26 MASSACHUSETTS JIORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



23, to — 3^°; wliile during the previous winter it reached no 

 lower than zero, and tl)at only once. While the month of Decem- 

 ber, 1870, was 1.85° warmer than the average of the last 47 years, 

 January, 1 871, was .74° colder ; and February, again, was .70° warm- 

 er. March was the warmest March in 47 years, being no less tlian 

 7^° above the average. The first half of May was^very cold ; the 

 second half very warm, the mercury rising 07i the 30th to 93°, 

 or 2i° higher than on any day in June, July, or August, — a phenom- 

 enon of rare occurrence. This was the highest temperature in 

 May since 185G. 



" Spring in this country," said the late A. J. Downing, " is not 

 the tedious jade that she is in England, — koejiing one waiting 

 from February till June while she makes her toilet, and fairly puts 

 her foot on the daisy-spangled turf. For the most part, she comes 

 to us with a quick bound ; and, to make amends for being late, she 

 showers down such a wealth of blossoms, tliat our gardens and 

 orchards look as if they were turned into fairy parterres, so loaded 

 are they — and especially the fruit-trees — with beauty and prom- 

 ise." Such a day as the 30th of May last makes this change even 

 more striking than usual : it seems as if that one day sufficed to 

 transform the bare and leafless branches of our fruit-trees into 

 shady bowers. So far as is known, no injurious eftects resulted 

 from the unusually warm weather of the last half of May. 



The average temperature of the whole month of May was 

 brought up by the warmth of the last half to 1.42° above the aver- 

 age. June was .17° above, and July .25° below, the average; while 

 that of August was 2^° above. September, again, was very cold, — 

 3.41° below; October, 2.G0° above; and November, again, nearly 

 3.87° below the average, the last four months alternating, so that the 

 difference between the months of August and September and those 

 of October and November was the greatest, and the difference be- 

 tween September and October the least, within the last 47 years. 

 The weather in the last part of November was very much colder 

 than usual, the mercury having fallen, at sunrise on the 30th, to 

 8^°, the lowest in that month in 47 years, except on the 25th of 

 the month in 1838, when it fell to 5^°. The wood and buds of 

 our fruit-trees being, however, well matured by the previous warm 

 weather, we think no injury to tlie next year's crop need be appre- 

 hended, as must have boon if they had been in an unripe, succu- 

 lent state. 



The last frost of the spring occurred on April 0, and the first 

 of the autumn on Nov. G. Cherry-trees were in bloom on 



