34 AGRICULTURAL 



covering most of February and a part of March, has not been 

 advantageous to growing crops. 



Tlie principal characteristic of this, as likewise of the pre- 

 vious year, has been the lack of moisture during the growing 

 season. As a result, the hay crop was even less than for the 

 year preceding. The snowfall was also abnormally light, and 

 December was noteworthy because no snow fell during the entire 

 month. With ten inches of rain, only six inches of snow were 

 recorded during February. The snowfall for January and 

 March was normal. During the year there were four storms 

 with large precipitation. Three of these occurred within a 

 period of sixteen days in February and March, while one came 

 in September. August was the driest month, with one inch of 

 rainfall. 



During July and August, there were three well-defined, 

 though not excessive, hot spells. September, October, and No- 

 vember w^ere characterized by uniformity of temperature. 

 Only light frosts occurred during September and October, and 

 much vegetation remained uninjured until well into November. 

 Only three cold spells occurred during the winter, and these 

 were not excessive. The amount of coal used for heating was, 

 therefore, less than the average. 



Vegetation started slowly in the spring. Many seeds rotted 

 before conditions were favorable for growth, and all hoed crops 

 especially were backward. May was a cool month, with an 

 average of three degrees below the mean. This was not due 

 to a few very cold days, but to continued cool weather. 



June averaged warm principally because of an excessively 

 hot spell during the last ten days, which ripened up the grass 

 and brought on haying before the grass was properly grown. 

 The result, as already indicated, was a very short crop. 



G. H. Pettee, 



Meteorologist. 



