CABINET OF NATURE,
FOR THE YEAR.
JANUARY.
"Stern Winter's icy breath, intensely keen,
Now chills the blood and withers every green ;
Bright shines the azure sky serenely fair ;
Or driving snows obscure the turbid air."
ON the first of this month, we, in common
with most civilized nations, date the commencement of the year.
In the month of January, the weather in these islands is commonly, either
a clear dry frost, or fog and snow, occasionally intermingled with rain. Nothing
can be more wonderful than the effects of frost, which in the space of a few
hours, arrests the running stream in its course, and converts the lake, that
was curled by every breeze, into a firm plain. Water, when frozen, is expanded
; that is, it takes up more room than before. This property of frost produces
a benefi- |