REMARKS 



The month made a vahant beginning to catch up the slowness 

 of the season, providing a maximum of 85° on the (Jth. only to have 

 this mildness dispersed by a dust storm in the teeth of a 48 mile 

 wind on the 7th. The mean daily then dropped b:ck into the 50's 

 and high 40's until the last week of the month when s'^asonable warmth 

 was again obtained. In the month 2.77 inches of precipitation fell; 

 nearly 5<4 inch bek)w the mean and only two stormy periods recorded 

 rainfall in excess of Y2 inch: on the 18th-19th 0.68 inches, and the 

 24th-25th 0.86 inches. The mean daily temperatures of 57.9° al- 

 though 0.8° above average contributed to the 230 degree days of 

 heating load which brought the season's total to 6335 at the month's 

 end. 



The last snow noted April 29, and the last frost April 30, in 

 last month's bulletin, have not been disputed by the month's records. 



W. H. Thies, Extension Professor of Horticulture, contributes 

 the following report: "Weather conditions during May have had some 

 interesting effects on plant growth. Lawns look unusually 

 well and the hay crop is promising, thanks to quite ideal growing con- 

 ditions. Peas, spinach and such cool weather crops have made excel- 

 lent progress. But corn, beans, and others which thrive in hot weather 

 have been marking time. Asparagus got off to a slow start but has 

 made up for it since. Seldom have we seen strawberries look any 

 more i)ronnsing. Here is a fruit plant which seems to best under cool, 

 cloudy conditions. We have prospects of a good strawberry crop, 

 l^ut instead of the first berries appearing around June 1 as they some- 

 times do in the Connecticut Valley, they are more lightly to appear 

 around June 10. 



Apple bloom was at least a week later than normal, and was 

 spread over a longer period. The height of Mcintosh bloom in 

 Amherst was around May 22. Bee activity was frequently held up 

 by cool or rainy weather. Honey bees are quite inactive when the 

 temperature drops below 60° althou'gh bumblebees continue to fly 

 at temperatures at least 10° lower. In spite of weather interference 

 in bee activity, there were enough warm, sunny hours in most or- 

 chards to insure pollination. Contrary to a common notion, none 

 of the fruits grown in this area, except nuts, are wind pollinated. Bees 

 of one kind or another are almost entirely responsible for the transfer 

 of pollen from one blossom to another. And that means suitable 

 weather for bee flight.'' 



