148 



SOKGHUM. 



Total rain-fall, May and June Indies .. 



" " July, Aiisusl, September " ... 



" " May to September, inclusive. " ... 



Average daily raiii-fall, May and June " ... 



" " " .July, August, September.. ... " 



Average mean temperature'. May and June ...Degrees F. 



" July, August, September. " 



" " " May to Sept'r, inclusive. . " 



1882. 



7.33 

 16.74 

 24.07 

 .120 

 182 

 66 4 

 73 

 70 40 



RAIN-FALLS. 



1880 6 in all, May to September, inclusive, aggregating 9.99 inches. 



1881 ... 3 " " " " " 4,87 



1882... 10 " " " " " 14.11 



By reference to the above data" it will be seen, that the past three 

 seasons, covering most of the experiments in cultivation here recorded, 

 have been very unlike in their climatic conditions. 



Comparison of Seasons 1880 and 1881. 



The croj^ returns for 1881, and universal testimony, agree that that 

 season was, over a wide area of our country, of an almost unprecedented 

 character. A cold, backward spring, and a drought of exceptional se- 

 verity, united to produce most unfavorable results. 



The records which follow will fully sustain the general o^iinion, and 

 explain sufficiently the reasons of failure in sugar making. 



It will be observed, that the average mean temperature for May and 

 Jane, in 1880, was 72.8°, while, for the same months in 1881, it Avas 

 69.4°; also, that the total rain-fall for these months was, in 1880, 6.89 

 inches, of which amount 5.29 inches fell in three rains, pretty evenly 

 distributed over the two months, viz: May 11th, 1.40 inches; May 

 22nd and 23rd, 1.61 inches; and June 13th, 2.28 inches. 



On the other hand, in May and June, 1881,- the total rain-fall was 

 7.57 inches, of Avhich 5.71 inches fell in June. 



Also, it will be observed that, during the three months of July, Au- 

 gust, and September, in 1880, the mean average temperature was 

 73.4°, and the total rain-fall 9.37 inches; the mean average tempera- 

 ture for these months in 1881 was 76.9°, while the total rain-fall was 

 (jnly 4.93 inches, and of this small amount nearly half, 2.19 inches, 

 fell in Sei^tember. 



The results, however, secured in the plat of sorghum 2:)lanted on the 

 grounds of the. department, fully justify the reputation this plant has 

 of being able to withstand drought, although it appears necessary to 

 this end, that the crop should secure a good start before the drought. 

 Such, as will be seen, was the case in the experimental plat above men- 



