THE WEATHER ITS EFFECT ON THE FARM. 



In every report issued since July, we have had to notice the unusual, severe, 

 and destructive cold that, in every month since June, has occurred in the Missis- 

 sippi valley. The great degree of cold, and the sudden change of the 31st of 

 December, appears to be one of the same character. 



It belongs to the meteorological division of these reports to notice it fully, 

 as seen and noted by the observers of the Smithsonian Institution ; but our reg- 

 ular farm correspondents have kindly sent us so many notices of its action on 

 the farm, that we cannot here pass them by. We take up some of them in dif- 

 ferent States and show the extent of the cold, its character and desfructiveness. 



WlSCON>lN, Fond Du Lac county, January 1. — Wind north, extremely cold 

 and blustering; snowed all night, and drifted all day; highways and railroad 

 blockaded; thermometer 35 degrees below zero. 



January 2. — Wind northwest; thermometer 38 degrees below zero. The 

 coldest day and hardest storm ever knoAvn in Wisconsin. 



January 6. — Wind west; slight abatement of the cold; measured the snow; 

 found it 24^ inches on the level. 



Mr. Edwin lieynolds, of Metomen, iu this county, sends the month of January, 

 thus reported, and Ave commend his course to all our correspondents. Although 

 we cannot quote his report in full, yet we preserve it for future reference. 



Illimois. — Mr. John Hill, of Petersburg, Menard county, sends us the follow- 

 ing report from Toulon, in Stark county : 

 January 1st, 30 degrees below zero. January 7th, 15 degrees below zero. 



2d, 23 " " " 8th, 22 " ' 



3d, 18 " " " 9th, 7 



4th, 7 " " " 10th, 3 



5th, 14 " " " llih, 2 



6th, 21 



He adds: " 500 head of sheep perished under the snow-drifts in Menard county. 

 All young pigs that were not very well protected died, either from the snow 

 drifting or from the cold. Twenty-five per cent, of the sucking calves were 

 lost. Many fat hogs, and those partially so, were smothered beneath the snow 

 or died from their ^«7/«^ — that is, piling on top of each other." 



¥vom Hennipcn county, Mr. William Darley writes : "The peach trees in this 

 county appear to be all killed by the severe cold weather of the first of January. 

 Also some varieties of the apple." 



Iowa. — Yvova Adams county, ^Iv. J. L. Ellis says: "The coldest day was 

 January 1; thermometer 24^ degrees below zero; wind northwest and clear. 

 During the first three days of January the thermometer kept below zero all the 

 time." 



Missouri. — Mr. John H. Tice, from St. Louis, adds to his regular report the 

 following: "January 1. — The thermometer sank to 26 degrees below zero on the 

 night of 31st of December, and remained below zero /or nearly two weeks. On 

 the morning of 31st it was 16"^ above. Soon a snow-storm set in, and by three 

 o'clock p. in. the thermometer indicated 10 degrees below zero, with a gale 

 blowing from nearly due west. Stock has suffered severely. Horses, mules, 

 cows and hogs, more or less, have perished in the storm. Our peach trees are 

 killed to the ground. Nearly all our heart-cherries the same. Quinces, fully one- 

 half killed. Pear trees, much damage to tender varieties; young wood nearly 

 all killed. Vineyards badly injured; even the hardy Concord has sufi'ered. 

 I have some dozen varieties ; none have escaped injury. No material damage to 

 apple trees. Blackberries and raspberries all killed where not protected by snow- 

 drifts. Here, the Avind was one or two points north of west; at Kansas city, it 



