610 TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VIII 



as high as 90°. Beginning with a general rainstorm July 5th-7th, fre- 

 quent copious rains broke the drouth. Much damaging had attended 

 the rain, yet the benefits of the storms far outweighed the damage. Some 

 of the storms had tornadic characteristics in small areas. Small grains, 

 standing and in shock, were damaged by the wind and ram. Yet harvest 

 progressed well. Much fruit was blown from the trees, but an abundance 

 remained for full development. 



August was the warmest month of the year, the greatest temperature 

 excess occurring about the 15th-24th, followed by an abrupt change to 

 50° colder at a number of stations. Excessive rainfall in some southwest 

 counties was centered in Shelby county, where 9.46 inches fell at Harlan, 

 but for the State as a whole precipitation was deficient. Shocked grain 

 was damaged in the wet area, while corn, pastures and truck crops were 

 injured by drouth in some eastern counties. Much of the State was visited 

 by severe hailstorms and there was considerable damage from wmd 

 squalls. 



September was warm and considerably drier than the average, the 

 warmest period being the first eight days, during which over much of 

 the State the highest temperatures of the year occurred. Many northern 

 and eastern stations had the highest September temperatures of record — 

 at one station the highest in 50 years. Slight frosts occurred on the 10th, 

 11th, 16th, 25th, 26th and 27th but no damage resulted. Silo filling and 

 fodder cutting made good progress. The corn stood up much better than 

 last year, and there was much less damage from corn ear worm. Commer- 

 cial sweet corn and tomato canning proceeded under favorable conditions, 

 the quality of the pack being very good and the quantity considerably 

 larger than last year. Deficient rainfall impeded plowing and preparation 

 for winter wheat seeding, and together with the heat wave, is thought to 

 have shortened the corn yield slightly, but this was off-set by hastening 

 the maturity of the corn. Winter wheat seeding was delayed to avoid 

 Hessian fly, which was unusually numerous till the close of the month. 



The first six and last eight days of October were unusually warm. 

 Killing frosts occurred on the 9th over a large area In the northwest 

 portion, and on the 12th over most of the State, except a few Mississippi 

 River counties which did not experience a killing frost, till the 18th. 

 About 97 per cent of the corn matured without frost damage. The crop 

 dried rapidly and much was cribbed toward the close of the month. Win- 

 ter wheat seeding progressed rapidly at the beginning of the month and 

 85 per cent was finished by October 10. Moisture was generally sufficient 

 for germination of the wheat which made good growth until near the close 

 of November. Considerable damage to early seeded wheat by Hessian fly 

 was reported. 



An unusual windstorm November 5 blew much corn to the ground over 

 the western two-thirds of the State. Current and subsequent rains dam- 

 aged the down corn, which lay in the muddy fields at temperatures high 

 enough to cause rotting and sprouting. Husking was considerably de- 

 layed by the wet fields through which full loads of corn could not be 

 drawn. Another windstorm Thanksgiving Day, November 30, the most 

 severe in many years, caused further damage to the remnant of corn re- 

 maining in the fields. 



