1859. 



NEAV ENGLAND FARMER. 



483 



ceding. The mean temperature at sunrise was 

 55°; at noon, 72.73°; at three P. M., 74.1G°; and 

 at sunset, G:.23°. Of June, at sunrise, 47.47°; 

 at noon. 08.83°; at three, P. M., 69.9°; and at 

 sunset, 61.9°. Of July, at sunrise, 57.71°; at 

 noon, 75.81°; at three, 'P. M., 77°; and at sun- 

 set, 65.68°. Of August, at sunrise, 57.78°; at 

 noon, 73 55°; at three, P. M., 75 48°; and at sun- 

 set, 68.13°, The mean sunrise temperature varies 

 but slightly from the mean minimum, and the; 

 mean temptrature at three, P. M., as here given, 

 is the true mean maximum, i 



The warmest day in June was the 29th, the^ 

 mean temperature being 74.67°; in July, the 12th,! 

 with a mean of 80.83°, which was also the warm-j 

 est of the season ; in August, the 4th, with a 

 mean of 76.33°, The coldest day of June, also of 

 the season, was the 11th, with a mean tempera- 

 ture of 45,67°, and at nine o'clock, the thermom- 

 eter stood at 49°, and at noon at 52°, though the 

 sun shcne clearly ! Several other days were un- 

 comfortably cool throughout. The coldest day in 

 July was the 4th, the mean temperature of the 

 day being 54.67°, and in August, the 29th was 

 the coldest, the mean being 54,83. 



The extreme tempei'atures occurred as follows : 

 highest in June, 91°, at eleven. A, M., on the 

 29th ; in July, 96°, at one, P, M., on the 13th, 

 also the highest of the season ; in August, 86°, 

 at three, P. M., on the 4tb, The lowest in June 

 was 34°, at sunrise on the 12th, which was also 

 the lowest of the season ; in July, 44°, at sun- 

 rise on the 5th ; in August, 40°, at sunrise on 

 the 30. h. 



The summer of 1859 was 3,34° colder than the 

 summer of 1858, and 16° warmer than the sum- 

 mer of 1857. 



Rain fell on thirty-six days ; on fifteen in 

 June, leu in July, and eleven in August, Four- 

 teen thunder showers passed over this place, ten 

 of which were from the north-west ; six in June, 

 five in July, and three in August. A remarkably 

 heavy shower occurred on the 29th of June, arid 

 in some parts of western New England, Vv-as very 

 destructive from hail and wind. The whole north- 

 west presented one mass of inky blackness as it 

 approached, and when ten miles distant, columns 

 of dust began to rise at different points, soon 

 spreading along the whole front of the shower, 

 rolling up like dense smoke to the height of sev- 

 eral hundred feet, and truly presented a some- 

 what alarming aspect. In a few minutes alter 

 the shower commenced, water ran in the streets 

 in brooks. Hail also fell on the evening of the 

 2Gih of July, from the size of a pea to that of a 

 hazel-nut. But the wind rising li>iht at the time, 

 no serious harm resulted, though the marks were 

 visible for several days, on tobacco and corn. 



Of the ninety-two dajs of summer, twenty- 

 nine were clear, twenty-eight tohrably clear, six- 

 teen cloudy, and in th' remaining nineteen, 

 clouds prevailed. There were but five clear days 

 in June, ten tolerably clear, and fifteen quite 

 cloudy. In July there were ten clear days, eleven 

 toleiably clear, and five cloudy, and five consid- 

 erably so. In August, there were fourle^n clear 

 days, seven toleralUy clear, but three cloudy, and 

 seven others more or less so. 



There were fortj-si.x days of wi^^d from a 

 northerly quarter, and forty-three from some 

 southerly point, as follows : Thirty from the 



north-west, fifteen from th? north-east, and two 

 from the north ; twenty-six from the south-west, 

 thirteen from the south, and three from the south- 

 east, and six days of calm. In June, there were 

 nine days of wind from the north-west, two from 

 the north-east, two from the north, tw-elve from 

 the south-west, five from the south, and two days 

 of calm. In July, thirteen days from the north- 

 west, five from the north-east, seven from the 

 south-west, two from the south, one from the 

 south-east, and four days of calm. In August, 

 eight from the north-west, eight from the north- 

 east, seven from the south-west, six from the 

 south, and two from the south-east. 



I noticed ten solar haloes, which, save in one 

 or two instances, viere followed by a storm of 

 rain on the succeeding day, 



I also noticed three Auroras, or displays of 

 "Northern Light," all in August ; that on the 

 21st was fine, but the one on the night of the 

 28th was truly splendid, and in many respects 

 remarkable. It became visible as soon as twi- 

 light had sufficiently faded, and continued all 

 night, with brilliant streamers of crimson, golden 

 yellow, and various shades of red, yellow and 

 greenish. J, A. A. 



Springfield, Sept. 2, 1859. 



THE NATIVITY OF INDIAN CORN. 



An intelligent article in the Cincinnati Gazette 

 discusses the question of the nativity of Indian 

 corn, or maize, which was one of the subjects be- 

 fore the American Scientific Association at 

 Spiingfield. It will be recollected, perhaps, that 

 Dr. J. H. Gibbon read a paper in which he con- 

 tended that maize was not solely a native of 

 America, but was also the product of Asia and 

 Africa. He contended that it was known to the 

 Egyptians, and that the manna which is said to 

 have fallen from heaven for the sustenance of the 

 Israelites, was maize, which did not literally rain 

 down, but which was found along the way. 



The article in the Gazette contends that maize 

 is a native of America alone, and cites the evi- 

 dence of Dr. Pickering, who says: 



'•Whether the maize was introduced into Egypt 

 from the East or West, I have met with no evi- 

 dence that the plant existed in the country prior 

 to the discovery of America." 



The writer also cites the evidence of Living- 

 stone and Booth in proof of the fact that maize 

 was not found in Africa, and contends that it 

 was not known in Europe until 1332. Admitting 

 that maize might have found its way to Japan 

 across the Pacific, the article says : 



"The ])oints may l)e considered settled by pos- 

 itive testimony — that maize is a native of Amer- 

 ica, and that it is not a native of Europe. Our 

 inquiry, therefore, is confined to Asia and Africa. 

 Still it is important to observe that in Asia and 

 Africa were the first settlements of mankind, and 

 of them we have by far the earliest and most au- 

 thentic testimonies, to say nothing of those mem- 

 orable monuments on which is inscriljcd much of 

 the domestic manners, and history of the ancients. 

 If then the civilization of Asia and Africa kneAV 

 anything of Indian corn, or potatoes, or buck- 

 wheat, or turkeys, is it possible that no evi- 

 dence of them should exist in those histories or 



