XVI 



)R are the insects the only 

 plagues which menace our cher- 

 ished gardens, and our carefully 

 planted wood-lots ; there are 

 weather conditions that no vigilance can 

 elude, which add tremendously to the dif- 

 ficulties of the planter of flower or tree. 



On the south shore of Massachusetts Rainless 



, , weather on 



Bay almost every summer sees a long the South 

 period of rainless weather. The thunder- ^ 

 storms that gather portentously after hot 

 days, are apt to drift away to the north, 

 with only the tiniest sprinkling of our dusty 

 roads and parched fields, to pour their 

 wealth upon the crags of Swampscott and 

 Lynn, Beverly and Marblehead. With 

 jealous eyes we watch the rain descending 

 upon our opposite neighbors of the North 

 Shore, while we continue to dry up for 

 want of it. 



This period of dry weather usually be- 

 193 



