28 



Rainfall in Connecticut during the Summer Months^ 1888-1900 

 — Concluded. 



* Omitted in averaging. 



From these records it will be seen that the average rainfall dur- 

 ing thirteen seasons for June is only 2.68 inches, for July (omit- 

 ting two years of excessive rainfall) it is 3.65 inches, and for 

 August practically 4 inches. The interesting point to be con- 

 sidered is that the month of June, during which most of the small 

 fruits and many vegetables make a large part of their growth, is 

 generall}' deficient in rainfall. 



There are very few seasons during some part of which a drought 

 of more or less severity does not occur. With crops like straw- 

 berries, raspberries, early potatoes and onions a lack of rain for 

 two or three weeks may lessen the crop one-half or more. A strik- 

 ing illustration of the injury caused by short droughts was seen in 

 the' season of 1895, on one of the farms in Connecticut, where 

 irrigation was being put into operation for the first time. A field 

 of strawberries that had been set out in the spring of 1894 was on 

 too high ground to be reached by water conducted from the storage 

 pond. A field of the same size on another part of the farm was 

 sprinkled from pipes laid on the surface. The irrigated area, 

 with only three applications of water, gave a yield two and two- 

 thirds times greater than that obtained on the area which could not 

 be irrigated. As a more recent illustration, which nearly every 

 farmer will recall, we would point to the light hay crop occasioned 

 by the spring and early summer drought of 1899, and again in 

 1900. In contrast to this, we can note the large hay crop of the 

 present season, occasioned mainly by the heavy rainfall of May 

 and the early part of June. 



In reference to the second reason it may be well to point out, 



