The climate of Massachusetts is perhaps more variable than that of any other of the New England states; not having the steady winter cold of those to the north, nor the general mildness in summer of those immediately south. Fires are necessary from November to May; and there are days, even in June, when they are not only comfortable, but indispensable for comfort. Cattle are housed in November. In winter, travelling is not often impeded by great falls of snow; though heavy and severe snow storms occur. The rivers and ponds are frozen three months in the year; and the harbors are usually closed a week or fortnight, and sometimes for a much longer time. As there are many cold days in summer, so also there are many warm days in winter; and the field which is at night soft enough to receive the plough, may be chained with frost and buried in snow before morning. Winter sets in late; frequently not till December, but, recently, it has gone quite through the spring months. Indeed, the most disagreeable portion of the year, is during March and April and part of May, when the east are prevailing winds. In autumn there is much weather truly delightful. Apples and pears flourish well in Massachusetts, peach trees sometimes suffer from the late spring and the early autumnal frosts. It is difficult to find an accurate description of so variable a climate; as no tolerably correct account of it could be given, except in the details of a meteorological table. The climate of Rhode Island and Connecticut does not differ very materially from that of Massachusetts. In the southern parts of these states, summer may set in a few days earlier, and the winter be generally a little more temperate, but the change of climate is slight. In the very cold tract are included the eastern and northern parts of New York, being the mountainous country, and the region lying to the east of it. Here the winters are long and severe, being more so as you proceed to the north. The climate of this region may be generally described as similar to that of the New England states, which lies in the same latitude. In the parts of Michigan territory, lying within this region, the climate resembles that of Canada. In the region we have called _very cold_, the range of the thermometer is from thirty degrees below zero to ninety-eight above it; including great extremes both of heat and cold.