262 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OP 



Remarks. — By clear days is meant that no clouds were visible at 

 the times of observation ; by cloudy, that some were visible ; and by 

 rainy days, that some rain fell, without reference to quantity. The 

 heaviest rain of the year commenced falling at noon, on the 27th Feb- 

 ruary, and continued without intermission until 10, p. m., of the 28th, 

 measuring 2.10 inches. The last rain of the past season occurred on 

 the 17th June, 1854, and amounted to 0.20 inches. The first rain of 

 the present season was on the 4th October, when 0.14 inches fell. 

 Thus far the present has been a comparatively dry season. The Sac- 

 ramento river remained at a very low stage until 15th March, when it 

 rose 20 feet 2^ inches above low- water mark; since which time it has 

 been gradually falling. The 13th July was the hottest day expe- 

 rienced during the year, and, indeed, since the settlement of the coun- 

 try. The thermometer was observed, in some less favored situations 

 than ours, at 107°, at the hottest time of the day. The mean tempera- 

 ture of the hottest part of the day for the week ending July 15th was 

 97°. The night of the 16th August was the hottest as yet noticed in 

 the country; the thermometer standing at 82° at 10 o'clock, p. m., and 

 70° at sunrise. The weather during the whole winter was mild, dry, 

 and pleasant; and the spring opened early. On the 1st February, the 

 cowslip was observed in profuse blossom on the surrounding plains; 

 on the 15th, the wild violet; on the 20th, the peach tree ; and on the 

 23d, the willow {salix nigra) and the nemophila, a small indigenous 

 blue flower. 



