Famous quotation about the weather in San Francisco (Duluth in 1900) and a mystery volume with restricted access in Google Books

[Garson O'Toole]

 Jonathan Lighter wrote
> Garson, Eighteenth Century Collections Online contains one volume of this
> magazine only (1793).
>
> I could not find the passage in question.

Thanks very much for checking that, Jon.

George Thompson wrote:
> " If someone wishes to offer an interpretation for the term "open
> winter" I would like to hear it. My guess is that the phrase refers
> to the existence of a large number of competitive race horses."
>
> Your guess baffles me.

Thanks for your response George. Bafflement is the natural response. I
apologize for not including a larger excerpt of extracted text (this
extracted text may be inaccurate):

... number of horses in training, which in the total, including all
ages, we found amounted to 227. But our principal intention in this
article is to confine our remarks and observations to the younger fry,
leaving the elder ones to the places they already occupy in the
registry of their past exploits, hazarding a cursory opinion on their
pretensions as they pass us in their gallops. All admit this to have
been the most open winter in their remembrance. Beresford, when asked
if he ever knew such a Winter, replied with his usual quickness, "Yes,
last Summer." No straw beds have been in requisition here, or tan
gallops at Goodwood. Well, the number of three-year-olds in training
here is sixty-seven ; the twos as yet reckon eighty-eight. Having so
far taken time by the forelock, we retired to rest with the old adage
uppermost in our thoughts — " Early to bed, and early to rise, Makes a
man healthy, wealthy, and wise ;" and by our usual lark-like "
good-morrow to the to the pillow," we were enabled to brush off the
dew on both sides of the town before we saw a nag or heard a snatch of
song from a single stable-boy. ...

Maybe "No straw beds have been in requisition" is a reference to the climate?


George Thompson wrote (message continued):
> My guess is, that it refers to rivers that usually would have
> been frozen over, being open to boat traffic.  the NYC papers
> in the early 19th C paid careful attention to how far south
> below Albany the Hudson had frozen in the early winter, and
> how far and how soon the ice was retreating in the early
> spring.

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