viii BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



At Amherst ice began to be harvested in good condition 

 in December. Sleighing was good pretty much all winter. 

 On the evening of February 28 snow-squalls were accom- 

 panied with frequent flashes of lightning. On the 2d and 3d 

 of April a storm gave eleven inches of snow, lasting only a 

 few days. 



The weather for May was cold and dry, with a small 

 number of rainy days and a slight excess of sunshine. The 

 mean temperature was only slightly below the normal, but 

 there were severe I extensive and severe frosts, the tempera- 

 ture on several mornings going below the freezing point of 

 water. Ice formed, and ground froze to the depth of one 

 inch in places, on the 4th. On the 19th frost was especially 

 severe except on the immediate coast. Light snow-squalls 

 occurred in sections on the 6th. 



The precipitation at seven stations in Massachusetts having 

 records for more than ten years was 1.37 inches below the 

 average . 



Although the average temperature and total precipitation 

 during June varied very little from the normal, the extremes 

 of heat and cold and of drought and moisture were well 

 marked. Hot, muggy weather and heavy rains with thunder- 

 storms occurred on the 2d and night of the 3d. The temper- 

 ature fell rapidly on the 4th, under the influence of cool, 

 north-westerly winds, reaching the minimum for the month 

 on the evening of the 5th. A general frost occurred on that 

 morning, though its evil effects were somewhat checked by 

 a thick fog that spread over most low lands. From the 5th 

 to the 16th the weather was generally fair, with only an 

 occasional trace of rain on the 12th, and with steadily increas- 

 ing temperature from day to day. On the 16th the tem- 

 perature reached nearly 100°, except at Nantucket. This 

 degree of heat is almost unprecedented so early in the month. 

 The drying winds that prevailed helped to make the drought 

 very severe. The temperature fell rapidly on the 17th, and 

 copious rains fell till the 23d, being particularly heavy on 

 the 2 2d. Threatening weather, with occasional rain and low 

 temperature, continued till the end of the month. On the 

 26th a thunder-storm moved easterly over southern New 

 England, accompanied in the Connecticut valley by con- 

 siderable hail. 



