Jan. Feb.

Showing the number of days on

which the wind was none, very little, little, &c. &c. &c. &c.

At 8 A. M.

Showing the number of days on which the wind was none, viry little, little, &c. &c. &c. &c.

At 2 P. M.

March

42 5 14

16

가기

April 13

5 10

May

131

IC 8

IC

15

12 8

June

9

t 14 IC

17 7

July

7 13

Aug.

IC

I 2

14

8

Sent.

10/12 18

10 9

14

.8 71

D.c.

18 3 1C 12

3

16

ΙΟ

57

143 14 II 18 3 10

6 14

Mr. URBAN, Baldock, Dec. 31. THE 'year 1804 commenced with the first two days mild, but the 3d to the 8th, inclufive, fome flight froft, with fnow at times; the 9th, 10th, and, 11th, more mild, but the 12th to the end of the month, the Thermometer was unufually high for this month, and for fo long a time.. On the 15th, which was the warmeft day, we were vifited by a flock of very rare birds in this part, the Silk-tail, or Waxen Chatterer (Ampelis Garrulus); they were feen for feveral days in and near the town. I believe they were moll of them taken, and preferved in a fluffed ftate. This very fingular bird is ditinguished from all others by its horny appendages from the tips of the fecondary feathers of each wing, which are of the colour and glofs of the beft red wax; it feems, from the accounts given by Naturalifts of this curious bird, that they differ as to the number of thofe appendages; even Bewick, in his Natural Hiftory of British Land Birds, could not fpeak decifively on the fubject. But I may inform the reader that I have feen both male and female of this bird, and that the male has feven of thofe vermilion touches on each wing, and the female only four this was univerfally the cafe, I believe, with thofe that were flot at Baldock. I do not find that they have been ever feen to reach fo far South in this country before; furely the mildnefs of the weather was the caufe of this diftant migration.-But, to make a regreffion to our former fubject: as a proof of the mildness of the feafon, the bees on the 24th, 25th, and 26th, were very bufy at carrying in farina; a circunftance very unufual at fo early a period of the year. (See Bonner, on Bees, p. 125.) The atmofphere was inoftly moilt, accompanied with rain at times, though feldom in any great quantities. We had a rapid rife of the Barometer on the eye of the 28th and mern of 29 h.

:

The Month of February was attended with fome fharp frofts, fnow, and bluftering winds; but at intervals the weather was more mild and pleafant; fo that the Bees were able to come abroad and collect from the fallows; and the

ivifcivori were heard whiftling from the trees as if the fummer was at hand. On the 6th, in the evening, about half an hour after Sun-fet, the Zodaical

light was remarkably visible; it exteuded in a conical figure for a confiderable way up the flarry vaults; the vortex of this cone fell between Alde baran and the Pleiades. This month and the next is the best time to look for this phenomenon in an evening, as the Ecliptic makes the greateft angle with the horizon about the end of the vefperian twilight at this time of the year.

March began with froft and fnow, which continued the firft five or fix days; afterward fine and mild to the 20th, with little rain; but on the 21st, 22nd, 23d and 24th, we had cold drying winds after this time to the end of the month there were fnow, rain, and fine weather alternately.

The firt eight days of April were moftly fine and plealant; or elfe the month in general was cold, wet, and flormy, with very little Sun till near its end; this contiderably retarded the progrefs of vegetation; the white-thorn motily but juft in the fate of foliation; yet, owing to four or five warm days at the conclufion of the month, the offspring of the fields and nea dows burft, as it were at once, from their embryo confinement, to exhibit their vernal beauties. On the evening of the 1ft and 2nd the Aurora Borealis w was vifible, particularly on the 1, when the fireamers were rather grand at times, though rather tranfient.

May this year has been remarkably fine and warm, with now and then a fhower to hafien the productions of the earth, which are making fuch ra pid progrefs, that the most inattentive obferver can but remark with attonithment, when he confiders, that, not many days back, the cold winds and pelting ftorms feemed to fpread an univerfal fterility over the face of Nature. Some lightning with diftant thunder on the 4th, in the afternoon.

June was in general very fine and hot, attended with a high Barometer, and confequently bat little rain; yet, though the ufnal tenor of the month was hot, we had fome days cool and refreshing breezes, and on the morning of the 11th an hoary froft was feen under the hedges. On the 19th, a rather fingular Solar phænomenon prefented itfelf to the obfervation of feveral people who happened to be abroad at the time; the Sun appeared of the colour of the most beautiful polished

filver,

fient

bly rifeer, but gave no shadow to objects, fgrind the eye could bear to look on it fam rath the fame pleasure as on a full fell betoon; the air at the time was rather des. They above, with Cirri appearing at beft tervals through it. The next day the in aan was obferved to caft a ferruginous the great on the ground, fimilar to what at the end did on the amazing and portentous this time mer of 1783, which was full of rrible phænomena. This appearfroft and ce on the 19th and 20th seemed to fiffe fe from part of that denfe vapour nd milianich was obferved to obfcure the Sun but one the 17th, off the coaft of Newbad indland. On the 24th, in the evenne to the we had very vivid lightning, with e for,etty loud though diftant claps of elv. under, attended with fome rain; the farometer, during the florm, flood as ordigh as 30 inches, but it previously , senk nearly one tenth of an inch. Son til July commenced fine; but the 3d Tetailed the 10th inclufive motily fhowery White-nd wet, with very little Sun; middle te of if the month, more fine, but at the or frend frequent fhowers with fome thunthe mer; at times large intervals of funand hine,

warkab

fown corn. On the 22nd of this month. in the evening, after a pretty brifk fhower of rain, there appeared a molt beautiful Aurora, which continued two or three hours; it looked in fome parts as red as blood, efpecially in the large arch, which extended from the magnetic Eaft, over a little South of the zenith, to the magnetic Weft; or, from nearly E. N.E. to W.S. W.: the continuity of this arch became fcarcely visible as it approached towards the zenith, but it appeared very denfe near the horizon. There was alfo a very denfe corona with a beautiful radiation around it. This crown, from its pofition among the fixed flars, I found to be in the pole of the magnetic meridiau, or about S.S.E. of the zenith, at between 18 and 20 degrees diftant from it, which is the point in the heavens to which the South pole of the dippingneed points in this country. There was befides this redness a fort of pale vapoury clouds that rushed across the heavens with an amazing fwiftnefs; but they all feemed to direct their motion towards the zenith, or the Polar point. From thefe and preceding obfervations it clearly appears, that the Aurora Boreulis is a magnetic phænomenon, wherein, no doubt, Electricity has its fhare in producing thofe corrufcations that often attend it; and probably the luminous arches which are often feen in an Aurora, arifing from the horizon, and converging towards the zenith, which are parallel cylindrical beams, when firipped of their optical delufion, are means by which the electric fluid is conveyed from one pole to the other, to reftore its equilibrium, which, it is well known, is often deflroyed by local circumftances.

once, in Auguft began with rather hot weaher, notwithstanding the days were hegenerally cloudy, but on the 8th a Bonfiderable finking of the Barometer he took place, which was followed by a her great change in the weather, as it now became remarkably fhowery, and continued fo for about two weeks; which made the farmers apprehensive of a wet harvest, but the last ten days of the month proved very fine, and moderate as to heat, fo that many of them had compleated the harvel by the end of the mouth, which was, ihis year, in contraft to last, remarkably fhort.

and the

Crops

fuch

September was for the most part fine and bright, and attended with unufual hot weather for this month during the first three weeks, but on the evening of the 21ft a manifelt change of temperature took place the atmosphere became ftormy, attended with fhowers; the wind was moftly Northerly, with its ufual concomitant, a high Barometer, to the end of the month.

The beginning of October was most ly cloudy or hazy, mild, and but little rain. For nearly three weeks in the middle, the weather was generally fine and bright, and almoft too dry for the wheat-lowing; but at the end we had fome foaking thowers, which no doubt

mly fettled the mould to the new

S

During the fore-part of November the weather was mofily dull, with heavy fhowers of rain; but the latter. end was more fine, with fome frofty mornings. An Aurora on the evening of the 22d formed a beautiful arch, which appeared to be bilected by the plane of the magnetic meridian. Streamers at times darted from this arch towards the zenith.

The first fortnight in December proved very dull and hazy, t hughut little rain. From the 10th to the end we had continued froft, and at times very fharp; a nice covering of fnow on the ground, fufficient, I hope, to guard the tender blade from the nipping Siberian weather. T. S.

Mr.