246 STORRS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



METEOROLOGICAI, OBSERVATIONS AT STORRS 



AND GENERAL WEATHER AND 



CROP REVIEW. 



REPORTED BY C. S. PHELPS. 



The Station equipment at Storrs for meteorological observa- 

 tions consists of the ordinary instruments for determining tem- 

 peratures, pressure of the air, humidity, rainfall and snowfall, 

 similar to those in use by the Weather Bureau of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture. A summary of the okser- 

 vations made at Storrs is given in Table 137. 



In addition to the records made at Storrs, the rainfall for the 

 summer season (May i to October 31) was recorded by eight 

 farmers in different parts of the State in cooperation with the 

 Station. These measurements are given in Table 136, together 

 with those supplied by thirteen stations of the New England 

 Meteorological Society. 



The total precipitation for the year as recorded at Storrs was 

 66.5 inches. This is the heaviest annual precipitation since 

 the Station began observations in 1888, being about 19.5 inches 

 above the average (47.0 inches) for thirteen years. The rain- 

 fall was exceptionally heavy during January, March, April and 

 May and again in July and December. The early part of the 

 season was so wet and cool that farm work was greatly delayed 

 and much seed rotted in the ground. The seasons for plant- 

 ing, cultivating and haying were crowded upon each other so 

 closely that some kinds of farm work had to be neglected in 

 favor of the most important. The hay crop was generall}^ 

 benefited by the wet sea.son, but potatoes were nearh' a failure, 

 and corn was considerably damaged on many fields. Pastures 

 continued to supply good feed throughout the season, so that 

 the year proved to be a favorable one for the dairy farmer. 

 From the table of rainfall observations reported from 22 locali- 

 ties in the State, for the six months (May i to October 31), it 

 will be noticed that the average rainfall for the State was quite 

 heavy for each mouth except June. 



