350 Meteorological Journal at Marietta, Ohio, for 1842. 



months were remarkable for frosts, there being not one, even 

 August, in which this event did not take place. It is true they 

 were generally light, doing but little damage, yet showing an 

 uncommon deficiency of free caloric in the air and earth. Au- 

 gust, which is usually one of the driest months in the year, was 

 this season very wet, there falling more than six inches of rain, 

 and during the three summer months nearly sixteen inches — an 

 amount quite unusual for this climate. This excessive moisture 

 no doubt had a decided influence on the temperature of the sum- 

 mer. The winds were also from the northerly and easterly quar- 

 ters, rather more than usual. The cool state of the atmosphere 

 had a perceptible effect on the growth and ripening of fruits, es- 

 pecially those which require a high temperature for their well 

 being. Grapes were very slow in maturing, and ripened poorly. 

 The Cucurbitacea and melon crop was almost a complete failure, 

 and all of them were deficient in that rich saccharine juice in 

 which they abound in hot summers. On this account, peaches 

 were not sweet, and lacked flavor. Apples and pears, requiring 

 less heat, ripened finely, and furnished good crops where they 

 escaped the frost; apples especially, from the rains in August, 

 acquired an uncommon growth, and were remarkable for beauty 

 of cuticle as well as size. Some of the pomme-roi, or autumn 

 pippin, in a neighboring garden, weighed from twenty four to 

 twenty eight ounces. The crops of grain, grass and potatoes, 

 were very fine, especially the latter, the cool summer being well 

 suited to their habit of growth. Wheat, which may be called 

 the staple of Ohio, was never better, or more abundant. 



The mean of the autumn months is 51°. 08, which is about 

 the medium for the climate. September, it will be seen, was 

 nearly as warm as August. The last of November was colder 

 than any weather we have had since. On the 17th and 18th of 

 that month a severe storm of wind, rain and snow swept across 

 the western country, doing great damage to the shipping on the 

 lakes. These storms are almost annually periodical, especially 

 on Lake Erie, sometime in November. Twenty or thirty years 

 ago, before the business became so extensive, the navigation of 

 that lake was closed by the first of November, and the vessels 

 laid up in some safe harbor for the winter, no navigator deeming 

 it prudent to venture abroad after that period. 



Marietta, Jan. 14, 1843. 



