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REPORT OF SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE. 



The Supervisory Committee for the Norfolk Agricultural So- 

 ciety, in submitting their Report for the year 1863, deem it proper 

 to notice some facts connected with the season, -which influenced, 

 more or less, agricultural productions. 



The winter of 1862-3 was the mildest that has occurred for 

 several years. There was but little snow during the winter 

 months ; but soon after the first of March, enough fell to make 

 good sleighing, and it remained till near the close of the month. 

 The mean temperature for March was several degrees lower than 

 that of either of the three months immediately preceding, and nearly 

 all the ice which was stored for summer was formed during this 

 month. Thus the respective characters of winter and spring 

 were, to some extent, reversed. 



It was feared that the openness of the winter would be unfavor- 

 able to grass and winter grain ; but the injury proved to be not 

 greater than is usually experienced. Probably the exemption was 

 due chiefly to the covering of snow during March, and the even 

 temperature of that month, — March being usually the most criti- 

 cal in reference to the crops alluded to. The destruction of grain 

 and grass by the upheaving action of frost, or by alternate thaw- 

 ing and freezing, — usually termed " winter-killing," — might, with 

 more propriety, be termed spring-killing^ as it is generally in the 

 early part of spring that freezing and thawing succeed each other 

 most frequently. 



The season opened rather late. May and June were quite dry, 

 and July commenced so, giving rise to fears of a scanty hay crop, 

 from drought ; but on the 8th of the latter month, the drought 

 was broken by a moderate rain, which was soon followed by others 

 more copious, and before the close of the month upwards of twelve 

 inches of water fell, flooding much of the grass-land of this sec- 

 tion, retarding the process of hay-making, and doing great dam- 

 age to hay in the field. The month will be long remembered as 

 " the wet July." In consequence of so much wet weather, the 

 hay-crop, though abundant in quantity, was generally of inferior 

 quality. It is proper to say, however, in this connection, that 

 where hay-caps were used, the hay was much less damaged ; and, 

 from all the evidence we have been able to obtain, we believe these 

 articles can be economically used by farmers in the protection of 

 their hay. 



