10 



'Week ending May 27. — New England. Plenty of rain 

 has fallen in south-east, but elsewhere it is too dry and cold 

 for crops ; grass feeling want of rain seriously and all crops 

 coming slowly ; considerable planting yet to be done, 

 especially in the north. 



Weather Summary for May, 1895. 



Furnished by the New England Weather Service. 



The month of May in Massachusetts was much warmer 

 than is usual, the temperature range for the month was great 

 and the daily changes large and rapid. At Westborough 

 the mean temperature from the 6th to the 12th was 73*^, 

 -while from the 12th to the 19th it was 49°. At Boston 

 from the 6th to the 12th the excess in temperature averaged 

 over 18^ a day. For the month as a whole the mean was 

 from 1° to 3° a day higher than the normal. 



A sharp frost occurred in eastern sections on the morning 

 of the 2d, the temperature falling several degrees below 

 freezing. General and heavy frosts occurred on the 14th 

 and 17th and local frosts on the 19th and 22d. Correspond- 

 ents report great damage to the new growth on grapes, con- 

 siderable to cranberry vines on bogs that were not flowed, 

 and some injury to strawberries and the large fruits. Snow 

 was seen on the tops of the Berkshire hills on the 15th. 



The precipitation was considerably below the normal, ex- 

 cept in the south-eastern counties, and was generally insuffi- 

 cient for the proper nourishment of crops. Grass especially 

 has suffered in the central and western counties, and many 

 correspondents report fear that the grass crop will be light, 

 partly because of the drought last year. In the south-east 

 grass is growing thick and fine and other crops are favorably 

 affected by the weather. The rainfall was fairly well dis- 

 tributed throughout the month, and amounted to from one 

 and one-half to two and one-half inches in all north- 

 eastern, central and western counties, and from three and 

 one-half to nearly five inches on the Cape and the Island of 

 Nantucket. In western towns the springs and streams are 

 reported to be the lowest for the season for many years. 



There was more than the usual amount of sunshine and a 

 marked absence of heavy rain and wind storms. On the 



