TENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PA KT I 27 



was heavy on low ground over the northern and northeastern counties, 

 but little or no daniage was done except to tender vines. The rains dur- 

 ing the first half of the month revived the pastures and softened the 

 ground sufficiently to permit fall plowing to be resumed, and excellent 

 progress was made in plowing and seeding fall grains during the re- 

 mainder of the month. The rains were beneficial to the late planted 

 corn and the dry weather during the last six days caused the early corn 

 to mature rapidly, and nearly 90 per cent of the crop was beyond danger 

 of frost by the end of the month. High winds on the 12th did much 

 damage in blowing down and breaking corn stalks. The yield of pota- 

 toes and the second crop of hay were light on account of the August 

 drought. 



The mean temperature for October was slightly below the normal, the 

 average daily deficiency being 2.2°. During the past 19 years there have 

 been five colder Octobers, but there are no records of as low tempei'a- 

 ture during the first 15 days of October as was registered during that 

 period in October, 1909, when the minimum temperature ranged from 

 10° to 20° G"ver the northern and from 15° to 23° over the southern coun- 

 ties. The ground was frozen to such an extent that potatoes remaining 

 in the ground were considerably damaged. Cabbage and turnips were 

 also injured, and, over the southern portion of the State, many thousand 

 bushels of apples were frozen on the trees. The precipitation, while 

 below the normal for the month, was general from the 8th to the 12th, 

 and the rainfall was mixed with light snow flurries on the 11th and 12th, 

 which is much earlier than usual for the first snow of the season. Rains 

 v.ere also general between the 20th and the 23d and on the afternoon and 

 evening of the 31st. Fall plowing was continued and the growth of 

 winter grains was satisfactory. Corn husking was begun about the 

 middle of the month, but, ovving to the excessive amount of moisture in 

 the cob, it could not be cribbed in large quantities. 



November, 1909, will go on record as having been the wettest and one 

 of the warmest Novembers since State-wide observations began in 1890. 

 Both the temperature and precipitation were above the normal at every 

 station in the State, which is unprecedented for that season of the year. 

 The average temperature for the State was 42.4°, which is 6.5° above the 

 normal and the highest average for November during the past 19 years, 

 except in 1899, when the average was 43.9°. The 4th, 18th and 19th were 

 the only days in the month on which rain or snow did not fall in some 

 part of the State. The heaviest precipitation occurred between the 11th 

 and 16th, and the monthly amounts exceeded all former records for No- 

 vember. The amounts of snowfall over the northern counties also ex- 

 ceeded all November records; the monthly amounts ranged from 8 inches 

 to 29.5 inches in the northern district. The frequent and heavy rains 

 and the frostless v.eather caused high- water in all rivers and creeks, 

 many of which, especially in the central and western districts, were at 

 flood stage and overflowed the bottom lands, which is an unusual condi- 

 tion for November. The rains interfered with the corn harvest and made 

 the roads so muddy that they were almost impassable. Much of the corn 

 way lying on the ground and the grain was seriously damaged by the 



