viii BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



February was very cold, and decidedly the " winter 

 month" of the year. The precipitation was more than 

 usual alono; the coast and deficient in the interior, and was 

 mostly in the form of snow. The highest temperature oc- 

 curred in most places on the 18th, and was from 42° to 54°. 

 The coldest day of the month, and in many places the cold- 

 est for years, was the 24th. The temperature ranged from 

 5° to 12° above zero along the coast, while in the western 

 part of the State it did not rise above 4° to 11° below zero. 

 On the 17th and 18th there was a change of 71° within 

 thirty-six hours. 



March was very warm and very dry. The excess of tem- 

 perature averaged over 8° a day at Boston, Cambridge, 

 Somerset, Fitchburg and Springfield. At a few stations 

 along the coast the highest temperature was on the 6th, but 

 generally it was on the 19th, and varied from 60° to 74°. 

 The coldest spell was on the 27th and 28th, when the tem- 

 perature fell from 8° to 20° below freezing. It was the 

 dryest March on record in the history of the Weather 

 Bureau at Boston. The snowfall was small, and the ground 

 was bare the most of the month. 



April was warm and dry in all interior sections, and cool 

 and wet along the south-eastern coast. The warmest day 

 was generally on the 27th, the temperature rising to from 

 72° to 82°. The lowest was everywhere on the 3d, when it 

 fell to from 5° to 20° below freezing. Snow fell on the 9th, 

 11th and 12th. High gales prevailed, and with the damp, 

 heavy snow did great damage to telegraph and telephone 

 service. 



May as a whole was favorable for cultivation and growth 

 of crops. Beginning on the 18th, the drought was effectu- 

 ally l)roken by rain, and for the rest of the month mostly 

 cloudy, cool weather prevailed, with frequent rains. Quite 

 a good deal of damage was done in eastern sections by high 

 winds, and in all sections by frosts which occurred on the 

 11th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 22d. Hail fell at Dudley 

 on the 4th. Winds mostly south-west. Thunder-storms 

 occurred on the 2d, 4th, 7th, 18th, 19th and 28th. 



During June in most of the western counties frequent and 



