8 



ripening prematurely ; tobacco cutting commenced ; general 

 condition of crop poor. 



Week ending August 23. — New England. Boston : Fre- 

 quent showers and cool nights ; narrow escape from frost 

 on several mornings in interior ; general outlook very dis- 

 couraging ; corn practically past recovery and much will 

 be fit only for ensilage ; potatoes almost a failure ; tobacco 

 slightly improved and cutting well advanced ; fruit prospects 

 fair. 



Weather tor August. 



In its chief meteorological features the month of August 

 was nearly normal, and it passed without many specially 

 noteworthy phenomena of any kind. There were several 

 days of unseasonably cool weather, and on the 21st the 

 escape from light frosts in the interior sections was by a 

 narrow margin. There was a remarkable paucity of so- 

 called " dog-days," which was one of the agreeable features. 

 Although there were some heavy rains, mostly local in 

 character and occurring during thunder-storms, very little 

 damage was sustained anywhere. The number of days with 

 an appreciable amount of precipitation varied somewhat in 

 different localities. In the eastern part of the State rain 

 fell on an average of ten days, while in central and western 

 portions the average was slightly greater. Thunder-storms 

 were frequent, but not more so than naturally to be ex- 

 pected at this season. 



The month opened with the effects of the phenomenal 

 rains of July still very much in evidence. The first week 

 gave warm and good growing weather, with less rain and 

 abundant sunshine. The fair days greatly outnumbered the 

 foul. A general improvement in crop conditions was noticed. 



The second week was rather more unfavorable in all but 

 the eastern and south-eastern counties. In the interior 

 and the western counties showers were quite numerous. It 

 was not a brilliant farm week in any except the eastern 

 sections ; there were only three days that brought even one- 

 fourth of the usual amount of sunshine. In the eastern dis- 

 tricts, the week, generally speaking, was favorable, as the 

 precipitation was very small. Warm days prevailed all over 

 the State, but the nights in the interior were cool. 



