1796. July 26.

1797. April 7.

1799. April 3. 20th. Some June 6.

1802.

1801. May 28. April. agreeable.

The most plentiful harvest remembered.
The peaches and apricots in blossom.

Frost last night. 11th. Some ice in the gutters.
ice in the morning.

Black and white frost in the Neck.

Hay harvest near the city.

Several frosts this month and in May-fires

1803. May 7. Ice-on the 8th. a snow which broke down the poplars and other trees in leaf-on the 15th, a fire was necessary.

1805. Summer-no rain after the middle of June, all through July-heat 90 to 96 degrees-pastures burnt up and summer vegetables failed.

1807. April 3.

June 13.

Snow.

Fire necessary.

August and September. The influenza prevailed.

1809. April 13.

The houses covered with snow like winter.

26. Ice as thick as a dollar.

May 6. Ice. 13th. Grass frozen. 30th. Frost-the coolest May remembered for many years.

1810. April 1. Snow on the ground. 3d. Spits of snow.

May 13. White frost for several mornings. This year

was remarkable for its abundance and excellence of fruits. 1811. July 3. Warm dry weather for some time-Indian corn suffers a finer dry hay harvest not remembered-between 3d and 9th, hot weather continued from 94 to 97°.

1812. April 13. Snow and rain.

May 4. Rain and snow. 8th. Frost. 22d. The spring very backward-fires necessary.

1816. June 5. Frost. 10th. So severe as to kill beans.

11th.

Severe frosts at Downingstown-destroyed whole fields of

corn.

doing much

1825. June 11. in the shade.

Monday last rain fell 4 inches.

Storm of rain and hail at Chester. Unprecedented fall of rain near Philadelphiadamage to bridges, &c.

Severe heat at 2 o'clock-thermometer at 96*

1827. July 20. Peaches, pears and plumbs in market.

Indian Summer.

This was a short season of very fine mild weather, which was formerly much more manifest than of later years. It was expected to occur in the last days of November. It was a bland and genial time, in which the birds, the insects, and the plants, felt a new creation, and sported a short-lived summer, ere they shrunk finally

from the rigour of the winter's blast. The sky in the mean time, was always thinly veiled in a murky haze-intercepting the direct rays of the sun, yet passing enough of light and heat to prevent sensations of gloom or chill.

The aged have given it as their tradition, that the Indians, long aware of such an annual return of pleasant days, were accustomed to say "they always had a second summer of nine days just before the winter set in." From this cause, it was said, the white inhabitants, in early times, called it the "Indian summer." It was the favourite time, it was said, of the Indian harvest, when they looked to gather in their corn.

The known amenity of such a season was fixed upon, in olden time, as the fittest time for the great fair at Philadelphia, which opened on the last Wednesday in November, and continued three days; thus insuring, as they conceived, as many good days before and after the term, for good travelling to and from the same. The fair in the last week of May, was also chosen for its known settled weather.

Weather Prognostics.

A curious old almanac of our country, of the year 1700, gives the following rules for prognosticating the weather, to wit:

The resounding of the sea upon the shore, and the murmur of winds in the woods without apparent wind, shew wind is to follow. A murmur out of caves portendeth the same.

The obscuring of the smaller stars is a sign of tempest. Also, if the stars seem to shoot, winds will come from that quarter the star came from.

The often changing of the wind sheweth tempests.

If two rainbows appear, it will rain. A rainbow presently after rain, denotes fair weather.

If the sky be red in the morning, it is a sure token of winds or rain, or both, because those vapours which cause the redness will presently be resolved.

If the sun or moon look pale, then look for rain. If fair and bright, expect fair weather. If red, winds will come. If a dark cloud be at sun rising, in which the sun is soon after hidden, it will dissolve it, and rain will follow. If there appear a cloud and after vapours are seen to ascend upon it, that portendeth rain. If the sun seem greater in the East than common, it is a sign of rain. If in the West, about sun setting, there appear a black cloud, it will rain that night or the day following, because that cloud will want heat to disperse it.

If mists come down from the hills, or descend from the heavens and settle in the vallies, it promiseth fair hot weather. Mists in the evening show a hot day on the morrow; the like when white mists arise from the waters in the evening.

The circles that appear about the sun, if they be red and broken, it portendeth wind. If thick and dark, it shows winds, snow or rain—which are also presaged by the circles about the moon.

White and ragged clouds appearing like horses manes and tails, foretelleth great winds-even as the sailors long have said, viz. Shagged clouds-like an old mare's tail,

Make lofty ships-to carry low sail.

Thunder in the morning, if it be to the south-westward, and the wind be there, denotes, many times, a tempestuous day; also, a rainbow or water gall in the West, denotes a stormy wet day. The "sun dogs" appearing in the morning or evening, is a sign of cold, wet, windy weather-especially in winter time.

To the foregoing we might add, as a weather proverb of long standing and observation in our country, that the 17th and 18th of March have always been periods of memorable time. On the 17th, being St. Patrick's day, "he turns up the warm side of the stone" -indicating warm weather must soon follow; and on the 18th, "Shelah comes draggle tail'd," i. e. brings a wet day. In 1760, however, they concerted to bring together a most tremendous snowstorm. We add the following modern rule as a

Weather Denoter.

A wet summer is always followed by a frosty winter, but it happens occasionally that the cold extends no farther. Two remarkable instances of this occurred in 1807-8 and 1813-14. With these exceptions every frosty winter has been followed by a cold summer, The true cause of cold, or rather the direct cause, is to be found in the winter excess of west wind, every winter with excess of west wind being followed by a cold summer; and if there is no cold before, or during a first excess, then a second excess of west wind in winter occasions a still colder summer than the first. It also appears, by repeated experience, that cold does not extend to more than two years at a time. Again, if the winter excess of the east wind be great, in the first instance, the winters will be mild, and followed by mild summers; while the summer excess of east wind is itself, in the first instance, always mild; but uniformly followed by cold winters and cold summers, which continue, more or less, for one or two years, according to circumstances.

MEDICAL SUBJECTS.

m

To note the thousand ills

Which flesh and blood assail.

UNDER this head it is intended to comprise such facts as have come to our knowledge respecting early diseases; to name some of the plants in use as remedies in primitive days; and to cite some facts concerning some of the earliest named physicians.

Of Febrile Diseases.

1687-Phineas Pemberton, in his MSS. states, that a great mortality occurred at the Falls of Delaware, (in 1687) occasioned by the great land flood and rupture."

1699-Isaac Norris, sen. leftamong his papers a record, saying, "About the time of the harvest proved the hottest summer he had ever before experienced. Several persons died in the field with the violence of the heat. In the autumn of the same year the town was visited by a very destructive fever ;-he says of it: This is quite the Barbadoes distemper-[i. e. the yellow fever of modern times,] they void and vomit blood. There is not a day nor night has passed for several weeks but we have the account of the death or sickness of some friend or neighbour. It hath been sometimes very sickly; but I never before knew it so mortal as now-nine persons lay dead in one day at the same time-very few recover. All business and trade down. The fall itself was extremely moderate and open. Five of his own family died.

Thomas Story, a public Friend and the Recorder of the city, has also spoken of this calamity in his Journal, as being a scourge which carried off from six to eight of the inhabitants daily, and visiting the most of the families. "Great was the fear (says he) that fell upon all flesh! I saw no lofty or airy countenances, nor heard any vain jesting; but every face gathered paleness, and many hearts were humbled."

The whole number which died was about 220, of whom about 80 to 90 were of the Society of Friends.

1717-The summer of this year is mentioned in the letter of

* In a letter of subsequent date he says, that "three years after" the same disease became a scourge at New York," such as they had never seen before! Some hundreds died, and many left the town for many weeks, so that the town was almost left desolate."

Jonathan Dickinson, as a time in which was "great prevalence of fever and ague in the country parts adjacent to Philadelphia.”

1741-The summer of this year is called a time of great sicknes in Philadelphia-Vide Secretary Peters' MS. letter to the proprie tary, to wit: It was called the "Palatine distemper," because prevailing among the German emigrants, probably from their confinement on shipboard. The inhabitants were much alarmed and fled to country towns and places, and the country people, in equal fear, avoided to visit the city. From June to October, 250 persons died-others of course recovered. Noah Webster, speaking of this sickness, says, after the severe winter the city was severely visited with "the American plague." The same disease Doctor Bond has said was yellow fever, supposed to have been introduced by a load of sick people from Dublin.

1743-Some of it also again prevailed in Philadelphia, says Secretary Peters, while at the same time, just such another disease visited New York, and was there considered as certainly "not imported." Joel Neaves' case, who died of it at Philadelphia, was thus described, "He had a true genuine yellow fever with black vomit and spots, and suppression of urine-all this from overheating himself in a very hot day, by rowing a boat. He also gave it to others about him, and they to others yet but few of them died."

1747-Noah Webster, in his work on Pestilence, says, "This year the city was again visited by bilious plague", preceded by influenza.

February, 1748, is said by said Peters' letters, was a time of great mortality in all the provinces; it was called " the Epidemic Pleurisy." It thinned the country so much that it was said that servants, to fill the places of others in town and country, were bought in great numbers as fast as they arrived. The Indians were afraid to come to a treaty by reason of the sickness. It stopt suddenly before the summer came.

1754-I perceive by the Gazettes that there were many deaths by reason of the "Dutch distemper."

1755-It had often happened that the servants coming from Germany and Holland, after being purchased, cummunicated a very malignant fever to whole families and neighbourhoods, where they went. It was of such frequent occurrence as to be called in the Gazettes the "Dutch distemper." This year I find it stated, that it is now settled "to be precisely the disease known as the "gaol fever."

Of Smallpox.

This loathsome and appalling disease was of much more peril to our forefathers, than to us in our better management now; to the poor Indians it was terrific and destructive.

The happy art of inoculation was first practised in Philadelphia