482 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



ameter, which rest on the tracks. These tracks 

 thus form a movable raih'oad, which is carried 

 along with the wagon, and furnishes the rails 

 upon which the wagon moves. 



The large wheels which carry the tracks do 

 not touch the ground, and serve only to move 

 the tracks under the small wheels, which bear the 

 •weight of the whole machine. 



The two tracks, one on each side of the wag- 

 on, have a bearing surface on the ground of 

 twelve feet long by four inches wide, which ena- 

 bles the wagon to pass over soft or sandy soil 

 without sinking into it, and hence without any 

 or very little loss of power by reason of increased 

 friction. 



On its first trials, the wagon was put to many 

 tests, and with success in all. It ascended and 

 descended steep grades, as high as one foot in 

 height ; it ran over soft ground without any loss 

 of power ; and hauled loads, under the circum- 

 stances, equal to fifteen tons, at two and a half 

 and three miles per hour. It was as easily turned 

 as any mule team, started as readily as a loco- 

 motive, and was stopped in a shorter distance. 

 Some persons expected that the motion of this 

 wagon would be rough and unpleasant — but it 

 was not found so, as the wheels run on the 

 smooth metallic surface of the tracks, and the 

 movement of the tracks themselves is the s me as 

 that of a belt passing over two pulleys of the 

 same diameter. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE ■WEATHER OF THE SUMMER 

 MOJSiTHS, 1859. 



Clouds and rain, and cold nights, were the 

 prominent characteristics of the weather of June, 

 rain falling on fifteen days, including six thunder 

 showers ; and, according to observations made 

 by Mr. J. Weatherhead, at the U. S. Armory, in 

 this city, G.38 inches of water fell on a level. 

 Three frosts occurred during the month ; on the 

 mornings of the 6th, 11th and 12th, the first and 

 last being very severe over the whole nort' ern 

 parts of the United States, with occasional ex- 

 ceptions. That on the 12th was the most severe 

 in this section, doing great irjury, not only to 

 crops, but to vegetation in general. The grass, 

 and leaves of plants and shrubs were frozen stifl', 

 in many localities, and the ground, (in moist, 

 plowed fields,) was frozen to the depth of one- 

 fourth to one-half an inch. Ice formed in favor- 

 able situations. At sunrise, the theimometer 

 stood at 34°, at my usual place of observations, 

 but upon carrying it to low, marshy ground, 

 some thirty rods distant, the mercury fell to 29°, 

 while suspended in & J'lozen bthsh, and this in 

 "rosy June !" Many gardens seemed nearly 

 ruined, beans being almost universally killed, 

 and corn and potatoes, in the fields, were great- 

 ly injured. In some instances, the leaves and 

 young growth of the grape vine and white oak 

 were blackened and killed. The weather tlirough- 

 out the month, with the exception of a few da}s, 

 was so cold that vegetation advanced very slow- 

 ly, and so wet that farmers were obliged to lose 

 much time in consequence of the rain. At the 

 close of the month, they were nearly a week be- 

 hind-hand in their work, and the prospect for a 

 corn crop was very discouraging. 



July, however, was pleasantly interspersed 

 with sunshine and rain, moderate heat, agreeable 

 coolness, and refreshing north-west breezes. 

 Drought and rain were so well apportioned, that 

 vegetation suffered not from a too long continu- 

 ance of the former, nor a superabundance of the 

 latter, and the season for haying and harvesting 

 was very good, though somewhat interrupted by 

 showers towards the close of the month, and if 

 the crops wtre not remarkably heavy, the far- 

 mers enjoyed the satisfaction of saving them in 

 prime order. The weather was very cool about 

 the 4th and 5th. and frosts were reported in some 

 sections, as occurring on the night following the 

 4th, but of not much severity. 1 here was extreme 

 heat for only a few days, from the 10th to the 

 14th, the mercury reaching 96° at one P. M., on 

 the 13th ; but the last ten or twelve days had the 

 pure atmosphere and agreeable coolness of Sep- 

 tember. 



The weather of August was, in many respects, 

 fine, being remarkably clear, with l)ut little sul- 

 try weather er extieme heat. The first fourteen 

 days were quite warm, however, their mean tem- 

 perature being 70 09°, but the remaining seven- 

 teen were veiy cool, and occasionally to an un- 

 pleasant degree, and the mean temperature of 

 this part of the month was 63.06°. A few times 

 the maximum temperature was above 80°, during 

 the fore part of the month, but as frequently fell 

 below 68° towards its close. Ihree light white 

 frosts were observed on low land, on the morn- 

 ings of the 17th, 29tli and oOih, here and there 

 leaving traces of their effect on tender vegetation, 

 but no serious injury resulted. About an ordi- 

 nary amount of rain fell, more or less falling on 

 eleven days, but there was a period of ten clays, 

 from the 13ih to the 24th, without rain, and 

 symptoms of a drought began to be manifest ; 

 and re])orts from many sections of the country 

 re|)resenled \egetaiion as sufl'ering considerably. 



The weather throughout the season was quite 

 unfavorable for the farmer, and rmdered his 

 prospects for a good corn harvest quite gloomy, 

 and, at times, very uncertain. The fros s of June 

 were very extensive and destructive, and many 

 fields of both corn and potatoes never fully re- 

 covered from their effects. The consequence re- 

 sulting therefrom to rye and wheat was for a time 

 doubtful, but, at harvest, the damage proved to 

 be slight, exhibiting itself occasion.iliy in the 

 half-filled heads of the former, in many fields, 

 while a few pieces were wholly ruined. The light 

 frosts in August again threatened great injury to 

 corn, and other late crops, but fortunately the 

 apprehensions of farmers were not realized ; so 

 the season afforded the novelty of frost in each 

 of the summer months, without very disastrous 

 results. Corn at the close of August seemed to 

 indicate a fair crop, though very late ; from ten 

 da3b to two or three weeks of warm weather be- 

 ing then necessary for its maturity in this vicinity. 



The mean temperaturt of the summer months 

 was 6j.6°; of June, 62.95°, being seven and a 

 half degrees lower than the mean of June, 1858, 

 and only about five degrees warmer than May ; 

 of July, 67.53°, being 42° colder than July, 

 1858, 3.2° colder than July, 1857, and 6.3° cold- 

 er than July, 1S56, which was re^markable for its 

 great heat and drjmss; of August, 66.31°; from 

 .06° to 1.16° warmer than the three Augusts pre- 



