xxvi BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



and only nine days during which the sky was wholly 

 obscured. 



The weather of December was characteristic of the season, 

 and, if anything, somewhat more severe than usual. Like 

 the preceding month, the daily mean temperatures were 

 almost continually below the normal, and the monthly mean 

 shows the weather of the month to be about the coldest for 

 December of authentic record. The monthly mean tem- 

 peratures over the State ranged from 3° to 5° below the 

 normal. As a result of the cold weather, the ground at the 

 close of the month was reported frozen to an unusual depth. 

 Ice attained an unusual thickness at an early date, and in 

 some sections two crops were harvested and a third ready at 

 the end of the month. The precipitation was generally be- 

 low the monthlv normal, although the departures were in 

 hght to moderate amounts. Snow occurred in all sections, 

 the monthly amounts ranging from 1 inch at Rutland to 22 

 inches at Mt. Tom. There was an average amount of sun- 

 shine during twelve clear days. There were eleven cloudy 

 days, and rain or snow fell in measurable amounts on an 

 average of ten days. High Avinds and severe gales greatly 

 inconvenienced shipping, caused some loss of life and con- 

 sideral)le damage to vessels. The most severe storms of 

 the month were those of the lilth-20th and 2Gth-27th. 



