viii BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



also gave good sleighing for a few days. The temperature 

 for April was above the average ;• the rainfall was consider- 

 ably less. The last heavy frost of the season occurred 

 April 29." 



At Amherst the highest temperature in January was 

 61.5° ; in February, 59.5° ; in March, 59.5° ; in April, 

 77.5°. The lowest temperature in January was 4.5° ; in 

 February, 3° ; in March, — 9.5° ; in April, 22°. Mean tem- 

 perature for January was 30.51°"; for February, 30.37° ; for 

 March, 30.18°; for April, 45.45°. The total precipitation 

 for January was 2.61 inches ; in February, 4.01 ; in March, 

 4.81 ; in April, 1.64 inches. The total snow fall in January 

 was 4 inches ; in February, 4.5 ; in March, 17 inches. The 

 prevailing winds in January and February were north-west- 

 erly, and in March and April, north-easterly. 



The Blue Hill (Milton) Observatory review of the weather 

 for the month of March states that the month was noteworthy 

 for the exceptionally large snow fall, which was equal in 

 amount to all that had previously fallen since Dec. 1, 1888, 

 notwithstanding the fact that, excepting last year, it was the 

 warmest March in over six years. Storms were more fre- 

 quent, and the variability of the temperature and rainfall 

 greater than usual. 



In Boston the month of April was not an unusual one in 

 point of temperature, the average for the month during 

 twenty years being 45°, the average for April, 1890, being 

 46°. The extremes of temperature were 72° on the 24th 

 and 26° on the 19th. There w T as an unusual absence of 

 April showers, the rainfall amounting to 2.30 inches, while 

 the average for twenty years was 3.60. After April 9 there 

 was but one day on which more than one-tenth inch of rain 

 fell. The total deficiency of rain in the four months ending 

 May 1 was 4.31 inches. 



The month of May was cool and w r et. The average tem- 

 perature was only slightly below the normal, but the nights 

 were decidedly cool, and numerous frosts occurred. The 

 average temperature of the month of May at Springfield for 

 twenty-three years was 59.3° ; the average for May, 1890, 

 was 59° ; departure, — 0.3°. There were heavy rains on the 

 4th, 6th, and 26th to 28th. The amount of precipitation 



