FARMS. 



103 



was well cured, went far to balance the damage done to the first 

 crop. 



The season continued wet to the close. Professor G. P. Bond 

 has kindly furnished for this report the annexed table, showing 

 the monthly fall of water, in rain and snow, at the observatory 

 of Cambridge College, for the year 1863 : — 



January, .... 4.427 inches. 



February, . . . 1.634 " 



March, .... 2.457 " 



April, 7.391 " 



May, 1.672 " 



June, 2.470 " 



July, 12.426 inches. 



August, .... 5.567 " 



September, . . . 2.983 " 



October, .... 3.401 « 



November, . . . 6.536 " 



December, . . . 5.457 " 



Making a total of 56.417 inches, which is 13.411 inches more 

 than the yearly average for 34 years. We have now had two 

 consecutive years in which the quantity of rain has been consid- 

 erably greater than the general average. 



But while this section of the country has been thus copiously 

 watered, some other sections, particularly^ the North-western 

 States, have been so scantily supplied that many crops suffered 

 from drought. The latter section was also visited by untimely 

 frosts, which cut off the Indian corn crop to such an extent that 

 the price of that grain has been, and still is, higher in the east- 

 ern markets than it has been for many years previously. It is 

 worthy of note that at the time the damaging frosts occurred 

 at the West, viz. : on the 17th and 18th of July, and the 30th 

 and 31st of August, there was none to injure vegetation east- 

 ward of Lake Erie. 



The visits of the committee to farms, have not been as numer- 

 ous during the season of 1863, as in some former years. We 

 had one entry for the premium offered for the best-cultivated 

 farm, viz. : that of Walter H. Fisher, of Franklin. Some 

 remarks in regard to this farm will be found in another part of 

 this report. 



The committee made a brief visit to the farm of E. W. Clap, 

 of Walpole. It consists of about 500 acres, a large proportion 

 of which is woodland. About 100 acres, comprising the home- 

 stead, is of superior quality, naturally, and being well-cultivated, 

 is very productive. A barn 100 feet long, 40 feet wide, with 



