SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS. MEDICINAL SPRINGS. the farmer who is saving and industrious lands, which consist of a dark, deep and ing, because it will express our meaning more briefly and intelligibly to the greater part of our readers, than any other we could employ. It may be derived from inter-within, and vallis-a vale, or valley; and in its specific signification, it denotes those alluvial flats, lying along the margins of streams, which have been, or occasionally are overflowed in consequence of the rising of the water. For the use of the word in this sense, we have the authority of Dr. Belknap and Dr. Williams, the historians of New Hampshire and Vermont, and other good writers. the shore of Lake Champlain, in the said to resemble the Harrow Gate waters Of medicinal springs on the west side CLARENDON SPRINGS. CLARENDON AND PLYMOUTH CAVES. of the year, and water stands in the lowest parts of it at all seasons." * The Plymouth caves are situated at the base of a considerable mountain, on the southwest side of Black river, and about 50 rods from that stream. They are ex parts of the country. They are situated in a | picturesque and beautiful region, 7 miles southwest from Rutland, and have, in their immediate vicinity, good accommodations for 500 visiters. The waters are found to be highly efficacious in affections of the liver, dispepsia, urinary and all cu-cavations among the lime rock, which taneous complaints, rheumatism, inveterate sore eyes, and many others, and they promise fair to go on increasing in notoriety and usefulness. These waters differ in their composition from any heretofore known, but resemble most nearly the German Spa water. For their curative properties they are believed to be indebted wholly to the gases they contain. They have been analyzed by Mr. Augustus A Hayes, of Roxbury, Mass., with the following results. One gallon, or 235 cubic inches of the water contained, Carbonic acid gas Sulphate of Soda Sulphate of Magnesia 46.16 cubic inch. 2.74 grs. One hundred cubic inches of the gas have evidently been made by running more than half as large as the first. The which was evolved from the water, con- being about 25 feet below the surface of sisted of 66 66 the ground, and is composed principally of loose sand, while the bottoms of all the other rooms are chiefly rocks and stones. The passage into the third room is 4 feet wide and 5 high, and the room is 14 feet long, 8 wide, and 7 high. The fourth room is 30 feet long, 12 wide, and 18 high, and the rocks, which form the sides, in Carbonic acid gas 0.05 cubic inches. Oxygen gas 1.50 66 Nitrogen gas 98.45 66 The Alburgh springs do not differ materially from the springs at Newbury, Tunbridge, and other places in the northeastern part of the state, owing their med-cline towards each other and meet at the icinal properties principally to the sulphuretted hydrogen gas, which they con tain. ous. top like the ridge of a house. The fifth room, very much resembling an oven in shape, is 10 feet long, 7 wide, and 4 high, Caves. There are no caves in Vermont and the passage into it from the third which will bear comparison with some of room is barely sufficient to admit a person the caverns found in other parts of the to crawl in. At the top of this room is a world, and yet we have several, which conical hole, 10 inches across at the base are deserving the attention of the curi- and extending 2 feet into the rock. From Those at Clarendon, Plymouth and the north side of the second room are two Danby are the most interesting. The openings leading to the sixth and seventh, Clarendon cave is situated on the south-which are connected together, and each easterly side of a mountain in the westerly part of that town. The descent into it is through a passage 24 feet in diameter and 31 feet in length, and which makes an angle of 35 or 40° with the horizon. It then opens into a room 20 feet long, 12 wide, and 18 or 20 feet high. The floor, sides and roof of this room are all of solid rock, but very rough and uneven. From the north part of this room is a passage about 3 feet in diameter and 24 feet in length, but very rough and irregular, which leads to another room 20 feet wide, 30 feet long and 18 feet high. This room, being situated much lower than the first, is usually filled with water in the spring about 15 feet long, 7 wide, and 5 high. From the seventh room is a narrow passage which extends northerly 15 or 16 feet into the rocks, and there appears to terminate. When discovered, the roof and sides of this cavern were beautifully ornamented with stalactites, and the bottom with corresponding stalagmites, but most of these have been rudely broken off and carried away by the numerous visiters. The temperature, both in winter and summer, varies little from 44°, which is about the mean temperature of the climate of Vermont in that latitude. A few * Williams' History of Vermont, vol. 1, p. 29. CLIMATE AND TEMPERATURE. METEOROLOGICAL JOURNALS. rods to the westward of this cavern there | places in this state, was as follows: Mont- is said to be another which is about two SECTION III. Climate and Meteorology. middle of the north temperate zone, the climate of Vermont is subject to very considerable extremes both of heat and cold, and the changes of temperature are often very sudden. The usual annual range of the thermometer, in the shade, is from about 92° above to 22° below zero on Farenheit's scale, though it is some- times known to rise as high as 100°, and at other times to sink as low as 36°, and even to 39° or 40° below zero. But so great a degree of cold as that last men- tioned, which is the freezing point of mercury, has not, to our knowledge, been experienced but twice since the means of measuring temperature have been in use in the state, and these were both in the year 1835; the first on the 4th of January, and the second on the morning of the 18th of December. The temperature of pelier -40°, White River -40°, Bradford -38°, Newbury -36°, Norwich -36°, Windsor -34°, Hydepark -36°, Rutland -30°, and Burlington -269; and the temperature varied but little from the above at those places on the 18th of De- cember. For some time after the first settlement of Vermont the thermometer was hardly known in this part of the country; and since that instrument has become common, very few meteorological journals have been kept, and those few have not, in general, been kept with suffi- cient care to render them of much value, nor have many of them been preserved in a condition to be accessible to those who may wish to consult them. And hence we possess few accurate data, either for determining the mean annual tempera- ture of the different sections of the state, or for settling the mooted question with regard to a change of climate correspond- ing to the clearing and cultivating of the country. The results of the principal ob- servations, to which we have access, and which have been made in this state, to ascertain the temperature of the months 1828.1832 1833 1838 1839 1840 1841 25.0 19.7 22.8 26.1 18.6 12.2 25.3 31.1 19.3 15.3 12.3 24.2 28.4 19.6 32.4 30.8 28.2 32.636.6 31.4 25.3 39.2 39.4 46.1 35.8 46.3 47.0 39.1 57.6 52.4 57.0 51.7 53.3 57.252.8 69.7 61.3 59.6 68.1 60.7 65.6 67.1 70.1 68.5 66.2 71.8 71.5 71.6 68.9 70.2 68.3 63.3 67.5 68.3 72.5 70.5 60.8 58.7 57.2 60.5 60.6 58.3 61.9 46.7 47.7 44.9 46.8 50.8 48.0 45.0 38.9 35.6 34.5 31.3 34.0 35.6 35.3 29.3 23.6 24.7 19.1 26.2 21.1 26.4 47.6 43.8 43.3 43.645.5 45.7 44.8 Meteorological observations at Williamstown by Hon. Elijah Paine. |1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 11.4 10.9 17.1 19.3 12.5 17.9 17.3 9.7 23.9 15.3 9.0 21.6 10.9 14.3 14.6 14.6 13.5 26.5 12.6 10.5 16.7 9.9 20.8 23.7 15.8 54.8 49.6 53.2 41.2 41.7 36.1 34.5 36.5 31.2 41.2 40.7 34 7 MEAN TEMPERATURE AT BURLINGTON AND WILLIAMSTOWN. WINDS. earth; the temperature of these may, therefore, be regarded as a pretty fair indication of the mean annual temperature of the climate. The temperature of a well 40 feet deep, belonging to Mr. Samuel Reed, in Burlington, has been observed and noted during the year 1841 as follows, the first number after the day of the month being the depth in feet to the surface of the water at the time of the observation: Jan. 1, 14-46°, Feb. 12, 18-444°, April 14, 16-44°, June 1, 1044°, July 20, 10-461°, and Dec. 8, 20— 45°, giving a mean of 45.1°, or 3o higher than that deduced from the daily obser With the exception of the first three by the changes of temperature which are columns in the first of the two preceding constantly going on at the surface of the tables, the particulars of which are not known, all the means for the months have been deduced from three daily observations, taken at sun-rise, 1 o'clock, P. M. and 9 in the evening. Now, as the three daily observations at Burlington synchronize for several years with those at Williamstown, the two tables enable us to make a very accurate comparison of the mean temperature of the two places; and the comparison shows that the mean temperature of Burlington, although situated 22' farthest north, is about 5 warmer than that of Williamstown, that of the former being 44.6% and the latter 39.4°. But the cause of this difference is obvi-vations. ous in the location of the two places, Burlington being situated on the margin of lake Champlain, and the place of observation elevated only 250 feet above it, while Williamstown lies among the Green Mountains near the geographical centre of the state, and, the place of Judge Paine's observation, elevated 1500 feet above the lake.* The mean annual temperature of Burlington, deduced from all of the 12 years observations in the preceding table, is 44.1°, and from the seven years observations by the author 44.9°, but, as the year 1828 was very remarkably warm, that should, perhaps, be set aside, and the mean of the other six, 44.4°, taken as probably a fair statement of the mean annual temperature of Burlington. The mean annual temperature of Williamstown, deduced from the whole of Judge Paine's observations, is 40.3. Many perennial springs, and deep wells are found to continue nearly of the same temperature, both in summer and winter, and to be but very little affected Winds. For small sections of country the prevailing winds usually take their direction from the position of the mountains and valleys. That is very much the case in Vermont. Through the valley of the Connecticut and of lake Champlain the winds usually blow in a northerly or southerly direction, while easterly and westerly winds are comparatively of rare occurrence. In the valley of lake Champlain east winds are exceedingly rare, as will be seen by the following tables.* Along our smaller rivers, particularly the Winooski and the Lamoille, the prevailing winds are from the northwest. The following tables contain the result of observations made at Burlington, for eleven years, and at Rutland for one year. In the journal kept by the author at Burlington, and from which the tables on the following page were copied, three observations of wind and weather were entered each day, which synchronize with the observations of temperature for the same years in the preceding table, on the ninth page. The following table contains the results of five years observation at Burlington, by Dr. Saunders, and one year at Rutland, by Dr. Williams. Place. Time. No.Obs. N NE E SE S SW W NW fair. Jelody rain] snw fog[thunļau Burlington 1803-8 1682 739 11 19 1826 25 431 18 1025 676 289 127 19 45 27 1095 153 13 16 76 272|182|125|258|| 452 643 89 41 37 1521 *The author has in his possession a meteorological journal kept at Hydepark by Dr. Ariel Huntoon, for a period of 9 years, of which he had intended to insert an abstract; but, finding the three daily observations to have been made too near the warmest part of the day to furnish the true mean temperature of the 24 hours, and consequently unsuitable for comparison with the other tables, he concluded not to insert it. In order to render meteorological observations of service in determining the relative temperature of places, uniformity in the method of making them seems to be indispensable, and a want of this renders a great part of the journals which have been kept nearly useless. Although, at Burlington, we seldom have a wind from the east sufficiently strong to turn the vanes upon our churches, it is not uncommon, during the latter part of the night and early in the morning, when the weather is fair, to have a light breeze from the east, which is doubtless occasioned by the rolling down of the cold air from the mountains to supply the rarefaction over the lake. In other words, it is strictly a land breeze, similar to what occurs between the tropics. That these breezes are local and limited is evident from the fact, that, at the same time, the general motion of the air is in a different direction, as indicated by the motion of clouds in higher regions of the atmosphere, METEOROLOGICAL TABLE.-WINDS AND WEATHER AT BURLINGTON. 80J ne 110 July Aug 90 14 0 0 0 52 312 9 70 1515 0 Sept 93 22 0 0 2 53 2 2 12 53 30 10 0 Oct 224 2 5 616 Total 1098 364 16 621500 2657 107 640 329,81 57 Total 1095 482 24 525 478 655 20 731 295 52 17 Total 1098 278 42 36 70 479 37 72 84 697 307 68 26 1833 Obs. Nne E SE S sw WN W fair cldy 'r'ns 1839 Obs. Nne E SE |ཊྛ O 4 223 July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 0 7 18 3 02230 455 Nov 18 Nov Dec Total 1095 443 23 625 4861146 55 660 341 65 29 Total 1095 361 38 13 47 503 23 57 43 729 285 64 17 Total 1095 343 29 13 43 410 3793 107 678288 7752 |