398 



ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



TABLE FOR BOSTON, MASS. LAT. 42 21' 22".7 N., LONG. 

 71 4' 9" W. BY ROBERT T. PAINE, ESQ. 



The mean temperature of each month in 1850, was : 



Jan. Feb. 



Mar. Apr. May. June. 



Mean for 1350, . 30.S1 32.33 



Mean last 26 years, . 27.80 27.87 



Do. first 13 years, . 26.82 27.94 



Do. second 13 do., . 23.73 27.80 



Highest in 1850, . 48 57.25 



Lowest " " . 12 1.25 



Range " " . 36 56 



o 



35 24 

 36.21 

 36.15 

 36.26 

 62.5 

 12.5 

 50 



43.54 



46.37 



46.30 



46.43 



72.5 



25.5 



47 



o 



51.84 

 5646 

 56.86 

 56.05 

 7.3.5 

 33 

 37.5 



66.61 



66.21 



65.63 



66.73 



94.5 



45 



July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Mean. 



Mean for 1850, 70.81 67.55 



Mean last 28 years, . 71.61 69.43 



Do. first 13 years, . 71.20 63.85 



Do. second 13 do., . 72.02 70.01 



Highest in 1850, . 89 82 



Lowest " " .55.5 52 



Range " " . 33.5 30 



o 



62.87 

 6225 

 61.71 

 62.79 

 83 

 41.5 

 41.5 



5337 



51.50 



51.76 



51.25 



73.5 



31 



42.5 



43.94 



41.01 



40.72 



41.29 



65.5 



26.5 



39 



29.86 

 31.10 

 31.03 

 31.17 

 52 

 6.5 

 45.5 



49.19 

 49.03 

 43.83 

 49.34 

 94.5 

 1.25 

 93.25 



The thermometer was highest June 20, at 2 P. M., and lowest Feb. 6th, at sunrise. 

 The greatest sudden change in the thermometer occurred on June 20, it falling in one hour 

 during the squall from tlie west, at 2$ P. M., 23 ; ^ degrees, so that at 3i P. M. it stood at 

 71. The barometer was highest on Feb. 6, at sunrise, when its altitude, reduced to the 

 temperature of 50 and to the mean level of the sea, was 30.89; and was lowest on Dec. 

 23, at H P. M., when its altitude was 23.69; sothat its range during the year was 2.20 

 inches. Its most sudden changes in the year occurred on Dec. 22, 23 ; and 24, viz. : 



Dec. 22, at 2 P. M., its corrected altitude was, . 



23, at H " " " " 



24, at 10 " " " " 



30.10 

 28.69 

 30.44 



Being a fall of 1.41 inch in 23 hours, and a rise of 1.75 inch in 33 hours. Although the 

 temperature of the last year was very near the average of the last 26 (+0.ll), those of 

 the four seasons were not so ; the winter months, or December, 1849, and January and Feb- 

 ruary, 1850, and those of the autumn, or September, October, and November, having been 

 very mild, whilst the spring and summer were cold, as will be seen by the folio wing~table, 

 for which I have adopted the usual distribution of the month, although it would be more cor- 

 rect to consider the spring and autumn as commencing at the equinoxes, and summer 

 and winter at the solstices; as the first half of December is on the average several degrees 

 warmer than that of March, and the first half of September than that of June. 



Winter months, 

 Spring 

 Summer " 

 Autumn " 



Mean of year, 



Average for 26 years. 1850. 



28.96 31.79, 



. 46.35 43.54, 



69.03 63.33, 



. 51.60 53.39, 



or Dec. 1849, Jan. and Feb. 1850. 

 ' March. April, and May, 1850. 

 " June, July, and August, 1850. 

 " Sept., Oct., and Nov. 1850. 



49.00 49.26 



The months are reckoned as of equal length, which causes the apparent difference in 

 the mean of the year for 26 years. 



The month of May, 1850, was the coldest of the last 26, and on June 1 vegetation was 

 full 14 days behind the average. 



In 1850, the summer months were the coldest since 1837, having been 0.75 below the 

 average. Small as this quantity may seem, its effects were very evident on Indian corn, 

 which for the most part ripened well, but not without exceptions, some ears remaining 

 immatured by the side of others fully ripe, thus rendering it quite probable that a reduc- 

 tion of only one degree more would have nearly ruined the crop. 



The observations for temperature are made at sunrise; at 2 P. M., during January, 

 February, March, April, November, and December; at 2 P. M., during May, June, Sep- 

 tember, and October ; at 3 P. M., during July and August ; and at 10 P. M. There is usu- 

 ally a difference of 5 at sunrise between the temperature of the city and suburbs, and of 

 2, equal to about 2 of latitude, during the day; yet partial observations indicate that 

 the temperature of springs is quite as high in the city as in the country at equal depths. 



