350 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



of the month, vegetation was considerably ad- 

 vanced, rye being several inches high, mowing 

 lands and pastures green, and the buds on the 

 trees just bursting into leaves, even then some 

 poplars and birches being quite green. During 

 the last few days, swallows, brown thrushes, che- 

 ■wicks, whippoorwills, and a host of warblers and 

 fly-catchers, made their appeai'ance. 



May, though warm and generally favorable for 

 vegetation, and consequently for the farmer, was 

 divided into about three distinctly marked sec- 

 tions of fair weather and rainy weather. The first 

 eight days were remarkably clear, and exceeding- 

 ly warm for the season, thermometers ranging 

 from 84° to 94° in the shade. The weather about 

 this time for nearly two weeks was very dry ; 

 fires raged in the woods in various quarters, and 

 a dense smoky haze threw a disagreeable aspect 

 over the landscape, hemming in the view to a 

 few miles in extent, and veiling everything dis- 

 tant in a forbidding indistinctness. On the 9th, 

 after great heat in the forenoon, a great change 

 in the weather, in consequence of thunder show- 

 ers, occurred, the temperature falling thirfi/ de- 

 grees in eight hours. Heavy rains followed on 

 the 10th and 11th, and the weather was more or 

 less cloudy, excepting perhaps one or two days 

 about the 15th, with indications of rain, and more 

 or less of rain fell, till the 22d, a cloudy term of 

 six days, during which the sun hardly shone, en 

 ding on the 22d. There Avas heavy rain on the 

 night of the 18th, and more or less on the 19th, 

 20th, 21st and 22d. The remainder of the month 

 was clear and fine, with rather too cool nights, 

 however, and a heavy fall of rain on the night of 

 the 3 1st. 



In short, the spring opened very early — the 

 ground being in condition for plowing in the lat- 

 ter part of March, continued very forward, and 

 as a whole was very fine. The trees "arrayed 

 themselves in green" with more than usual ra- 

 pidity ; cherry trees were in full bloom on the 

 9th, and apple trees by the 18th, at least, a week 

 in advance of last year, ten days ahead of 1857, 

 and three days earlier than the avtrage for the 

 last half century. Much planting was done quite 

 early, and at the close of May, corn and potatoes 

 were several days in advance of what they usu- 

 ally are at the same date. 



The mean temperature of the spring months 

 was 4o.80; of March, ST.H'^; of April, 42.94^; 

 of jNIay, 57.31'^. The mean temperature at sun- 

 rise was 39.80'^; at noon, 51. 35""'; and at sunset, 

 48.35'^; of March, at sunrise, 34°; at noon, 

 41.71°; at sunset, 39.51°; of April, at sunrise 

 38.4°; at noon, 47.73°; at sunset,..46.05°; of May, 

 at sunrise, 47.2°; at noon, 65.52°; at sunset, 

 69.490. 



The warmest day was the 8th of May, the mean 

 temperature being 72.5°; the coldest was the 2d 

 of March, with a mean of 1(3.17°. The warmest 

 day of March was the 18th, witli a mean of 

 40.07°; of April, the 30th, with a mean of 55.17°; 

 of May, the 8th, with a mean of 72.5°. The cold 

 est day of March was the 2d, with a mean of 

 16.17°; of April, the 5th, with a mean of 32.5°; 

 of May, the 11th, with a mean of 43.17°. 



The highest temperature was 88°, (by my 

 Fahrenheit thermometer, well adjusted,) though 

 some thermometers indicated 94° at two P. M. 

 on the Sth of May, and the lowest was 4°, afr sun- 



rise on the 2d of March. The highest in March 

 was 54°, on the 2SLh ; in April, 71° on the 30th; 

 in May, 86°, on the Sth. The lowest in March 

 was 4°, on the 2d ; in* Ajiril, 27°, on the 10th ; in 

 May, 35°, on the 16th. 



The spring months were 2.2° (two and two- 

 tenths) warmer than in 1858, and 4.58° warmer 

 than in 1857. Only two frosts occurred in May 

 — on the morning of the 16th and 22d — and both 

 were generally light, doing but slight injury to 

 crops. 



Of the ninety-two days of spring, twenty-two 

 were clear, twenty-two tolerably clear — the sun 

 shining the greater part of each day — twenty- 

 eight cloudy, and twenty others in which the 

 clouds predominated, as follows ; in March, four 

 clear days, eight tolerably clear, twelve cloudy, 

 and seven quite cloudy ; in April, six clear days 

 nine tolerably clear, seven cloudy, and eight quite 

 cloudy; in May, twelve clear days, five tolerably 

 clear, nine cloudy, and five quite cloudy. 



Rain fell on twenty-six ; on nine days in 

 March, including five heavy falls ; on five days 

 in April, and on eleven in May. 



The only snow storm, save a few squalls in the 

 fore part of April, occurred on the 3d of March, 

 with a fall of five inch": s ; but frozen rain or sleet 

 fell about the middle of April, and snow at the 

 same time on the mountains. 



The only thunder shower occurred on the 9th 

 of May. 



There were fifty- three days of wind from a 

 northerly quarter, and thirty-six from a souther- 

 ly ; as follows : Twenty-seven from the north- 

 west, twenty-three from the north-east, and three 

 from the north ; eighteen from the south-west, 

 thirteen from the south, and five from the south- 

 east. In March, ten from the north-west, five 

 from the north-east, one from the north, four 

 from the south, eight from the south-west, and 

 three from the south-east. In April, fifteen from 

 the north-v/est, seven from the north-east, two 

 from the north, one from the south, three from 

 the south-west, and two from the south-east. In 

 May, but two from the north-west, eleven from 

 the north-east, eight from the south, seven from 

 the south-west, and three in which the wind was 

 light, and there was no steady current from any 

 point. 



There were eleven haloes ; six in March, three 

 in April and two in May. Four displays of 

 Northern Lights were noticed ; two each in 

 March and April. Three rainbows were observed 

 in May, and one on the 19th was attended by th« 

 unusual phenomenon of supernumerary bows. 



Sprinyjield, June 8, 1859. j. A. A, 



BAISE FRUIT AND EAT IT. 



This is a fruit country. Nearly all farmers may 

 raise their own fruit. Strawberries, raspberries, 

 currants and gooseberries grow or will grow al- 

 most everywhere. They can be canned, and so 

 preserved the whole year. Apples, pears, peaches, 

 cherries, can be raised on most farms. There is 

 no good reason why fruit should not be as plenty 

 as corn or wheat. 



This is a bilious country — that is, the people 

 who live here are especially liable to bilious dis- 

 eases. There is perhaps, no better preventive of 



