viii BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



as shortening crops and thus reducing profits, and others 

 alluded to the scarcity of help as increasing expenses and 

 so cutting down profits. Tobacco has proved to have been 

 a very paying crop this season, while the profits from other 

 special crops, as potatoes and onions, have been very small 

 indeed. 



Massachusetts Weather, 1895. 



[Compiled from data furnished by the New England Weather Service.] 



January gave slightly warmer weather than normal in the 

 eastern part of the State, and slightly colder in central and 

 western counties. There was no general thaw and no ex- 

 tremely cold weather. The precipitation was above the 

 normal in the southern part, but less than the usual amount 

 came in the centre and north. About the normal amount of 

 snow fell during the month, and with the steady temperature 

 most of it remained on the ground, giving a good protection 

 to all roots and shrubs. The only storm of marked severity 

 was that of the 26th-27th, when some damage was done 

 along the coast by the wind, and travel was hindered in the 

 interior by drifting snow. 



February was cold and dry. The temperature averaged 

 from 2° to 7° a day below the normal throughout the greater 

 part of the State. The temperature rose several degrees 

 above freezing in south-eastern Massachusetts on the early 

 morning of the 8th, then fell rapidly and to a low point 

 under the influence of north-west winds which prevailed. 

 At Provincetown the daily range on the 8th was the greatest 

 ever recorded there in fourteen years of observation, while 

 the minimum on the 6th was the lowest ever registered there 

 in that time. The precipitation was generally in the form 

 of snow, except in the extreme south-east, and most of it 

 came in the storm of the 7th-8th. This storm was extremely 

 severe, and great damage was done along the coast by the 

 high tide and terrific winds. The ground was mostly well 

 covered with snow throughout the month. There was some 

 injury to peaches by the cold spell, and the very high wind 

 drove the cold into many cellars that were considered frost- 

 proof. 



The weather for March did not depart far from the normal 



