The house-sparrow (fringilla domestica) chirps; the bat (vespertilio) appears; spiders shoot out their webs; and the blackbird (turdus merula) whistles. The fieldfares, red-wings, skylarks, and titlarks, resort to watered meadows for food, and are, in part, supported by the gnats which are on the snow, near the water. The titlark wades up to its belly in pursuit of the pupa of insects, and runs along upon the floating grass and weeds. The tops of tender turnips and ivy-berries afford food for the graminivorous birds, as the ringdove, &c. Amid the leafless thorn, the merry wren1, Pipes her perennial lay: e'en when the flakes, Athwart the shower, and sings upon the wing. The skylark sings; earthworms lie out on the 1 The silvia troglodytes braves our severest winters, which it contributes to enliven by its sprightly note. It continues its song till late in the evening, and not unfrequently during a fall of snow. 2 Nothing can be more pleasing than to see the lark warbling upon the wing; raising its note as it soars, until it seems F ground; and the shell-snail (helix nemoralis) appears. The chaffinch (fringilla cœlebs) sings; jackdaws repair to the tops of churches; and the grey and white wagtail (motacilla boarula and alba) appear. Broods of these birds will flit round cows while feeding in moist pastures, approach their noses, and even go under their bellies in search of insects. Snipes, woodcocks, herons, wild ducks, and other waterfowl, retire from the frozen marshes to streams that are still open; and, as the cold strengthens, sea-birds come up the rivers in quest of food. Be careful now, ye swains, your tender flocks To shield from biting storms, from flooding rain, The farmer exerts all his care in tending the domestic cattle. Cows can scarcely pick out any grass, and depend chiefly on hay for support: early lambs and calves are housed, and watched with almost paternal solicitude. The bleating charge should be left, at night, Near where the haystack lifts its snowy head; or, if no snow is seen, BLOOMFIELD. Hares, impelled by hunger, find their way into our gardens, to browse on the cultivated vegetables; and lost in the immense heights above us; the note continuing, the bird itself unseen; to see it then descending with a swell as it comes from the clouds, yet sinking by degrees as it approaches its nest, the spot where all its affections are centered the spot that has prompted all this joy.-GOLDSMITH. rabbits enter plantations, and commit great havoc by stripping trees of their bark. The sharp-eyed fox steals from the wood, and, rendered bold by famine, make his incursions into the henroost and farm-yard'. The cold-blooded animals, as the frog, snake, and lizard, are quite benumbed by the cold, and so remain till the approach of warm weather. The dormouse, marmot, &c. take their winter-sleep; while the squirrel and the field-mouse subsist, in their retreat, upon the provision which they have laid up during the autumn. The flowers of the rosemary (rosmarinus officinalis) begin to open. This shrub has ever been treated with great respect, for its efficacy in comforting the brain and strengthening the memory; which has made rosemary an emblem of fidelity in lovers. It was, accordingly, worn at weddings; and, perhaps, on the same principle, at funerals; on which latter occasions, in some parts of England, it is still distributed among the company, who frequently throw the sprigs into the grave along with the corpse. Rosemary is a prin The weasel and the polecat may be reckoned among the rural depredators; but we are, happily, exempted from the ravages of the wolf, Cruel as death, and hungry as the grave; Burning for blood, bony, and ghaunt, and grim! 2 Sweet scented flower! who art wont to bloom And o'er the wintery desert drear Come, thou shalt form my nosegay now, I'll weave a melancholy song, And sweet the strain shall be, and long, Come, funeral flow'r! who lov'st to dwell |