SECRETARY'S REPORT. 45 



to be sufficient to water stiff soils, which contain only twenty 

 per cent, of sand, once in fifteen days in summer ; if they con- 

 tain forty per cent, of sand, they arc watered every eight or 

 ten days ; if sixty per cent., every five days ; if eighty per 

 cent., every three days. From this it is plain that different 

 soils require different quantities of rain to insure them from 

 drought. 



A drought of some severity is recorded in the year 1796, 

 continuing for more than a month, in August and September. 

 In the first of these months there were but two slight showers,* 

 and not an entire cloudy day in the whole month. July also 

 had been very dry. But little rain fell in June and July of the 

 next year, (1797;) and but for its general distribution over the 

 month, its small quantity would have occasioned much suffer- 

 ing. The amount in June was but 2.44 inches, and in July but 

 1.65 inches; yet it rained in July on the 8th,. 9th, 14th, 23d, 

 25th, 27th, and 28th. 



The next bad drought was in 1805. The latter part of the 

 spring of that year was quite dry, and there was not an entire 

 rainy day from the 16th of May to the 29th of September. In 

 June there were slight showers on seven different days ; in 

 the whole month of July there was but one entire cloudy day, 

 and but four light showers, while there were no less that twen- 

 ty-two days on which not a cloud was to be seen. There were 

 showers in August on eight different days, which afforded some 

 relief, and more abundant rains set in on the 12th of Septem- 

 ber. 



In August, 1808, there were but two light showers, and 

 but one entire cloudy day. In June, 1815, also, there was 

 much want of rain. In 1818, no rain fell, according to the 

 Journal of Dr. Holyoke, from the 3d of August till the 7th of 

 September ; there was but one entire cloudy day during the 

 whole month of August, and only a few days were even par- 

 tially cloudy. 



The spring of 1825 was forward, but the drought of April 

 and May was exceedingly unfavorable to grass. 



There were but two light showers in April, one of which 

 was on the 1st, the other on the 29 th, and but six cloudy days. 



* Dr. Holyoke' s Journal. 



