New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 445 
METEOROLOGY FOR 1890. 
The early part of this report year, as well as the whole winter 
was very mild. The frequent rains and lack of frost in the ground 
for so much of the winter was injurious to cultivators of the soil. 
This was most noticeable in the heavy condition of the land in 
the spring. It required very much more work to reduce the soil 
to a condition suitable for seed than usual. That part of this — 
condition is chargeable to the heavy spring rains is probably 
true, but the lack of deep frost and. long period during which the 
soil was kept full of water must have been the predominant 
influence. 
The months of May and June this year were the ones during 
which the heaviest rainfall occurred. Planting was greatly 
retarded by wet weather, and it was not until very late that some 
clay fields could be prepared for seed. 
Following the wet season came a drought which, in its effects 
on crops, was quite as harmful to some crops as the wet spring 
had been to others. 
During September there was a change of observers of the 
meteorological instruments, and to Mr. R. D. Newton is due the 
credit of continuing all the readings for the remainder of the year, 
as he had been some time taking those of the barometer and wind 
records. 
The soil thermometers were set in their usual positions a few 
days late and read at regular intervals, as they have been in 
previous years. The record is included in the tables at the end 
of this report, as usual. : 
This record of the temperature of the soil at 7 a. m., 12 mM. and 
6 Pp. M., is comparable with itself in the different’ years it has been 
taken, but they give us no correct idea of the average temperature 
of the soil, nor of the extremes. 
The writer conceives of many points of interest which might be 
turned to practical value if continuous record of soil temperature 
along with its hygrometric condition and color, ete, could be 
studied along with the seasonal growth of plants. 
Some simple rules from such studies, formulated for the pur- 
pose and generally known, might save much replanting of spring 
crops as a first practical result. 
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