EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 



489 



Station. 



Date of 

 latest 

 kiUing 

 frost la 

 spring. 



Date of 

 earliest 

 kiUlng 

 frost In 

 autumn. 



Av. date 

 of last 

 kiUIng 

 frost In 

 spring. 



Av. date 



of first 



killing 



frost in 



faU. 



Length of 



growing 



season in 



days. 



Eloise 



Detroit... 

 Grape. . . . 

 Plymouth 



May 27 



May 31 



May 28 



May 28 



Sept. 18 



Sept. 22 



Sept. 19 



Sept. 2 



May 8 



April 29 



May 7 



May 7 



Oct. 

 Oct. 

 Oct. 

 Oct. 



9 

 13 

 13 

 13 



154 

 167 

 159 

 149 



Severe storms are very rare. Hail storms occasionally accompany heavy 

 rains in the growing season and cause considerable damage to corn and oat 

 crops. Such storms are only local, however, usually ranging from 3^ to J^ 

 mile in width and from 3^ to IJ^ miles in length. Records from this portion 

 of Michigan show an average of 134 clear days per year, 101 days partly 

 cloudy, and 130 days cloudy. The prevailing winds are from the southwest, 

 the local winds, however, have an important bearing on this particular area 

 because of the close proximity to the water. The differences in changes of 

 temperature of the air over the land and water cause local winds, called 

 lake breezes, which are important from an agricultural standpoint during 

 the hot part of the season. 



AGRICULTURE 



The agricultural development was slow. The first agriculture started near 

 Lake Erie and along the Raisin and Huron rivers on the higher and sandy 

 lands, was due to ease of clearing and of tillage, and to natural drainage. 

 As water transportation developed making accessible the markets of Detroit 

 and Toledo, agriculture rapidly developed into an important industry. At 

 present 74 per cent of this fertile lake bed is improved. The last to be de- 

 veloped (1850-1875) was the low land in the extreme southeastern part of 

 Lenawee and the southern part of Monroe counties known as the "black 

 swamp" by the Indians and French settlers. This includes some of the best 

 agricultural lands in the United States. 



Owing to soil and climatic conditions this area has a wide crop adaptation. 

 Although the staple farm crops are grown, there has been considerable change 

 in the yields and crops grown since the area was first cultivated. Corn, 

 wheat and potatoes were the first principal crops raised. The rapid depletion 

 of the fertility of the sandy land lowered the yields, while the production 

 increased on the heavy land because of artificial drainage. On account of 

 the introduction of live stock, the proximity to large markets the aspect has 

 changed until at present, the live stock, dairying, grain and hay farming and 

 truck gardening have reached a high state of development. 



While a greater part of the grain produced is fed to live stock on the farm, 

 some is marketed. In the heavy land districts usually more grain is grown 

 than can be fed to the stock but the reverse is true on the sandy land. Of 

 the southern half of the area approximately 24 per cent of the improved land 

 is seeded to corn annually while of the north half corn is grown on only 15 



